Cytochrome Genetic Test Helps Provide Better Evidence-Based Treatments

Patients with variations in a gene called cytochrome P-450 2C19 (CYP2C19) have a 3.58 times greater risk for major adverse cardiovascular events such as death, heart attack, and stroke; the risk was greatest in CYP2C19 poor metabolizers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA; Silver Spring, MD, USA) released a safety announcement on March 12, 2010 stating that anywhere from 2% - 14% of the population are poor metabolizers of Plavix based on CYP2C19 function. These patients do not effectively convert Plavix to its active form because of low CYP2C19 activity that reduces the effectiveness of the drug as a preventative therapy for heart attacks, unstable angina, stroke, and cardiovascular death.

Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. (HDL; Richmond, VA, USA) has added CYP2C19 to its comprehensive panel of tests. "Cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) enzyme is involved in the liver's metabolism of several important drugs," said G. Russell Warnick, CSO at HDL, Inc. "Most notable of those drugs is Plavix (clopidogrel) an anti-blood-clotting medication. Clinicians considering Plavix as a possible preventative therapy for patients should first have their CYP2C19 test results."

Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. is a clinical laboratory focused on disease state management with supporting clinical laboratory testing, targeting patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), heart failure, stroke, diabetes mellitus (DM), metabolic syndrome (MS), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or fatty liver disease (NASH).

Related Links:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc.