Pharmacogenomics

[Sushi]

Here is something interesting I learned from my doc today: There is a new DNA panel that tests for your tolerance and ability to metabolize most drugs. They do cheek swabs and send back a report that is pages long. They also give you a wallet card (printed by them--so it has some weight) that you can show in the ER or anyplace else when necessary. The card lists drugs that you should not be given. The company is Asperio. http://asperiolabs.com/pharmacogenomics/

So instead of trialing on a bunch of different possible drugs for a condition, your doc can select a medication in light of what the DNA test shows. Sound good to me! And for those of us with a history of reacting badly to medications, it could be a life saver.

 

[anciendaze]

Definitely an improvement on flying blind, as many of us can report doing. What strikes me immediately is that many of us would need a complementary panel of tests for autoantibodies, which would probably not show up as genetic. The genetics testing would only need to be done once, but tests for antibodies might need to be repeated as symptoms change. This runs into questions about cost.

Somewhere out there in biotechnology start ups there ought to be a group aiming to provide an extensive panel of such tests on a chip at reasonable cost. The two together should greatly improve the experience of being a patient, and might even save lives.

 

[Valentijn]

Are they testing the entire genes, the exons on those genes, or sampling SNPs? They're very unclear about that on the site ... the information is so dumbed down that it borders on useless

 

[barbc56]

Is this FDA approved? I 'm thinking of the situation with 23andme and the limits put on their tests.

This is a fascinating topic. I think pharmacogenomics will play a big part of medicine in the future. However, I'm wondering if this lab is jumping the gun as far as a test to be sold to consumers and perhaps for now should be only used in medical settings.

I found the site uninformative and it looks like you need to contact them for further information.

You do need a clinican to order the tests which could be legitimate however there are dodgy sites that say this then offer their own clinican who may or may not be qualified to actually order these tests.

The wording about insurance is also similar to what other less than respectable medical services say.

ASPERIO will bill your insurer directly for its services. Then your insurance will send an Explanation of Benefits (EOB). The EOB is not a bill; it is a statement that shows how your insurer processed the claim for the test. Depending on your insurance carrier, you may receive a statement from ASPERIO for any remaining charges, including co-insurance, co-payments or deductible.

This can be interpreted in many ways but wouldn't be surprised if means insurance won't cover these services. It's so vague, it's almost insulting.

 

[Sushi]

Are they testing the entire genes, the exons on those genes, or sampling SNPs? They're very unclear about that on the site ... the information is so dumbed down that it borders on useless

I don't know from the site. The doc (a cardiologist) thought it was pretty comprehensive.

 

[Sushi]

You do need a clinican to order the tests which could be legitimate however there are dodgy sites that say this then offer their own clinican who may or may not be qualified to actually order these tests.

It was a cardiologist who ordered my test--she thought it was a good one.

 

[barbc56]

@Sushi

The fact that your cardiologists ordered this bodes well. Keep us updated.

 

[Sushi]

The fact that your cardiologists ordered this bodes well. Keep us updated.

Yes, she is one of the best rated cardios in my city. She had had good experience with this test, as there are so many cardio drugs available to treat the same conditions and she found it risky and time consuming to simply trial patients on drug after drug--only for them to have bad responses to some of them. This gives some guidance in choosing medications that could be life-saving.