GENETIC TESTING & PHARMACOGENOMICS

Genetic testing involves examining your DNA, the chemical database that carries instructions for your body's functions. Genetic testing can reveal changes (mutations) in your genes that may cause illness or disease. Although genetic testing can provide important information for diagnosing, treating and preventing illness, there are limitations. For example, if you're a healthy person, a positive result from genetic testing doesn't always mean you will develop a disease. On the other hand, in some situations, a negative result doesn't guarantee that you won't have a certain disorder. Talking to your doctor, a medical geneticist, or a genetic counselor about what you will do with the results is an important step in the process of genetic testing.

BENEFITS:

Results may aid in disease prevention, more accurate assessment of current medical condition, improved effectiveness and safety of medication assist in the creation of a customized plan of care, and provide valuable information for family members.

Pharmacogenomics, or pharmacogenetics, is the study of how your genes affect your body’s response to medications. 

The word “pharmacogenomics” is combined from the words pharmacology and genomics: 

• Pharmacology deals with the uses and effects of medications. 

• Genomics deals with understanding genes and their roles. 

Genes carry information that you inherit from your parents. Genes determine which characteristics you have, such as your eye color and blood type. Your genes influence how your body responds to medications.