Understanding Pain Management and Pharmacogenomics

Pain management and pharmacogenomics is about putting patients and their doctors in charge of their own medication destiny. By genotyping for pain, doctors can easily guide the treatment strategy for the patients that are being considered or are already receiving pain medications. For example, opioids are extensively used for management for moderate to severe pain, however, the opioids effectiveness can vary greatly between individuals. This variance is generally attributed to how well the individual metabolizes the opioids, either the drug is metabolized too quickly and leaves the body before it can have a real affect, or the drug is metabolized too slowly and the patient experiences an increase in toxicity due to the drug remaining in the body.