KING OF PRUSSIA, PA.– July 18, 2016– Psychiatrist Using the Genecept Assay® Says Testing During Summer Helps Students Succeed
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects approximately 11 percent of children 4 –17 years of age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development. It has symptoms presenting in two or more settings (e.g. at home, school or work; with friends or relatives; in other activities), and negatively impacts directly on social, academic or occupational functioning.
Clinicians who specialize in ADHD say summer is an ideal time to diagnose and treat it, even though many may falsely assume the brain disorder takes this school-free season off. Clinicians who use Genomind’s Genecept Assay® (www.genomind.com), a genetic test designed to help clinicians optimize treatment decisions for their patients with ADHD, say testing young patients when they aren’t distracted by school makes sense.
Dr. Mary Burns, an Atlanta psychiatrist, says, “For a child coping with ADHD, the symptoms don’t just disappear when the last school bell of the year rings. These kids continue to have problems paying attention and controlling behavior.”
Burns, and many other clinicians, use Genecept results to look for the most effective and tolerable dosages of treatments for ADHD. “This type of test is essential because each person’s genetic code is unique. Several genes dictate how medication is processed in the body, how effective medicine may be, and whether the patient could be at risk for side effects.”
Genetic testing is easy to do during an office visit; it involves a cheek swab that clinicians then send to Genomind’s certified lab where it’s analyzed. But taking a child away from school for this test can be cumbersome, so it’s another reason Burns recommends patients undergo this process in the summer.
Burns says the end of the school year also marks a period when parents see the final report cards and realize the severity of their child’s learning issues. Too many parents feel helpless during the summer and just hope things will be different in the fall. By beginning treatment in the summer, experts say the stakes are lower as the student doesn’t have any school work that will suffer as medication begins to take effect.
Clinicians such as Burns have helped Genomind reach an important milestone— the 80,000th patient has received results from the Genecept Assay. In addition to helping with ADHD, the test is used to guide treatment for a range of psychiatric conditions, including autism, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, chronic pain and substance abuse, and has been shown in peer-reviewed published studies to improve patient outcomes and reduce overall medical costs.
Research has found 87 percent of patients demonstrated a clinically measurable improvement with treatment guided by the Genecept Assay. It also reported improvement in 91 percent of patients who had failed at least two medications in the past.
The Genecept Assay is available for use by any licensed and prescribing clinician. Patients should discuss with their clinician whether the Genecept Assay test is right for them. Patients should have their clinician contact Genomind directly to order test kits and/or to receive more information about testing.
About Genomind
Genomind is a personalized medicine company bringing innovation to mental health care through genetic testing. Genomind is comprised of pioneering researchers and thought leaders in psychiatry and neurology and specializes in pharmacogenetic laboratory testing for psychiatry. Genomind is committed to partnering with clinicians to improve their patients’ lives. Learn more at www.genomind.com.
