When you enter a Chemmart pharmacy, it’s hard to miss the posters and brochures promoting its “revolutionary myDNA test”. The brochure states that it’s “personalised medicine” where “your DNA results … can help guide your future health and lifestyle choices”.
Advertising on both the Chemmart and myDNA websites claims that “70% of people who take the test have a finding that could affect current or future medications”.
It’s said you should consider the test if you’re taking antidepressants, pain or reflux medication. The test also covers those who take blood thinners such as warfarin. It’s said to be particularly relevant if you have a history of not responding to common drugs, you experience side-effects from your current medication, you take multiple medications, you have children on prescribed medication, or you are pregnant or planning pregnancy.
The test identifies common variations in the genes encoding some enzymes that metabolise a number of drugs (Table...
