Pharmacogenomics Tests for Mental Health Conditions

Pharmacogenomics testing characterizes genes that may influence how drug therapies are processed by an individual. This type of testing can provide information about suitable drug targets, interactions between different drugs, and who may be at an increased risk for side effects.

Unlike some clinical areas, such as oncology, there have been relatively fewer developments of precision medicine technologies in the field of mental health care. However, with more developments in pharmacogenomics, there is a possibility that precision medicine technologies could lead to significant change over the next 5 years in terms of how drug-based therapies are prescribed for mental health conditions.

Example of emerging technologies include:
 

• Inagene (Inagene Diagnostics, Canada), GeneSight (Myriad Genetics, US), and IDgenetix (Castle Biosciences, US) are targeted test services that analyze a swab sample provided by an individual and send a customized report about the genetic variants they may have. These variants may affect drug metabolism, interactions, and the efficacy of drugs used for treating a range of mental health conditions. The customized reports provide information that could be used by health care professionals to guide decisions about treatment plans.

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