Large Genomic Study to Explore Ways to Manage the Opioid Drug Crisis

A University of Michigan research group is using genomics to extract clues about how to contain the opioid crisis. The details were included in a recent article about the effort (see:U-M Precision Health Effort Looking Beyond Genomics in Researching Opioid Crisis). An excerpt from it is presented below:The University of Michigan's Genomics Initiative last week recruited the 50,000th patient who will contribute a biological sample for genomic analysis and phenotypic data to a growing repository for longitudinal research....The initiative's first project will investigate the many characteristics, including genomics, that can contribute to a person's ability to respond to opioids, make them more likely to abuse these drugs, or become addicted to them.....Today, more than 90 Americans die daily from overdosing on opioids, which include prescription pain relievers and heroin. The management of this crisis is a nationwide priority, but more so in states like Michigan, where it has had a significant toll....Within the University of Michigan effort, researchers will initially study and compare the genetic and phenotypic characteristics of those using and not using opioids among the 50,000 patients who have donated their blood samples to the Genomics Initiative. Within the opioid project,...researchers will to explore these types of associations by looking at, for example, the genetic, environmental, and societal factors that play into how many pills patients take after su...

Source: Lab Soft News - October 19, 2017 Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Bruce Friedman Tags: Clinical Lab Industry News Clinical Lab Testing Lab Industry Trends Medical Research Pharmaceutical Industry Preventive Medicine Source Type: blogs