FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do I need a prescription to order any of these tests?
Most tests, but not all, require you to have a previous medical consultation. Please contact us and we will be glad to let you know if the test you are interested requires a prescription and if so, we can put you in contact with the closest heath practitioner in your area.
Are these tests services covered by health insurance?
All testing must be prepaid, but some insurance companies will reimburse some of the tests. When you order testing be sure to ask for an invoice with appropriate codes to submit to your insurance company. Please contact us and we will be glad to check if your insurance provider offers this coverage.
Are gene variations always bad?
No, not at all. Most of the time, gene variations have no effect on our body systems or our health, and in certain cases these variations can even be beneficial. However, sometimes a variation can make the gene send a slightly 'wrongly worded' message to the cell. Upon receiving this wrongly coded message, the cell will manufacture a product - such as an enzyme - that doesn't work exactly as it should; the variant enzyme may, for example, work faster or more slowly than is best for the body. Combined with an unhealthy diet or lifestyle, such a gene variation may make a person more susceptible to developing illnesses.
If I have variations in my genes, can these be corrected?
Genes are found in every cell of the body. Therefore, for the correction to be effective, scientists must find a way to reach every single cell. This is an enormous challenge for gene therapy, an experimental procedure that is attempted only in serious genetic diseases caused by a single defective gene, such as cystic fibrosis. In contrast, the variations screened for by GenoSolutions are fairly common in the general population, and their presence does not mean you will definitely become ill. GenoSolutions is involved in researching gene therapy, but it does not currently offer any clinical application of this research. Currently, we provide advice that takes into account the presence of genetic variations. Our service allows you to maintain good health by following dietary and lifestyle advice tailored to your unique genetic profile.
Can GenoSolutions tell me if I will develop a serious inherited illness, such as Huntington's disease?
No, we don't screen for inherited disorders that are not affected by diet and lifestyle, such as Huntington's disease. These disorders, known as single-gene diseases because they are caused by a defect in only one gene, are relatively rare. People with a family history of such an illness are likely to be already receiving counseling and support within the health service system. Our screen is relevant only for the much more common 'complex' diseases such as heart disease and cancer. In most cases these diseases are not linked to one specific gene; rather, your risk of developing them is part of a complicated equation that involves numerous genes and lifestyle factors. While we cannot promise that if you take our advice you will never become ill, we provide you with a prevention mechanism for your health, allowing you to make informed choices about your diet and lifestyle that give you a better chance of staying healthy.
Will GenoSolutions be able to tell me whether I am ill?
No, we can only determine what type of genes people have and how they relate to certain metabolic factors involved in well-being.
Will GenoSolutions decode my complete genome?
Decoding a complete genome is a massive task. The Human Genome Project has mapped and deciphered the complete genomes of only a few individuals, and this has taken many years of work and an international network of research centers to accomplish. We are lucky to be able to benefit from what has been discovered in this complex and exciting project, and GenoSolutions can deliver some of the benefits directly to customers like you in a simple, rapid and economical service. We examine only a relatively limited number of specific sections of the whole genome - sections known to code for metabolic enzymes that are crucial to long-term health and well-being.
Will anyone outside GenoSolutions have access to my DNA results or questionnaire?
No, both your DNA results and your questionnaire will be kept strictly confidential. GenoSolutions takes the utmost care to safeguard your privacy, and personally identifiable information will never be disclosed. In particular, we do not provide information to insurance companies. Once you put the coded label on your DNA sample, your DNA is identifiable only by that label and even members of our lab staff do not know to whom the sample belongs. When the analysis has been completed, the sample is physically destroyed. We do, however, keep your contact information separately in our databases for further communication with you. Please note that if a practitioner has ordered the test on your behalf, the results will be sent to that practitioner.
How has DNA Prescription Drug Reaction Testing or pharmacogenetic testing been used up to this point?
Pharmaceutical companies regularly use these tests in clinical trials, to exclude people from the trials. Medical centers around the world are also beginning to use these tests on their own patients to avoid adverse drug reactions and achieve more accurate prescribing.
What is pharmacogenetics?
Pharmacogenetics is the study of how individual people respond to medicines based on their genetic makeup. When you take a drug or are exposed to an environmental toxin, enzymes in your liver, intestines and other tissues go to work to breakdown that drug so that it can be excreted. Your genes provide the instructions for making these enzymes, several of which may be involved in the breakdown and excretion of any particular drug. Your specific genetic makeup determines how these enzymes interact and whether they work faster or slower than average.
How are drugs processed by the body?
Drugs act on target sites in body tissues to cause a therapeutic effect. They are removed from the body by being converted into an inactive form. The P-450 family of drug metabolizing enzymes inactivates most prescription drugs. The most important and most thoroughly studied of these enzymes are CYP2D6 and CYP2C9. More than half of the population has at least one defect in these enzymes that can greatly increase the risk of an adverse drug reaction.
What are adverse drug reactions?
Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) depend on the type of drug or combination of drugs being taken. They have many causes and are often not well understood. Many ADRs occur because individual differences in drug metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) and other parts of the processing systems have not been taken into account when the drug was approved or prescribed. Three-fourths of all ADRs are dose-dependent, with many occurring at standard manufacturer-recommended doses. A 1998 medical report found adverse drug reactions to be the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., at more than 100,000 annually.
How are patients currently managed on warfarin therapy?
Coumadin (warfarin) is the most commonly prescribed anticoagulant for the treatment and prevention of thromboembolic events. The dose of warfarin required to maintain a safe degree of anticoagulation ranges from 2 mg/day or lower for some individuals to 10 mg per day or higher for others. Patients who are not taking the dose that is right for them are at an increased risk for severe toxicity or an inadequate response.
Currently, clinicians anticipate maintenance dose requirements based on the patients physical characteristics such as age, gender and weight and monitor the therapeutic effects closely. However these physical characteristics do not account for the major sources of variation in dose requirement. Therefore the clinician must adjust the warfarin dosage, this can be a lengthy trial and error process where the patient is at increased risk until the most appropriate dosage for that patient is determined.
How does an individual’s genetic make-up affect how much warfarin should be administered?
In addition to the physical characteristics mentioned above, functional characteristics also influence the most appropriate dose of warfarin. The major functional characteristics which influence the warfarin dose are how rapidly the individual metabolizes warfarin and how much warfarin is required in the body to inhibit to formation of clotting factors. These characteristics cannot be assessed without specific diagnostic testing.
The active component of warfarin is metabolized by cytochrome P450 2C9 (CYP2C9). Up to 35% of the population inherits a form of the CYP2C9 gene which results in a CYP2C9 enzyme deficiency. A deficiency in CYP2C9 causes slow metabolism and higher than expected concentrations of the active drug to accumulate. This increased warfarin concentration in the body increases the risk of bleeding.
Warfarin inhibits the formation of active clotting factors by inhibition of vitamin K epoxide reductase complex subunit 1 (VKORC1). Inherited differences in VKORC1 increase or decrease the amount of warfarin needed to inhibit the formation of the clotting factors. When the amount of warfarin exceeds what is needed, the risk of bleeding is increased.
