Hastings Center News

New in Braingenethics: What Role Should Genetic Testing Play in Psychiatric Care?

Several DNA tests claim to predict how well particular psychiatric medications are likely to work for individual patients with depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. And 23andMe just received approval to market the first direct-to-consumer pharmacogenomics report, which detects 33 variants for multiple genes that may be associated with the metabolism of psychiatric medications, though the FDA advises against physicians using the report to guide treatment decisions. So should doctors recommend any of these tests to their patients? Perspectives on the state of the science, as well as the possible risks and benefits, are among the topics explored in the current issue of Braingenethics, a newsletter produced by a collaborative project of The Hastings Center and Columbia University. Read the issue (scroll down for the “Spotlight on Pharmacogenomics”).