Drug Gene Testing: An Emerging Future of Psychiatric Medication
With the up-gradation in technology, medical and health care have more opportunities to treat the human body. Drug gene testing is the real example of innovation in medical science and an emerging future of psychiatric medication. It helps psychiatrists in understanding the response of a patient’s DNA to certain medicines. According to the data, they can prescribe the most accurate medication with the least side effects to his body.
This blog aims to explore how drug-gene testing helps in better psychiatric treatments. Before proceeding further, have a look at what exactly gene testing is.
What is Drug Gene Testing?
Drug Gene Testing, well known as pharmacogenetics, is a genetic test to analyze Cytochrome P450 that helps in recognizing the response of a patient’s body to certain medications. Cytochrome P450 is an active gene present in the liver and breaks down the drug for better dissolution.
A patient may have usual symptoms, but the effect of medication varies from gene to gene. Some patients quickly metabolize the drugs whereas, some take time to dissolve the medicine. That is what makes drug-gene testing important for better psychiatric treatments. The psychiatrist follows the variations in DNA and prescribes the medication or treatments accordingly.
Expert Verdict on Drug Gene Testing:
According to Dr. Samantha Meltzer Brody, drug-gene testing is the most appreciated innovation to treat mood disorders like depression, anxiety, stress, etc. Drug-gene testing clarifies the reactions in a patient’s body and assists the doctors in determining medical dosages.
She added,” I understand genes for serotonin vary from patient to patient. These variations show our ability to digest drugs like Prozac, fluoxetine, etc. So, it can be a chance that I have a faster metabolism rate than you or vice versa. As you are a slow metabolizer, the medication will be more effective, and a regular dose is more than enough for you. However, for a fast metabolizer like me, a regular dosage may not be much effective, and I need a higher dosage.”
No doubt, drug-gene testing is a revolutionary invention for Psychiatric Medication. However, it is challenging to make the drug works consistently for a long duration. The reason is variable enzyme actions keep changing the metabolism rate of a human body and can make the medication ineffective after a while.
On this, Meltzer-Brody stated, “Not everyone has the same effects of psychiatric medications, and people use various ways to metabolize the drug. A patient can metabolize the drugs faster or slower than other patients and have his body have a different response to a certain dose. Meanwhile, drug-gene testing is more reliable than psychiatrist experiments and helps the doctors to prescribe accurate dosage. Although the test does not itself suggest the medication but assist the psychiatrist in prescribing the right medication.”
According to her, drug-gene testing is in development and cannot be considered for all the treatments. She said it still features various limitations and hopes for accurate results in the future. She added, “Our DNA is what makes us different from each other and our unique history of life. The DNA can be affected by various life events, stress, depression, work pressure, and much more. So, the test must consider all the aspects of a human body rather than focusing on DNA only.”
It means psychiatrists should not only rely on drug-gene testing to prescribe medications. Meanwhile, they should focus on all the aspects of a patient like stress, depression, work, etc., for better treatment.
Meltzer Brody wrapped up by saying, “The technology is upgrading day by day, and we are in the world that none of us could imagine ten years ago. I agree Drug gene testing is an innovative way to understand the reaction of medications on a human body. However, the technology is under development and features various drawbacks. This technology is the future of the psychiatric medication and healthcare industry and will allow us to treat patients in a better way. So, I hope medical science will fix the bugs in drug-gene testing and make it more reliable for the future.