Pharmacogenomics and Precision Medicine is trending like never before, with the strides that are being made in this field.  While you can go and search out the news yourself, we want to make it easy for you.   You can start by following social media platforms: YouScript Facebook, YouScript Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and our partner sites Genelex Facebook and Genelex Twitter. We’re constantly posting relevant articles from around the web.  Or you can follow our “This Month in Pharmacogenetics” series where we highlight some of the current trending articles.  Here’s this month’s trending articles:

“Pharmacogenetic Testing in Clinical Psychiatry” –  By Dr. Robert Howland, Psych Central

““Personalized medicine” is a buzzword in healthcare and stems from the idea that treatments can be designed specifically for a patient, based on his or her own biological characteristics.

In psychiatry, personalization is largely based on “pharmacogenetics,” the selection of medications based on genetic factors associated with drug response and tolerability. Could your patient’s genetic code predict which medications you prescribe?”

“Pharmacogenetics and Predictive Testing of Drug Hypersensitivity Reactions” – By Ruwen Böhm and Ingolf Cascorbi, Frontiers

“Adverse drug reaction are a major burden for the health care system. A large percentage could be prevented. Pharmacogenetic testing can contribute to avoidance of ADR, both pharmacological ADR (type A) and drug hypersensitivity reactions (type B ADR). Certain alleles and complex genotypes of HLA genes contribute to drug hypersensitivity reactions. Common drug hypersensitivity reactions include cytotoxicity in skin, liver, and blood cells.”

“Medicine As Personalized As Your Fingerprint” – By Paul Clark, D!gitalist Magazine

“Hospitals are becoming more integrated and are combining data about prevention and treatment to provide patients with a more comprehensive picture of their options. Data visualizations can be used to enhance medical decisions by letting doctors and patients see different treatment possibilities, such as the likely outcomes of surgery versus less invasive alternatives. This can help patients and caregivers consider their options and choose the best course of action given their specific circumstances.”

“Embrace Pharmacogenomics in Your Practice” – By Sharon Rosen, Mayo Clinic Individualized Medicine Blog

“Pharmacogenomics is increasingly becoming a part of today’s medical practice. However, there are still some hurdles to overcome. For patients, the most important factor is cost. Gene panels can cost up to $3,000 currently, which insurance companies may not cover. However, Dr. Matey explains that prices are coming down significantly at a few hundred dollars per testing that can interpret the metabolism of about two hundred commonly prescribed drugs, and health care institutions will adopt affordable testing as common practice. Cost, as noted by Dr. Lazaridis, would soon be an issue of the past.”

“Pharmacogenomics of Drug Metabolizing Enzymes and Transporters: Relevance to Precision Medicine” – By Shabbir Ahmed, Science Direct

“The genetic variations of CYPs and transporters have been described in diverse populations. In this review, we review the different allelic variants that are responsible for altered drug activities in diverse geographic regions. Some populations exhibited extremely high frequencies of allele variants that are associated with several significant clinical consequences. Taking advantage of pharmacogenomics, researchers have assessed some specific genetic variants responsible for the particular drug responses of individuals.”

“Using Genes to Attack Disease with Precision” – By Paul Latimer, Troy Media

“The hope is that we can identify genetic differences between those who respond to a new medication in a clinical trial and those who don’t, and perhaps differences associated with particular side-effects.

Knowing the genetic code is just the beginning. We also need to know what proteins are produced by that code (proteomics) and how these affect function. The genetic code doesn’t code for disease but it does code for protein. Depending on when, where and how much of these protein codes are produced, we get vulnerability to specific diseases.

New drugs could be tailor-made to suit each person’s genetic makeup. By taking an individual’s full genetic profile into account, personalized medications could be even safer and more effective.”

“Mayo Clinic patient: ‘Individualized medicine saved my life’” – By Susan Buckles, Mayo Clinic News Network

“What Karen Daggett didn’t know almost killed her. The medicine she relied on to control an irregular heartbeat wasn’t working and hadn’t for years and she didn’t understand why pain medication never seemed to make her feel better. She also had a history of not tolerating some over-the-counter medications. Silently, these drugs were building up in her system, causing harmful side effects until DNA testing at Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine showed some medications were incompatible with her genetic makeup.”

“4 tips for patients seeking individualized medicine” – By Susan Buckles, Mayo Clinic News Network

“But how do you seek these novel individualized therapies? It often starts with a conversation with your doctor. The Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine, a catalyst in moving personalized medicine therapies from the laboratory to clinical care, offers these tips on how to talk to your doctor about individualized medicine therapies…”