Pgx

Pharmacogenomics - the science of you!

We are all different and our unique make up determines how well our body reacts to medication. When you consult your doctor, they will prescribe whatever drug is most commonly effective in treating a condition. It's a one-size-fits-all approach that relies on trial and error to see whether a medication will work for you. But recent advancements in medicine can remove the guesswork and help your healthcare professional to provide faster, more effictive relief.

Pharmacogenomics combines pharmacology (the science of drugs) and genomics (the study of genes and their functions) to establish the best treatment plan to suit an individual's condition. For example, you may process a medication too quickly leading to treatment failure or too slowly leading to increased risk of adverse reactions.

Pharmacogenomics is a growing field and has helped to improve the outcomes in treating many conditions including:

• Cardiology: Optimising treatments for heart conditions
• Psychiatry: Tailoring medications for mental health disorders including depression
• Pain Management: Selecting pain relief medications that are best suited for you

What are the benefits?

Pharmacogenomics testing can:

• Optimise your outcomes by selecting the most effective drug to suit you
• Speed up your recovery time by prescription of the correct drugs for your genetic make up
• Reduce treatments costs by prescribing effective drugs immediately
• Allow more accurate dosage by a more complete understanding of your body's metabolism
• Reduce the likelihood of adverse side effect of drugs

What's involved in testing?

Make an appointment in our new clinic and we'll go through the process with you (it's pain free and non-invasive). We get you to post your sample to a lab for analysis. They will provide us with a detailed report that indentifies your genetic variations and includes insights on how you will respond to various medications to find the best treatment plan for you. We discuss the results with you and send the report and summary to your GP/other health professional of choice.

The comprehensive report looks at medications you are currently on but also covers other medications that you could be prescribed in the future, reducing the guesswork and helping you get the best treatment in the shortest amount of time. You are unique and your medications should also be unique to you.