Prescient Medicine created a genetic test to assess individual risk of opioid addiction, according to a study published in Annals of Clinical & Laboratory Science.
Researchers developed the test after identifying 16 genetic mutations as possible markers of opioid addiction risk. The team located the markers while examining the reward pathways of 37 patients with prescription opioid or heroin addiction and comparing them to 30 non-addicted counterparts.
For the next portion of the study, researchers assessed the test's efficacy on 138 patient. The test was able to predict with a 97 percent accuracy rate when the individual had a low chance of becoming addicted to opioids.
"This negative likelihood ratio can be used as an evidence-based measure to exclude patients with a high risk of opioid addiction or substance use disorder," concluded the study's authors. "By identifying patients with a lower risk for opioid addiction, our model may inform therapeutic decisions."
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