Genetic counselling provides an insight into the future of our health
You may have your mother’s eyes and your father’s nose, but what about those underlying traits that aren’t so easily spotted? By looking at our genetic variations and examining our unique genetic code, it’s possible to see how our genes will affect how we react to medication and even the likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Montreal-based BiogeniQ offers genetic counselling that provides information to help you understand how these genetic conditions can affect the health of you and your family, and provide awareness of potential disorders that may be inherited. From insight into your family history to understanding the potential implications of a genetic condition, genetic counselling can help identify whether you should undergo testing.
On May 15th, BiogeniQ launched an offer of genetic counselling for breast cancer. The initial consultation with one of their qualified counsellors will discuss various factors to determine your risk level and whether a genetic test is recommended. While most cancers are not hereditary (about five to 10 per cent are due to an inherited gene mutation), having multiple family members with cancer, or several generations that have been affected, are just two considerations for genetic testing.
It’s not just testing for risk or inherited conditions that BiogeniQ’s pioneering technology helps facilitate. Their genetic tests are able to help doctors select the drug with the best chance of success, minimizing trial and error, for various disorders and diseases. It’s a technique that is proving particularly effective for young patients with attention deficit disorder.
Without genetic testing, it can often take precious time for ADHD patients to find the medication that works for them. It’s estimated that one-third of those diagnosed with ADHD do not respond well to the first drug prescribed, and 20 per cent find the second one they try doesn’t work either. “Just think: if your child is diagnosed with ADHD in October, it might take until the new year to find the right medication — which means they might lose an entire semester,” said Étienne Crevier, founder and CEO of BiogeniQ, the first company in Canada to provide this kind of testing.
The ADHD Pharma Profile has become one of BiogeniQ’s best-selling tests. For $285, patients send a saliva sample to the company’s lab, where it is analyzed for seven genes and nine molecules. No prescription is needed for the test, which can be purchased on the BiogeniQ website or at participating clinics, and the report will be sent to your doctor in less than three weeks.
“This test removes pain and provides a lot of gain for parents,” Crevier said. “It’s an easy test, with no needles involved, and it can significantly reduce the trial and error of finding the right medication to treat ADHD.”
Your doctor can then use these results to determine which of the 13 medications currently approved in Canada has the best chance of success to effectively treat the disorder.
It’s not just ADHD patients that benefit from the futuristic science that BiogeniQ has developed. There are pharma profiles available for mental illnesses, cancer, heart health and chronic pain. This customized approach to health care — pharmacogenetics — in which BiogeniQ specializes is part of the larger, precision medicine movement. “It’s time to get away from a ‘one size fits all’ approach to medicine,” Crevier said. “And we want to empower patients, making it simple for them to obtain vital genetic information and better manage their health.”
He said many doctors simply aren’t aware of the time-saving benefits of this kind of customized genetic testing. The Quebec Network for Personalized Health Care recently canvassed 422 Quebec physicians, 90 per cent of whom suggested they would use the kind of information that pharmacogenetics provides, if they had access to it.
“Too many people still think pharmacogenetics belong to the distant future,” Crevier said. “The future is now.”
For more information, visit biogeniq.ca.