In 2025, I was presented with two wonderful opportunities to chat with fellow colleagues on their podcasts. First up, fellow pharmacist Saba Arshad and her Transform 360 Podcast. We spoke a little about my career as a genetic counselor, pharmacist and entrepreneur. Saba and I also dove briefly into MTHFR and how it has been […]
Jeri
Day 12 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 12 of 12 Education: MTHFR. What did you say? Is that some new abbreviated way of cursing? No, but it sometimes feels like it. As a genetic counselor who had to start dealing with all the MTHFR variants showing up in prenatal clinic 25 years ago, I developed a real love/hate relationship with this […]
Day 11 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 11 of 12 Education: It is estimated that 1 in 5 adults in the US are dealing with mental illness. There is a myriad of medications on the market to treat depression, anxiety, bipolar and other mental health conditions. How does a prescriber decide what to try? Multiple aspects are considered, such as the […]
Day 10 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 10 of 12 Education: Fatty acids are important building blocks for the human body. They are essential to the structure and integrity of cell membranes and are involved in other processes such as inflammation, immune responses and the production of hormones. As an aside, I remember while in pharmacy school I mentioned fatty acids […]
Day 9 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 9 of 12 Education: Dextromethorphan also known as the “DM” found in many cough and cold products is metabolized and inactivated in the body by an enzyme called CYP2D6. The normal “half-life” or time it takes for the level of DM in a person’s body to be reduced by half is 2 to 4 […]
Day 8 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 8 of 12 Education: Do you experience any of the following: migraines, stomach issues, dizziness, flushing, itching, anxiety, fatigue, sinus issues? Your body may be prone to histamine overload. This isn’t an issue of “allergies”. Rather, it is an issue that your body has difficulty breaking down and clearing histamine. A nutrigenomics test can […]
Day 7 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 7 of 12 Education: It is estimated that cancer will affect 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men during their lifetime. Breast and colon are two very common cancers. Both types of cancer are often treated with a drug called a “fluoropyrimidine” such as capecitabine (Xeloda) and 5-fluorouracil that disrupts DNA and […]
Day 6 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 6 of 12 Education: Hypothyroidism, also known as low thyroid function, affects about 10% of the population in the United States. Standard treatment is replacement of the T4 (thyroxine) hormone using levothyroxine (Synthroid). T4 must be converted to a thyroid hormone called T3 (triiodothyronine). This is accomplished by an enzyme called DIO2. Some individuals […]
Day 5 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 5 of 12 Education: PPIs, also known as proton pump inhibitors, are one of the most widely used medications on the market. PPIs are available over the counter and by prescription. They include omeprazole (Prilosec), esomeprazole (Nexium), pantoprazole (Protonix), lansoprazole (Prevacid), rabeprazole (AcipHex), dexlansoprazole (Dexilant). Several PPIs are metabolized by CYP2C19. If you are […]
Day 4 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 4 of 12 Education: Nutrigenomic testing looks at more than a dozen genes involved in production, utilization and processing of hormones in the body. Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) will often have variants in several of these genes, including ESR2, CYP17A1 and CYP19A1. Knowledge about these variants can assist in lifestyle modifications to […]