NHS Tayside is leading the way as the first health board in the UK to offer pioneering genetic testing as part of a new approach for stroke care.
Stroke patients in Tayside are now benefiting from this game-changing approach which starts with a simple blood test. The blood sample contains a patient’s genetic information and this can help clinicians decide which treatment will work best in preventing further strokes and also which treatments to avoid as they are less likely to help or may cause side effects.
NHS Tayside is at the vanguard of this approach called precision medicine, which moves away from one-size-fits-all prescribing to a more tailored approach with treatments customised to individual patients and their unique genetic make-up. This approach is revolutionising treatment in Tayside and it will support improved outcomes for around 600 stroke patients and 400 patients with heart disease, each year.
Consultant Stroke Physician, Dr Alex Doney explains the new treatment, “Genetic testing to ensure a particular treatment is safe and effective has actually been around for many years. Matching a patient’s blood group ahead of an operation is a very well established example of using genetic information to select the most appropriate treatment which is something the public will be familiar with.
“What we are doing here in Tayside now in the treatment of stroke involves a drug called Clopidogrel which is a widely prescribed medicine which prevents further blood clots from forming. Studies have identified that up to 25% of patients will not receive the same benefit from this medication in the first months after a stroke due to the way their body processes it.This means they are at greater risk of further strokes. The information contained in the genes can indicate if a patient is in the 25% group and, if so, doctors can select an alternative medication for the them.
“NHS Tayside’s genetic testing of stroke patients through a simple blood test is the first step towards translating clinical research into much wider use of genetic information in everyday healthcare which will help make routinely prescribed medicines more safe and effective for individual patients.”
One of the first patients in Tayside to be managed on the new stroke pathway is 67-year-old Ian Anderson from Perth.
Mr Anderson is now recovering at home but was keen to share his experience, “I felt privileged to be one of the first patients in Tayside to be involved in this new approach. It really is a step into the future and one that will benefit patients in the coming months and years. It is quite amazing that a simple blood test can show if my medication is working as effectively as possible and it is reassuring that my medication can be tailored more precisely to me.”
Professor Grant Archibald, NHS Tayside Chief Executive heralded the pioneering work saying, “All the members of our acute stroke team in Tayside have worked so hard to bring this new approach to patients across the area.
“It is a perfect example of a whole team of nurses, doctors, pharmacists, scientists and researchers working together to deliver an approach to stroke care which will improve outcomes and provide a truly unique treatment for patients.
“It is a very impressive development in stroke care and one which places Tayside teams right at the vanguard.”