Have you ever heard of Pharmacogenomic (PGx) Testing?

By Gravity Diagnostics | January 3, 2020

Have you ever heard of Pharmacogenomic (PGx) Testing? A PGx test is used by a physician as a dosing guidance tool to help treat patients who are prescribed certain medications. Gravity Diagnostics offers PGx testing through a simple swab of the cheek—the following panels provide data for genes that code for over 130 medications:

  • Mental Health/Pain Panel
  • Cardiovascular Panel

Here are a few examples of patients in Behavioral Health and Cardiovascular settings that have a greater need for PGx testing:

Behavioral Health

Did you know that approximately 50% of Americans will experience a mental illness during their lifetime? Medications can be quite expensive—PGx testing gives physicians a dosing guide to help reduce “trial and error” treatment. PGx testing will help patients receive the right dose of the right drug the first time, save costs on prescriptions, and have a lesser chance for adverse drug reactions (ADR).

Case study: A 33-year old male presented with mood swings, attention deficiency and signs of psychosis. The patient expressed several failed medication attempts to treat his ADHD and depression. Genetic analysis reported variants in the COMT and SLC6A4 genes—the patient was also found to be an intermediate metabolizer of the CYP2C19 gene. This sequence of variants may have caused an excessive build-up of dopamine in the patient’s system, allowing medication treatment attempts to fail and signs of psychosis. The SLC6A4 gene variant is also associated with poor SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) response, causing multiple medications used to treat depression to fail. Depression, anxiety, and attention span improved once treatment with a pharmacogenomic test was utilized.

Cardiovascular 

Pharmacogenomics play a crucial role in CARDIOVASCULAR practices.  A pharmacogenomic test prevented a warfarin dosage from being 3x higher than a patient’s therapeutic dose.

Case Study –Warfarin
71-year-old caucasian male recommended for warfarin due to recent cardioembolic stroke. His baseline INR was 1.05 (Therapeutic Range: 2-3) and he was initiated on a 3-mg dose of warfarin based on clinical factors. A genetic test was conducted during this time period to reveal he was highly sensitive to warfarin (CYP2C9*3/*3, VKORC1-1639/3673 G>A A/A). His warfarin dosage was stopped after 4 days and his INR was 1.5. His dosage was reduced to 1-mg and his INR was within the therapeutic range 88% of the time over 99 days of follow-up. Without genetic testing, his warfarin dosage would have been 3x higher than his therapeutic dose.

About Gravity Diagnostics

Gravity Diagnostics is a full-service state-of-the-art CLIA laboratory licensed in all 50 states providing innovative laboratory testing including Infectious Diseases, Toxicology, and Pharmacogenomics. We are an advocate for physicians, patients, and our communities, supporting them with unsurpassed integrity, regulatory compliance, and clinical expertise. Our pledge to deliver the highest professional operating standards in the laboratory service industry coupled with ongoing research and support exemplifies our commitment to being provider engaged, patient-focused, and make the communities we serve a healthier place to live. Learn more about the work we are doing at gravitydiagnostics.com/media.

Posted in Laboratory Testing