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Genetic Testing Adverse Drug Reaction Prediction Read Psychiatric Times Article June 2005 - Advances in Pharmacogenomics Reduce Side Effects and Save Lives Click Here News story just released on the Drug Reaction Test as well, January 25, 2005. Click here to read. (Opens new Browser window) The adverse drug reactions can be stopped or predicted. December 24, 2004 - "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today cleared for marketing the first laboratory test system that will allow physicians to consider unique genetic information from patients in selecting medications and doses of medications for a wide variety of common conditions such as cardiac disease, psychiatric disease, and cancer." “Physicians can use the genetic information from this test to prevent harmful drug interactions and to assure drugs are used optimally, which in some cases will enable patients to avoid less effective or potentially harmful treatment choices,” said Dr. Lester M. Crawford, Acting FDA Commissioner. Eli Lilly settled a Prozac case in 2002, Cassidy vs. Eli Lilly. The court documents which contain final settlement amounts and the reason Eli Lilly would settle are not available to the public. You have to understand, Eli Lilly does not just settle a Prozac case willingly. There must be damage beyond scope of what Eli Lilly would like to be known public for them to settle a Prozac case. The attorney in this Prozac case was Andy Vickery. About one week before the Cassidy case went to trial, I had the opportunity to meet with both Cassidy and Vickery. Part of the discussion was about genetic testing and Prozac. How a simple blood test can prove scientifically that a person would have adverse drug reactions. The guess work or subjective guessing of: if a person really could have a headache or feel a certain way is removed. Vickery settled the case of Cassidy vs Eli Lilly and directly filed two additional lawsuits within a short period of time and Vickery stated regarding one of these two cases, "This is the first case involving Lilly that we have hard scientific proof that our client had a hard time metabolizing Prozac." Genetic testing would have predicted the toxic build up and the physician hopefully would not have prescribed an antidepressant. How has Eli Lilly changed their operating basis after the Cassidy settlement and having two other cases filed directly related to the metabolism issue? When Eli Lilly launched their new ADHD medication Strattera, their description of Strattera in the Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR) says it all. A total of 17 times in the PDR description of Strattera, metabolism as an indicator of adverse drug reaction is mentioned. For the first time ever in a PDR description this is done. For the first time ever in a PDR description of a medication it is stated there is a blood test that can determine if a persons metabolism will accept the medication correctly. It is apparent Eli Lilly is now openly disclosing why and how they had to settle the Cassidy - Prozac suit and why and how they are being sued in the other two Prozac cases. When Eli Lilly states in the PDR regarding Strattera, "has a half life of about 5 hours." If you are a poor metabolizer, Lilly states, "plasma half life of about 24 hours." If a person were to use the recommended dosage of Strattera and be a poor metabolizer, the toxic buildup would be astounding. Lilly goes on to state in the PDR, "Drugs that inhibit CYP2D6 (enzyme which can be tested), such as fluoxetine, paroxetine, quindine, cause similar increases in exposure. What percentage of populations are poor metabolizers? Per Eli Lilly, about 7% of Caucasians and 2% of African Americans. However, these percentages can be used to play down the percentage of population that will have an adverse drug reaction. When Eli Lilly wrote their description of Strattera they classified people with normal metabolism activity but for their testing used extensive metabolizers. The highest percentage of all population which fall in a metabolism classification are non-functional. 35% of the population have a non-functional CYP2D6. These people simply do not metabolize. The answer of why some people can take medication and not experience side effects has now been answered. Why some people can take one aspirin and get relief while others must take two or three to experience the same relief is answered. The real life uses for DNA testing is here and now. More than just crime scene investigations and more than just paternity suit cases, we can now predict if a person will have an adverse reaction to specific medication. Before you give your child psychiatric medication, before you give yourself psychiatric medication, we strongly urge you to have a simple blood test done and receive a metabolism test. It can mean life or death or at the very least, life with or without side effects. Most e-mails received from this Web Site, people state, "if they would have known the side effects they would develop from taking their drug, they never would have taken it." Something can be done. If you are taking a medication currently and are experiencing extreme side effects, you might want to consider a test for yourself. The test cost $250, plus you will need to pay for the blood draw. Insurance is beginning to cover this test.
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