Medication for Mental Health
Neurotransmitters are naturally occurring chemical messengers in the brain that our neurons use to interact with one another. Research continues to demonstrate the important and complex role that they play in our mental health. Often, it only takes a small dose of the right medication to create healthier levels of neurotransmitters. This can make a significant and positive impact for those struggling with anxiety disorders and other mental health issues such as depression, bipolar, OCD, PTSD, ADHD, and so on.
Seeing a Specialist
It is not unusual to hear from patients that they have tried medication before, but that it did not work. This is sometimes because medication is not the right approach for them, but too often it is because they did not have a specialist taking the time to optimize their medication.
Most patients do not realize that there are hundreds of different medications that can be used to treat mental health conditions. It can take a great deal of clinical insight to determine which medication will work best for each individual.
Working with a psychiatrist that specializes in psychopharmacology removes much of the guesswork and frustration that all too often accompany this process. Our psychiatrists have a wealth of scientific and medical knowledge related to psychiatric medications and can provide expert guidance in helping you determine the best medication for you.
Precision Psychopharmacology
We offer the option to use advanced strategies like genetic testing, which can help shed light on how your unique metabolic profile impacts the way that your brain metabolizes different medications and which medications will work best for you.
Relevant Research:
Jablonski MR, King N, Wang Y, Winner JG, Watterson LR, Gunselman S, Dechairo BM. Analytical validation of a psychiatric pharmacogenomic test. Personalized Medicine. 2018; epub ahead of print. doi: 10.2217/pme-2017-0094.
Hall-Flavin DK, Winner, JG, Allen JD, Jordan JJ, Nesheim RS, Snyder KA, Drews MS, Eisterhold LL, Biernacka JM, Mrazek DA. Using a pharmacogenomic algorithm to guide the treatment of depression. Transl Psychiatry. 2012;2:e 172.
Hall-Flavin DK, Winner JG, Allen JD, Carhart JM, Proctor B, Snyder KA, Drews MS, Eisterhold LL, Geske J, Mrazek DA. Utility of integrated pharmacogenomic testing to support the treatment of major depressive disorder in a psychiatric outpatient setting. Pharmacogenetics and Genomics. 2013;23(10):535-548.5. Winner JG, Allen JD, Altar CA, Spahic-Mihajlovic A. Psychiatric pharmacogenomics predicts health resource utilization of outpatients with anxiety and depression. Transl Psychiatry. 2013;3:e300. doi:10. 1038/tp.2013.2.
Winner JG, Carhart JM, Altar CA, Allen JD, Dechairo BM. A prospective, randomized double-blind study assessing the clinical impact of integrated pharmacogenomic testing for major depressive disorder. Discovery Med. 2013;16(89): 219-227.
Altar CA, Carhart JM, Allen JD, Hall-flavin DK, Dechairo BM, Winner JG. Clinical validity: Combinatorial pharmacogenomics predicts antidepressant responses and healthcare utilizations better than single gene phenotypes. Pharmacogenomics J. 2015;15(5):443-51.
Greden, J. et al. Combinatorial pharmacogenomics significantly improves response and remission for major depressive disorder: a double-blind, randomized control trial. Poster session presented at: American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting; 2018 May 5-9; New York, NY.
Altar C, A, Carhart J, Allen J, D, Hall-Flavin D, Winner J, Dechairo B, Clinical Utility of Combinatorial Pharmacogenomics Guided Antidepressant Therapy: Evidence from Three Clinical Studies. Mol Neuropsychiatry 2015;1:145-155
Tanner JA, Davies PE, Voudouris NC, et al. Combinatorial pharmacogenomics and improved patient outcomes in depression: Treatment by primary care physicians or psychiatrists. J Psychiatr Res. 2018;104:157-162.
Brown L, Vranjkovic O, Li J, Al Habbab T, Johnson H, Brown K, Jablonski MR, Dechairo BM. The clinical utility of combinatorial pharmacogenomic testing for patients with depression: a meta analysis. Pharmacogenomics. 2020. doi: 10.2217/pgs-2019-0157.
Winner JG, Allen JD, Altar CA, Spahic-Mihajlovic A. Psychiatric pharmacogenomics predicts health resource utilization of outpatients with anxiety and depression. Transl Psychiatry. 2013;3:e242.
Winner JG, Carhart JM, Altar CA, et al. Combinatorial pharmacogenomic guidance for psychiatric medications reduces overall pharmacy costs in a 1 year prospective evaluation. Curr Med Res Opin. 2015;31(9):1633-43.