A new test + some DNA could reveal whether people are at risk for an opioid addiction. AvertD, a genetic test recently approved by the FDA, uses a snippet of your DNA, and aims to pinpoint your genetic vulnerability to opioid use disorder, reports National Geographic. There is still some way to go before this test can be reliably used to pick out those more at risk, but the FDA said in a statement that innovative measures are needed to “prevent, diagnose and treat opioid use disorder” which includes evaluating an individual's susceptibility to addiction.

How does polygenic risk testing work? This revolutionary approach in genetics traces back its roots to the groundbreaking work of geneticists who initially focused on testing single genes. However, the true breakthrough occurred in 2008 when cardiologist and geneticist Sekar Kathiresan’s team successfully combined the effects of numerous genes to assess an individual’s risk. This discovery not only enhanced the identification of people at risk of heart disease — but also opened avenues for exploring broader applications of polygenic risk assessment.

Then what? Doctors can factor AvertD test scores into their patients’ treatments. For example, if one is identified as having an above-average risk of opioid addiction, they can approach pain management differently and engage in educational conversations on the risks. However, the medical community is still grappling with the challenge of effectively implementing non-opioid pain management practices.

Not everyone’s convinced. Genetics are definitely a factor in understanding addiction, says psychiatric geneticist Arpana Agrawal, but we don’t know enough to use DNA alone to predict the risk of addiction. Other experts expressed similar concern but don’t deny that polygenic tests are promising risk tests in general, including for other diseases such as Type 2 diabetes.

There are some kinks to work out before polygenic risk scores can be taken as fact. Psychiatric condition or not, there is a lot of overlap in genetic material making it hard to identify differences. This could indicate either the need for more research or that genetic differences are not significant enough in these cases. Also, most genetic studies are based on white Europeans making it hard to apply to diverse populations, and even if that wasn’t the case, the test doesn’t account for environmental factors that play a role in developing disorders.

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