Description
Clopidogrel (Plavix) PGx
Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet drug used in people who have had coronary stenting or a heart attack. Clopidogrel requires activation in the liver to have an effect. A number of genes are involved with this activation process and individuals with a particular genetic variant are unable to convert clopidogrel into its active form. Fifteen percent of Europeans and twenty-five percent of Maori carry this genetic variant. When treated with clopidogrel they have a three-fold risk of stent thrombosis and twice the mortality risk of those without the variant (1). This has been consistently confirmed in five independent studies.
Research performed in New Zealand in has shown that strategies can be undertaken to improve the response to clopidogrel (2,3).
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1 Mega JL, Close SL, Wiviott SD, et al. N Engl J Med 2009;360(4):354-62.
2 Gladding P, Webster M, Zeng I et al. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv 2008;1:620-627.
3 Gladding P, White H, Ormiston et al. J Am Coll Cardiol Intv 2009
