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Health

Genetic test fixed dose of medicine for each patient

This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.


 


Variants of DNA indicate how each agency handles drug.
Testing helps patients who have difficulty with certain drugs

The Institute of Psychiatry at the University of São Paulo (USP IPq) developed a genetic test that helps determine the right dose of medicine for each patient. The speed with which the body processes and eliminates a drug varies from person to person. The difference explains why the same amount of drug might cause adverse effects in some individuals and may be ineffective for others. The new test shows the response of each patient's body to a variety of drugs - psychotropic drugs, analgesics, drugs against heart disease, cancer - and enables the custom fit the prescription. 
 

The examination assesses the genes responsible for production of two liver enzymes: CYP2D6 and CYP2C19. They act in the metabolism of 75% of medicines. Such genes are not the same in all people. They have different forms, known as alleles. Researchers at IPq identify which alleles are present in the genome of each patient. There is a direct association between the allele found the answer to the drug. "The research began with a patient who did not improve at anything," recalls Wagner Gattaz, chairman of IPq and director of the Laboratory of Neurosciences, responsible for the examination.
 

The coordinator of genetic lab, Elida Benquique Ojopi, conducted the research to develop the exam. When he was finished, was applied to the patient and found that it is "Ultrafast metabolising" your body eliminates the drug before it exert the therapeutic effect. Today, she takes a dose 6 times higher than usual without side effects. Three years does not show signs of disease. The metabolism of several antidepressants, for example, depends on the two enzymes. It is estimated that the dose in 25% of prescriptions would receive adjustments after the genetic test. 
 

Elida says that doctors have referred patients to take the examination at the institute. About 250 people used the service. So far, the occurrence of alleles that do not require correction in the dosage was the same for both genes: about 62% of patients analyzed. The remaining cases required individual requirements. In the United States, three companies perform the test, which costs on average £ 1,900. The IPq charges about $ 500 for the test, which is not covered in the National Health System (SUS). "The money is reinvested in research institute," notes Gattaz. The information is the daily O Estado de S. Paulo.



Source: State Agency

This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.

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