GeneSight Multi-Gene Combinatorial Pharmacogenomic (CPGx) Test is More Predictive of Antidepressant Response than …

Mason, OH (PRWEB) March 03, 2015

The combinatorial, multi-gene GeneSight test has been found to better predict antidepressant treatment outcomes for patients with depression, and their use of health care resources, than any of the individual genes that comprise the test, according to a peer-reviewed analysis by investigators from the Mayo Clinic and Assurex Health, and published online by The Pharmacogenomics Journal i.

The proprietary technology of the GeneSight Psychotropic test is based on combinatorial pharmacogenomics (CPGx), the study of how variations in multiple genes collaborate to influence an individuals response to medications, and evidence-based medicine and the known clinical pharmacology of various drugs.

This new publication shows that the combinatorial GeneSight test predicts which patients are likely to experience poorer antidepressant outcomes and use more health care services, whereas single gene diagnostics mostly did not, said lead author and Assurex Health Senior Vice President, C. Anthony Altar, Ph.D. The robust evidence from these analyses reinforce the advantage of the combinatorial GeneSight test in helping clinicians guide antidepressant and anti-anxiety treatment decisions. This and other features of GeneSight distinguish our pharmacogenomic products from all others.

The GeneSight Psychotropic test helps inform clinicians treatment selection for commonly prescribed medications including those for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The test is covered by Medicare, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and a growing number of commercial payers.

Evaluating Drug Metabolism with Genetic Data

The CPGx approach that generates the GeneSight report examines DNA variations of multiple genes since these variations can change the efficacy, metabolism, and adverse effects of many psychiatric drugs. Using a patients unique genetics, the GeneSight Psychotropic test creates a personalized report that places 38 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications for depression and other mental health conditions into three color-coded categories for clinicians to review: Use as Directed in green, Use with Caution in yellow, or Use with Increased Caution and with More Frequent Monitoring in red. The GeneSight report also alerts healthcare providers to the implications of the patients genetic information to a drugs dosage, and FDA-approved package insert information. Most single gene tests have high variability and are less accurate in predicting patient responses to psychotropic medications. The GeneSight approach compensates for these limitations by aggregating predictions by the drug metabolism and response genes to better predict patients responses.

Nearly 90 percent of antidepressant and antipsychotic medications are metabolized by at least two of the liver cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, and many interact with the brain serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) or the serotonin 2A receptor (HTR2A), explained the authors. The GeneSight Psychotropic test accounts for this complexity by measuring and combining the DNA sequence variations within drug response and drug metabolism genes. This analysis looked at the GeneSight test that included the liver metabolism genes CYP2D6, CYP2C19, CYP2C9, and CYP1A2, and the two drug response genes, SLC6A4 and HTR2A.

Since these studies were conducted, Assurex Health has enhanced the GeneSight test to include two more genes, CYP3A4 and CYP2B6, making it the first and only psychiatric pharmacogenomic test to offer CYP3A4 analysis distinct and separate from CYP3A5. The CYP2B6 gene affects medications including bupropion (Wellbutrin), the third most commonly prescribed antidepressant.

GeneSight Outperforms Single Gene Tests in Predicting Patient Outcomes

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GeneSight Multi-Gene Combinatorial Pharmacogenomic (CPGx) Test is More Predictive of Antidepressant Response than ...