First Bedside Gene Test Shows Promise

Study found it spotted which heart patients should not take blood thinner Plavix

March 29, 2012 RSS Feed Print

Commenting on the study, Dr. Amber Beitelshees, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and author of an accompanying journal editorial, said that "for the first time, a point-of-care genetic test has been developed which can be used to rapidly screen individuals who carry a particular gene and may benefit from an anti-platelet drug other than Plavix."

Beitelshees added that "this is important because rapid genotyping is necessary in order for genotype-guided therapy to be incorporated into clinical care of patients undergoing coronary interventions outside of clinical trials."

However, another expert thinks much more needs to be shown about the value of this test before it can start to be widely used.

Dr. Gregg Fonarow, director of the Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center and co-director of the UCLA Preventative Cardiology Program in Los Angeles, said that "there has been great interest in using genetic testing information to guide selection of medications and dosing, yet to date there has been little evidence that this testing can improve clinical outcomes."

However, Fonarow continued, "as neither genetic testing for variant CYP2C19 or platelet-function testing has been demonstrated to improve clinical outcomes and routine use of these tests are not currently recommended, further studies demonstrating any clinical utility, if any, are needed."

More information

For more on angioplasty, visit the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.