Genetics

Personal Genetic Health Report by Pathway Genomics

Pathway Genomics Inc., is now selling a personal Genetic Health Report which contains information on more than 70 health conditions. Things tested include prescription medication response, tendency to develop diseases, and carrier status of recessive genes. The process involves signing up to the website, gathering a sample of DNA, and an action-oriented report is generated. There is also a certified genetic counselor available for follow up questions. The genetic analysis is completed at Pathways' wholly owned onsite laboratory.

Having a personal genetic health report is designed can help a person with their lifestyle choices in order to manage health risks. Conditions like asthma , Alzheimer’s, diabetes heart disease, and cancer among others can all be tested for. People can then create a personalized health care program. Even though having a genetic marker or SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) associated with a health event, it should be realized that it won't necessarily develop.

Aside from diseases, the Pathway Genomics Genetic Health Report contains two other areas of focus: responsiveness or sensitivity to prescription medications (pharmacogenetics) and pre-pregnancy health which looks at recessive genes.

Pharmacogenetics (Prescription Medication Response)

Not all prescription medications are equally effective for all people.  In fact, some medications can trigger adverse reactions in certain individuals. Research indicates that there are 106,000 deaths and 2.2 million serious events caused by adverse drug reactions in the US each year.¹ These harmful drug reactions are responsible for 6.7% of hospital admissions² and are due to how an individual tolerates certain drugs.  For example, it’s been found that approximately 30% of the nearly five million patients taking Plavix (a drug used to protect against heart attack or stroke)³ do not metabolize the drug correctly because of genetic variation in their liver enzyme.  This genetic condition places those individuals at about a 50% higher risk of heart attack or other cardiovascular issues, such as stroke⁴.  Thus, by knowing one’s sensitivity to prescription medications like Plavix, Coumadin (a highly prescribed blood thinner), and other medications, a person can work more effectively with their doctor to determine optimal medical treatment.

• Abacavir Hypersensitivity – Ziagen – HIV/AIDS
• Caffeine Metabolism
• Carbamazepine Hypersensitivity – epilepsy/bipolar disorder
• Clopidrogel Metabolism – Plavix - antiplatelet
• Methotrexate Toxicity – antimetabolite/antifolate for cancer/autoimmune disease
• Statin Induced Myopathy – muscle pain/weakness
• Statin protection against myocardial infarction – heart attack
• Tamoxifen Response – breast cancer
• Warfarin Metabolism – Coumadin - anticoagulant

Pre-pregnancy Health

Some genes are recessive and Pathway Genomics currently checks for hundreds of mutations linked to nearly 40 recessive genetic disorders.  Even if a person does not directly experience a specific health condition, their genes may contain genetic markers that, when passed down to offspring, may trigger that condition. This is commonly referred to as carrier status and is part of Pathway Genomics’ pre-pregnancy screening. Today, the company checks for more than 300 markers and 37 carrier diseases.  If both parents are carriers of a particular genetic marker, each child of the couple has a 25 percent chance of inheriting two copies of the disease-causing variant and developing the disease. By understanding this information, couples can make more-informed family-planning decisions.  The following is an abbreviated list of conditions reported.

Pathway Genomics’ other pharmacogenetic responses include:

• Bloom syndrome
• Cystic fibrosis
• Galactosemia
• Gaucher disease
• Hemochromatosis
• Nonsyndromic hereditary hearing loss
• Polycystic kidney disease
• Pompe disease
• Tay-Sachs disease
• Beta-thalassemia

Based on press release from Pathaway.com

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