How Genetic Testing May Improve Treatment Outcomes In Patients With Depression
Posted on January 30, 2019
Source:
Healio
Myriad Genetics has announced study findings that showed patients with major depression who received treatment guided by GeneSight®, a pharmacogenomic test, experienced a higher rate of remission and response, as well as greater improvement in symptoms than those who received treatment-as-usual.
This is a land-breaking study showing how after 30 or 40 years, improvement in patient outcomes in depression by marrying-up the right medication to the right patient using their genetics. Patients with depression are in need of this data, and the results really are game-changing.
With GeneSight, researchers can stratify more than 55 different psychiatric medications by whether the drug is genetically appropriate for a patient — or in a “green” category. Those drugs with potential gene-drug interactions usually corrected through dose modification are put into a ‘yellow’ or cautionary category for the physicians, while drugs with significant gene-drug interaction — that are not compatible with a patient’s genetics — are placed into the ‘red’ category so physicians know to avoid those medications.
This allows the doctor to find the right medication for the patient faster, leading to dramatic improvements in remission, which is the goal of treatment for patients today. These results were durable and continued to improve through 24-week follow-up, with remission rates increasing to 31%, while response rates rose to 44% and symptom improvement to 43%.