Also known as pharmacogenomics, PGx is the study of how genes affect the body's response to medications.
Pharmacogenomics (PGx), also called pharmacogenetics or simply drug-gene testing, is the study of how genes affect the body’s response to medications.
The word “pharmacogenomics” is combined from the words pharmacology (the study of the uses and effects of medications) and genomics (the study of genes and their functions).
Each person’s body has thousands of genes that were inherited from their parents. Genes determine familiar characteristics, such as hair color, eye color, gender, and blood type. But genes are also responsible for how the body processes and responds to medications.
Pharmacogenomic tests look for changes or variants in these genes that may determine whether a medication could be an effective treatment for an individual or whether they could have side effects to a specific medication.
While factors such as age, lifestyle, other medications, and overall health of a patient are important when choosing the right medication for a patient, GRI’s pharmacogenomic testing is an additional tool that can help you as a health care provider choose the most efficacious medication and guide dosage while improving patient safety.
GRI uses a technique Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to analyze the DNA in small samples of saliva.
PCR is called “molecular photocopying” and is a fast and inexpensive method to “amplify” or copy small segments of DNA for analysis. PCR revolutionized the study of DNA, and enables a range of genetic testing.
The results of this analysis can help determine:
- Whether a medication may be an effective treatment
- What the best dose of a medication
- Whether there could be serious side effects from a medication
GRI Labs looks for changes or variants in one or more genes that can affect a patient’s response to certain medications.
As genetic makeup does not change over time, patients will typically undergo a given pharmacogenomic test once. However, different medications can require different pharmacogenomic tests.
If you a considering a new medication for a patient, another pharmacogenomic test may be advisable.
Professional Reports with a Modern Look
The results of our PGx analysis are presented in comprehensive, colorful, and easy-to-read reports, customized for each individual patient. This provides you, the practitioner, with a useful tool to share and discuss the results with your patient.
