Clotting is capturing attention as a frequent complication associated with COVID-19. This post reviews the basics of: how clotting happens; how it is dissolved; what problems it may cause; and how is it treated.

The Omicron appears to have become one of the most infectious viruses we ever had to contend with - the exact opposite trend of what we wanted to accomplish during the management of the pandemic, which was to dramatically decrease the transmission of the virus in the population. But no one is asking why this has happened? For this reason, we were highly interested in Dr. Bossche’s latest blog post pertaining to why the Omicron is both more infectious and milder in nature than previous variants, and how this development could be leading to the future progression of the pandemic.

In this article, we are going to look at one proposed mechanism of how vaccine mRNA could be negatively affecting immune response in certain individuals through exosomes.

This article was inspired by what we consider to be the best illustration of overall immune system functions that we have seen. More specifically, the illustration concerns the immune system reaction to a viral infection by enveloped viruses such as coronaviruses.

This post is a dramatic recounting of a mental health patient who used clinical pharmacogenetic DNA testing to improve their situation. This story has turned out to surpass our expectations in how much this individual was helped! Not only were we able to identify that a medication this person was on had an important personal use warning based on that patient’s genetics, but also another massive change took place for the benefit of this patient afterwards.

Pharmacogenetics/pharmacogenomics is the study of how our genes impact the medications we take. Each one of us is programmed by having a variety of different mutations in our genes that influence how medications are processed by our body, and this information can be collected and then examined to help determine how medications should be dosed to best match how we metabolize (break down within our body) the medications we use, or even help avoid taking medication altogether because it could be toxic to us. Here we describe how the levels of evidence for pharmacogenetics are established.

This post explains the different DNA testing options available to patients/consumers who seek to discover potential genetic causes of an already existing condition. The testing also applies to a person who wants to screen before any clinical symptoms of a condition become apparent.

There are 1 million caregivers in Alberta! That means the non-paid, non-professional people often are working, are raising children, have their own lives while taking on this additional role to help someone else live, people with disabilities, with health challenges and with aging-related needs. A lot of the caregiving role leads to emotional burnout. Caregivers Alberta was created by caregivers to support caregivers, working with clients on increasing their resiliency and their ability to bounce back from stressful situations and crises.

There were many great themes emerging from the 2020 American Society of Human Genetics conference. The biggest take home message is that medical genetics continues to grow at an enormously rapid pace, with consistently more patients all over the world having their DNA sequence decoded to help with their medical management and to help discover novel causes of the conditions affecting them - from rare diseases to more common health issues such as breast cancer or hyperlipidemia. Even really complex traits like infertility are being probed for influencing genetic factors. No condition escapes the microscope and some completely new diseases are described as well. It is becoming clear that medicine will be dramatically reshaped. Read on to find out why.

Traditionally medicines have been developed to target entire populations. However, patient’s individual biological influences can dramatically shift drug effectiveness in comparison to just the population average. For this reason medication efficacy can actually be astonishingly low for any given person - far lower than people probably realize. We now have the means to start probing this information of how to properly match medications to an individual. It is based on a person’s genetics especially the specific mutations in a person’s DNA code that can result in differences in how we biologically react to a specific medication. This is referred to as pharmacogenetics.

There are many reasons why medical clinics should considering adopting DNA testing to benefit their patients. The vast majority of doctors are already aware that DNA testing has had a huge impact in helping patients. But the problem is that many doctors are not familiar enough with this technology and how to best implement it in their practice. Here are the top benefits to consider in overcoming these barriers.

This is a second article of two dedicated to reviewing 23andMe DNA based health reports. We continue the 23andMe review with what impresses us about their process, what does not, and where should medical doctors stand when it comes to 23andMe results.

The 23andM test is currently one of the most famous DNA tests in the world and one of the most purchased ones. It was originally started to ascertain ancestry information. Now 23andMe can also offer health and wellness related information based on personalized genetic information testing. The health related portion of 23andMe tests can be divided into three components. The first one is wellness information which includes still experimental information related to weight, sleep patterns, certain dietary concerns, etc. The second and third health related components of 23andMe tests are referred to as “Health reports” and are the primary reason and focus of this two-part 23andMe review: they are the “Carrier Status” and “Genetic Health Risk” reports.

When you are planning to sequence your whole genome, decoding the sequence of your entire DNA, reproductive planning might not be on the top of your list of motivating reasons in which to do so. Many might not even appreciate that is actually one of the major benefits of genome sequencing. It allows figuring out how partners who want to have kids can match their DNA against the odds of passing on mutations to their children that could cause diseases.

Currently however, genome sequencing for health screening is still uncommon, as the technology is still fairly new and not many people can yet grasp the value behind the test. Therefore Merogenomics is very proud to have participated in what we believe to be the first example of a Canadian family to have used full genome DNA sequencing for health screening purposes. This included 5 family members spanning three generations: a young husband and wife couple, both of the husband’s biological parents and a grandmother on his father’s side.

If you or someone in your family has been diagnosed with a genetic disease then chances are you’ve already heard of genetic counselling, but many people have not. Genetic counselling is a very unique service provided in the healthcare industry. In a system that is focused on diagnosing and treating as many patients as possible, many doctors simply don’t have the time to sit down with their patients and help them understand all of the components of genetic disease and how to adapt to the changes in life that disease brings. This is where genetic counselling comes in. Being confronted with a genetic disorder can be a very overwhelming experience, and if you’ve found yourself in that position it is likely that you will have many questions.

This is part 2 of a series dedicated to discussing topics related to the steps to be taken or considered after you have sequenced your genome. Looking at your insurability and the potential legal consequences are the topic of this post.

You have the genome sequence results in your hands. You now have access to your biological code of life, the DNA code, and its current clinical interpretation. What happens next depends on why you sequenced your DNA in the first place. If it is a test to collect medical information about yourself, and if we assume that you are doing it primarily to benefit yourself, then the ultimate purpose of DNA testing for health predispositions or disease diagnosis is to persuade you to change your behaviour!

Are you a doctor who wants to adopt genomic medicine now?

Are you a doctor who has already introduced the use of DNA sequencing in your practice to assist your patients in their medical care, and want to make sure that the technology is used safely for the benefit of all patients?

Or are you a doctor who simply encounters DNA sequencing test results, and wonders about the validity of the results or the safe practice use of such results?

The following are the three most basic, but critical, steps to help you ensure safe practices, protect your patient from the harm of any test misuse, and at the same time, protect yourself and your practice from liability.

One major question one could (or should?), be asking themselves is, “what are the odds that if I sequence my genome I will find a health risk result?” Or in other words, a result that shows that a person harbours a pathogenic variant that is indicative of disease development. This is still a huge source of contention, and science is continuously pouring in to determine what mutations can truly be associated with disease, as well as how frequently such incidental findings about a threat to your health actually do occur in a population. As more humans have their genomes sequenced, some repetitive patterns begin to emerge.