Hospital da Luz Lisboa has now available a consultation of Precision Medicine , resorting to innovating tools that help to identify, for each person, the most adequate medication and correct dosage. In this new consultation, coordinated by internist and specialist in Clinical Pharmacology, Natália Marto , a clinical profile is elaborated resorting to pharmacogenetic testing , with the purpose of adjusting medication, for instance, or to find alternatives to medication that is proving to be ineffective or causing adverse reactions. The response of the body to medication prescribed by the doctor also depends on the individual, genetic and environmental characteristics. Therefore, when defining a treatment, it is important to take those individual characteristics into account, and not merely the response to the medication that is known in the general population suffering from the disease in question. The genetic tests – laboratory exams that analyse genetic material – are one of the resources used to obtain a more precise knowledge. The Precision Medicine consultation: Is primarily destined to patients being followed-up in oncology, cardiology, neurology and psychiatry, or suffering from chronic pain; It is also designed for polymedicated patients or belonging to specific groups, namely elderly, pregnant women and renal patients; It is recommended for people that don’t respond as expected to a pharmacologic treatment, that is known to have genetic influence, in order to define possible alternatives; It can be scheduled by the initiative of the patient or by a specialist indication. The pharmacogenetic tests: At Hospital da Luz Lisboa, they can only be prescribed in the Precision Medicine consultation. This is the only way to ensure that a genetic test is the right option for the client and that the prescribed test is the most appropriate one. Furthermore, the results should be interpreted in the context of the health history and life habits of the person in question, something that only a specialized physician can do; Are genetic tests that allow to identify in the genome of an individual, the occurrence of genes and / or mutations / alterations in the genes which affect the response to medication. MyPharmaGenes , from HeartGenetics , is the genetic test performed in this hospital through the Precision Medicine Consultation ; Can also be used for future reference, since they allow to identify those medications that are not effective or having the potential to be less effective or generating adverse reactions; Use a saliva / oral epithelium sample , obtained through oral swabbing, in the consultation of Precision Medicine; Do not have to be repeated: the results are the same all lifelong for the genes tested. Schedule your appointment of Precision Medicine Consultation via MY LUZ or by phone 217 104 400.
