Neuropharmagen: Advanced Pharmacogenetics for Psychiatry
Neuropharmagen helps to identify the most suitable medication for patients with persistent depression
Depression is a highly prevalent disorder affecting approximately 4.5% the population, and representing a major public health problem. Depression is more prevalent in developed countries and 15-20% of patients experience symptoms that are resistant to treatment, despite the availability of a significant number of anti-depressive medications.
Patients with depression often experience low response and/or low tolerability to their medications. Individual patients experience differences in efficacy and development of adverse effects when given the same anti-depression medication, often due to DNA differences.
As per standard clinical practice, psychiatrists switch patients to another antidepressant medication, if no satisfactory response is achieved after an adequate trial period. This practice, in addition to disappointment of both patients and treating psychiatrists, implies waste of time and resources.
Neuropharmagen is a genetic test that provides information on patient genetic characteristics which can affect the way antidepressants work or are metabolized in the human body. Therefore, Neuropharmagen aids psychiatrists in reducing the time required to identify the most suitable antidepressant medication for their patients leading to more efficient symptom management and improved quality of life.
Which patients can benefit from Neuropharmagen?
Neuropharmagen helps identify a more effective treatment according to the patient’s genetic profile following the first therapeutic failure. Neuropharmagen proposes other treatment options and treatment adjustments for each individual patient.
Patient groups who are more likely to benefit by Neuropharmagen include:
- Children and adolescents
- Patients who receive multiple medications
- Patients who experience other non-psychiatric health issues
What are the results provided by Neuropharmagen?
Neuropharmagen is one of the few pharmacogenetic tests which has demonstrated clinical utility in psychiatry.
It facilitates doctors in choosing between different pharmacological alternatives and guides them through deciding the most appropriate dose for each patient. Moreover, it has the ability to provide information on possible adverse effects to be anticipated. Neuropharmagen is especially useful in patients with poor response to prior treatment with anti-depressants.
Neuropharmagen only requires saliva sample which is easy and convenient for the patient. Once collected, the sample is handled by Melidonia Health, the local Neuropharmagen representative in Cyprus. Within 10 business and after the sample has been collected, a results report is available for the doctor to assess via the Neuropharmagen website. Melidonia Health representatives will provide the doctor with codes to access the patient report.
The resulting report incorporates a combination of relevant pharmacogenetic information sourced by international agencies and expert groups.
