A new DNA test offered at Thomas Memorial Hospital is helping psychiatrists more quickly determine which drugs work best for their patients.

Thomas Memorial started offering the DNA tests in January at its South Charleston imaging center.

"You walk to the laboratory, the representative takes a giant cotton swab, swabs the inside of your cheek and you leave. It could not be much more simple," Dr. Tara F. Ray said.

The hospital then ships the swabs to a company called AssureRX, where lab technicians run DNA tests on the samples.

"Based on certain kinetic DNA types, you can determine what medication a patient may not tolerate well or what drug might work well," Ray said.

In a few days, doctors get the test results back with medication suggestions. Ray said the information is separated into three columns: medications that should work, medications that might work but should be monitored closely and medications that patients should avoid.

"It really helps narrow the focus of where to start," she said.

Doctors receive several bits of information from the DNA results, including how fast their patients' bodies break down certain enzymes. People with quick metabolisms need a higher dosage, because their bodies break down medications faster.

A person with a slower metabolism, however, needs a lower dosage because their body doesn't break down drugs as quickly. That leads to higher concentrations of medication in their bloodstream, creating greater potential for side effects.

Ray said the medication list is limited at this time, but AssureRX is always adding more to the list. She said even with the short list, the DNA testing has helped limit the amount of experimentation she has to do when prescribing new drugs.

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DNA test helps hospital choose right medication