Personalized Prescribing

The Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a gene that maps a protein with the same name; it is prevalent in the human body and brain. Neurotrophins are a cluster of ‘growth factor’ proteins that signal cells to survive, mature and proliferate. They are involved in the survival, development, and proper function of brain neurons. Neurons are … Read more

And how does it help in the management of depression There are many aspects of antidepressants that makes them challenging to prescribe, the complicating aspects are: Pharmacogenomics testing is NOT a commodity or a mere transaction, is a complex SERVICE. To determine the most compatible antidepressant for a patient, the pharmacogenomics service must include: Metabolic genes (pharmacokinetics) … Read more

The Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) has awarded accreditation to Personalized Prescribing In. Laboratory (PPL), Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada based on results of a recent on-site inspection as part of the CAP’s Accreditation Programs. The facility director, Feng Zhou, PhD, was advised of this national recognition and congratulated for the excellence … Read more

The concept of bio-individuality has taken off in the world of nutrition. The idea is that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to health, and that we’re all unique in our biological makeup and requirements. A lot of bio-individuality has to do with genomics — our personal DNA. This concept goes beyond nutrition, and it’s now being … Read more

To many of you, norepinephrine may be the least recognized of neurotransmitters involved in depression/ anxiety disorders. Though it does not play a role as major as serotonin or dopamine, it still is an integral member of the family that regulates mood (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine). I’m sure most of you have heard of “fight and … Read more

For mental illness to occur, the predisposition and the trigger are necessary. For disability to occur, something else is needed. One cause is psychotropic medications. These are very challenging versus other medications and fail almost 50 per cent of the time. They also come with adverse drug reactions which can be so bad that the … Read more

Dopamine relates to depression in that a major indicator of depression is ‘anhedonia’: anhedonia refers to not only a loss of pleasure, but also a loss of motivation to repeat rewarding behaviors (i.e. Eating, seeing friends, doing well at work etc.) This generally happens, once a significant amount of emotional pressure is imposed on the … Read more

Types of serotonin Deficiencies