Pharmacogenetic Lab Tests

Pharmacogenetic Lab Testing and health information

Pharmacogenetic tests are ordered to evaluate a person's potential response to a specific medication by analyzing the genes that produce the specific drug targets or enzymes that metabolize a medication to raise or lower the dose or change to a different medication.

Below, we will list some of the medications for which pharmacogenetic testing can be carried out, the gene tested, and the medical condition for which the drug is administered.

  • Methylphenidate gene tested is DRD4, a drug is administered for attention deficit disorder.
  • The test of Azathioprine, mercaptopurine, thioguanine gene is TPMT; the drug is administered for autoimmune disorders and childhood leukemia.
  • Irinotecan gene tested ... See more

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If a particular drug is prescribed to a group of people, different people will have different reactions and side effects from the drug. The reactions that we get from taking a specific medicine can be attributed to our inherited genes. That said, when it comes to medications, the individual response from the body and our unique genes may mean that a drug may be effective for one individual while being ineffective for another. Likewise, a medicine that does not harm one individual may harm another even when the dosage administered is the same. 

Most of the drugs we consume are usually metabolized (chemically broken down) by different enzymes found within the human body. In some instances, the chemicals that are active in a drug can be made dormant through metabolism. In other instances, a drug's inactive or dormant chemical components can be made more active once the enzymes break down the drug in the body. When it comes to ascertaining that medication effectively serves ... See more