WCRx Health

What is Pharmacogenetics?

Pharmacogenetics is the study of how people respond differently to drug therapy based upon their genetic makeup or genes. Diet, overall health, and environment also have significant influence on medication response, but none are stronger indicators of how you will process medication than your genetics.

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What is the purpose of Pharmacogenetics?

Pharmacogenetics is a field of research that studies how a person's genes affect how he or she responds to medications. Its long-term goal is to help doctors select the drugs and doses best suited for each person.

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What is the difference between Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics?

Pharmacogenetics usually refers to how variation in one single gene influences the response to a single drug. 

Pharmacogenomics is a broader term, which studies how all of the genes (the genome) can influence responses to drugs.

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What is Pharmacogenetics testing?

Pharmacogenetics tests look for genetic variants that are associated with variable response to specific medications. These variants occur in genes that code for drug-metabolizing enzymes, drug targets, or proteins involved in immune response.

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What is genetics?

Genetics is a discipline of biology. It is the science of heredity. This includes the study of genes and the inheritance of variation and traits of living organisms. More informally, genetics is the study of how parents pass some of their characteristics to their children.

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How does genetics affect drug response?

Because of their genetic makeup, some people process (metabolize) drugs slowly. As a result, a drug may accumulate in the body, causing toxicity. Other people metabolize drugs so quickly that after they take a usual dose, drug levels in the blood never become high enough for the 

drug to be effective.

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Should genetics be considered before giving a person a drug?

There are several situations where genetic testing before starting a medication is standard of care today. When there is a well-understood drug-gene interaction, knowing the genotype before starting treatment can avoid dangerous side effects.