Currently, there are more than 200 drugs available for the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases. Each one acts differently and they are indicated based on the depressive symptoms that each patient presents as a whole; not from the fact that it triggered the depressive picture. There are so many possible variables that the training and experience of the psychiatrist becomes fundamental in the possibility of reaching a good diagnosis.
Still, the probability of therapeutic failure in the treatment of depression it is approximately 50%. Between 30% and 50% of patients do not respond adequately to the initial antidepressant; and 15% of them have suicidal thoughts, according to a study published in Frontiers in Pharmacology last year. Genetics is the reason why the response and toxicity of antidepressants varies between 40% and 50%. It influences whether the prescribed medicine will be effective and well tolerated by the patient.
Today, psychiatric professionals have genetic tests that evaluate changes in DNA and drug interactions capable of interfering with the response to medications, allowing the doctor to prescribe the most personalized antidepressant for each person, increasing the chances of success.
Genetics can be a great ally in the search for more effective and tolerable treatments, since it can indicate the ideal medication for each person and help minimize the suffering caused by depression. Dasa Genomics PharmOne is the only pharmacogenomic test that also takes into account the patient’s lifestyle. Whether the patient takes other medications (such as for high blood pressure or diabetes) or drinks a lot of coffee affects the effectiveness of medication for depression. From a blood sample or buccal swab, this test brings all of this information together to indicate a personalized treatmentaccelerating the patient’s response.
One of the main determinants of adverse effects and drug inefficacy is the relationship between dose and systemic exposure to the drug. Not everything that a person ingests when taking a pill will be available to have an effect on the body. In addition to showing no improvement, therapeutic failure can expose the patient to the risk of developing side effects and often discourages adherence to treatment. Medications that are effective or well tolerated by some people may be ineffective or toxic for others.
The initial response rate to antidepressants is around 49.6%, which means that half of the people treated need different doses or other therapeutic options. With the help of pharmacogenetics, already widely used in several countries around the world, we can know which medications will be most effective for each patient with depressive disorder, and this assertiveness allows the reduction of these cases, minimizes the patient’s suffering and contributes to the reduction of expenses in ineffective treatments.
About Dasa Genomics
Dasa Genomics is the genetic and genomic medicine brand of dasa, the largest integrated health network in Brazil. Also operating in Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Uruguay, it is the result of the unification of GeneOnefounded by Dasa in 2017, with the companies acquired Chromosome Y On-SiteY Geniuspresent in Argentina and Uruguay and which became part of Dasa in 2019. Currently, it has seven action fronts: rare diseases and neurology, oncology, oncohematology, human reproduction and fetal medicine, cardiology, pharmacogenomics and ophthalmology.
Dasa Genomics has a technical team and medical specialists in genomics, molecular biology and bioinformatics who are a reference in their areas of specialization. The offer of tests – some of them available exclusively by the brand in Brazil – allows health professionals to diagnose and treat their patients with excellence and innovation, in a predictive, preventive and personalized way.
Head of Pharmacogenomics at Dasa Genomics
Source: Ambito
