By Dr. DeLon Canterbury
Ever wonder why you may take a medication and have side effects, but a family member takes the same medication and does fine? Although your age, sex, weight, and health conditions could be factors…
The answer may be in your genes!
Regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender, nearly 99.9% of EVERYONE’s DNA is similar. For that 0.1%, there can be significant gene changes that impact how well or how poorly you tolerate a specific medication.
In other words, your DNA can affect whether you have a bad reaction to a drug, if a drug helps you, or has no effect.
Pharmacogenomics (Gene Testing / Precision Medicine) looks at how your DNA affects the way you respond to drugs. It’s the study of specific gene changes that influence whether a medication could be lifesaving for one but potentially fatal for another.
The use and study of drug-gene testing has been around for 20 years. In the beginning, most insurances did not cover it. Now, pharmacogenomics is widely available and affordable.
So why are you just hearing about Pharmacogenomics?
Sadly enough, health care still is not accessible to everyone-- even those that have the best access still may not get the best answers! As a concerned pharmacist with a passion for health equity and medication, GeriatRx can provide gene testing, identify potentially rare genetic disorders, as well as prevent you from taking ineffective and expensive medications.
It baffles me that the antibiotics, blood pressure, anxiety, and several other drugs we use daily, were best assessed for a group of people that do not truly reflect the melting pot we proudly call USA. Most modern, medicinal and pharmacological practices seen in our American health system stem from outdated, clinical studies--with an overwhelming majority of white male subjects. Yes, we “bleed the same,” but how we respond to the drugs we take regularly, can be completely different!
GenriatRx has an absolute responsibility in sharing how using genetic tests can stop harmful and fatal medications from entering your body! GenriatRx works with your provider on how to best prescribe new drugs.
Want to know what’s in your genes?
Get a personalized genetic test from an accessible and trusted pharmacist that can provide genetic testing anywhere in the country —GeriatRx.
Let GeriatRx advocate for you.
Dr. Canterbury, President/CEO of GeriatRx, Inc., is a Board-Certified Geriatric Pharmacist who focuses on the special needs of older patients that may have concurrent illnesses taking multiple medications. He is being trained as a Medicare and Medicaid specialist through the Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) and is a member of Durham North Carolina’s African American COVID Task Force.
To learn more about GeriatRx and pharmacogenomics, contact Dr. Canterbury @ cell: 404-484-5092; website: www.geriatrx.org; email: [email protected]
