Publication Date

Summer 2017

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Jill Maples (Director), Scott Lyons, and Christina Noel

Degree Program

School of Kinesiology, Recreation & Sport

Degree Type

Master of Science

Abstract

Pharmacogenetics is the study of genomic-guided individualized drug prescription that plays an important role in preventing the severe adverse effects of drugs, decreasing the time and cost of therapeutic choices, and directing healthcare professionals to choose medications that are effective and safe. It is noteworthy that this approach becomes highly beneficial in patients suffering from chronic diseases or disorders, since these conditions may require multiple and long term pharmacological therapies, as in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, public acceptance is a major challenge when implementation of pharmacogenetics merges into clinical practice. The purpose of this study is a) to investigate, among small cohort group of children with ASD, several genetic variants of enzymes that influence the metabolism of commonly prescribed drugs to treat ASD and b) to inspect the knowledge of, attitude towards and future expectations with regards to pharmacogenetics among parents of children with ASD. A group of 15 school-aged participants with ASD were recruited for the study. Approximately 5 ml of venous blood was drawn for each participant to analyze the genotype of enzymes implicated in drug metabolism via pharmacogenetics testing. Thereafter, the parents of these children attended a training session to help them gain a better understanding of the pharmacogenetics results depicted in the drug panel results. A pre-training and post-training survey was conducted to assess the knowledge of, attitude towards and future expectations of pharmacogenetics among the children’s parents.

Disciplines

Medical Genetics | Medical Pharmacology | Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

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