HIV

Are you taking or considering medication to treat HIV?

Are you taking additional medications?

Personalized medication mangement including DNA testing is extremely important for the proper treatment of HIV because finding the right drug and dose is so vitally important. This is not surprising to people that study genetics- research shows that of all the clinical factors such as age, sex, weight, general health and liver function that alter a patient's response to drugs, genetic factors account for a significant proportion.

Over half of all medications including the majority of cancer medications are metabolized by three enzymes in the liver called CYP2D6, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19. Genelex refers to testing of these enzymes as DNA Drug Sensitivity Testing™ also known as pharmacogenetic testing. Your genes are the main factor determining the level of these enzymes in your liver- if you have too much of the enzyme, you process the medication too quickly, too little of the enzyme and the medication builds up in your bloodstream potentially causing adverse reactions or side effects. Without knowing your genetics, your physician may need to go through months of trial-and-error prescribing to find the right drug and dose for you.

Population Frequency of Cytochrome P450 (CYP) Metabolizer Types

Affected Medications

Agenerase® (amprenavir)
Rescriptor® (delavirdine)
Norvir® (ritonavir)
Viracept® (nelfinavir)

Now your healthcare provider can help optimize your response to HIV drugs and many other medications by ordering DNA testing. Your results will be entered into our personalized medication management software, GeneMedRx You or your healthcare providers can log in to see if current or future medications are predicted to cause drug-drug or drug-gene interactions so dosage and selection can be catered to your needs. You receive a 90-day subscription free with your testing; additional one year extensions are available for a nominal fee. Of course, your DNA never changes so the testing only needs to be done once in a lifetime.

Click here to view a list of drugs for which DNA testing may be helpful.

The Testing Process
The process is simple. You can order testing directly if you have a physician prescription or your healthcare provider can request testing for you. We send a cheek swab collection kit with directions by mail. Use the return mailer to submit samples and receive results in ten days or less. Faster testing is available for an additional charge. Call a DNA testing consultant at (800) 523-3080 for details and to order.

Note: Testing requires a prescription from a physician and is not currently available in New York state.