Revolutionary improvements in psychiatric healthcare made possible through genetic tests

Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/12/2014 -- It's an established fact now that patients who do not benefit from usual psychiatric treatments or who experience unfavorable psychiatric medication side effects can respond better to treatments when psychiatric genetic testing is performed. The Los Angeles-based West Coast Life Center is a reputable name in psychiatric care and, when necessary, uses genetic testing to better personalize treatment according to the biology of their patients.

Center director Dr. Kira Stein, MD and psychiatrist Dr. Christine Tylka, MD, have been performing tests on patients in order to use genetic information to make more precise psychiatric medication choices and doses. The test procedure is rather simple. The patient is either given a plastic tube into which he/she puts a small measure of saliva, or a swab to brush the side of the mouth. The sample is then sent to a genetic laboratory for analysis. The results then come back in approximately two weeks. The information received can help doctors understand how a particular patient's the brain works and how his/her body processes specific medications.

Why genetic tests?

Many depression patients have a gene that inhibits the alteration of dietary folate to Methylfolate, which in turn affects adversely the production of vital chemical messengers in the brain, including dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Insufficient amounts of these can limit the performance of psychiatric medications.

Other genetic tests can tell how quickly a patient's liver enzymes digest specific medications, which help doctors tailor medication doses to a patient's specific biochemistry. This can be helpful in patients who need medications to treat mood, anxiety, ADHD, or other emotional disorders.

Mental conditions like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are treated with antipsychotic medicines. Testing can help guide whether or not a specific patient is more or less at risk of developing diabetes, high cholesterol, and weight gain in response to the antipsychotic medication.

In short, genetic testing results can clarify the genetic constitution of a patient, and make it easier for doctors to prescribe the right medicine in right doses, to minimize side-effects and maximize therapeutic efficacy.

"Psychiatry is going through an exciting phase right now," said Dr. Stein, "as genetic testing can help us guide patients toward better treatments sooner."

For more info on West Coast Life center and its genetic testing procedure, click here http://westcoastlifecenter.com/ or call 818-990-5901.

About West Coast Life Center
West Coast Life Center, http://westcoastlifecenter.com/ is a California based wellness center. West Coast Life Center has been providing compassionate psychiatric care to a wide base of patients.

Media Contact
West Coast Life Center
Chauna Myles
818-990-5901
http://westcoastlifecenter.com/

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/12/2014 -- Kira Stein, MD, West Coast Life Center director, is passionate about her vocation: helping people achieve and maintain wholesome mental health and equilibrium. And truly enough, the physician's love for psychology, psychotherapy and the judicious use of medication is apparent in every bend, turn and corner of the clinic. West Coast Life Center is one of those rare-to-find centers, which promotes dynamic psychiatric care and uses treatments that are evidence-based, progressive and integrative to improve the emotional wellbeing of patients. It is further pleased to announce an ever-expanding range of cutting-edge treatments for bringing mental wellness to people with increased accuracy.

Dr. Stein and her team have been individualizing treatment in the clinic through technical care and innovative medication management for quite some time now, and kudos to them for welcoming on board the newer, integrative approaches with such efficacy. For insomnia treatment for instance, apart from CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and sleep medication, there is the non-drug option of cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) which involves the employment of micro-currents to stimulate the alpha rhythm in the brain. Again, depression treatment options in the clinic are not restricted to the prescription of antidepressant medication merely, but rather expanded to include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), CES, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) as well, the latter being one of the most recent FDA approved procedures to stimulate neurons in the brain and release chemicals through the application of magnetic pulses across specific areas.

West Coast Life Center also conducts genetic testing to guide the prescription of psychiatric medication based on patient's specific biological constitution to minimize side effects and maximize therapeutic efficacy. Led under the guidance of Dr. Stein, the care team constitutes psychiatric experts who approach mental/emotional health holistically and individualize treatment through varied techniques, including mindfulness meditation, bright light therapy, talk therapy, nutritional/medication management and non-invasive brain stimulation.

To quote Dr. Stein, "I thoroughly enjoy both the science of medicine and the application of psychotherapy – both effective tools that can be used independently or in combination to achieve emotional wellness."

For more info on West Coast Life Center and its progressive and compassionate mental care, click here http://westcoastlifecenter.com/ or call 818-990-5901.

About West Coast Life Center
West Coast Life Center, http://westcoastlifecenter.com/ is a California based emotional wellness boutique. West Coast Life Center integrates cutting-edge technology with compassionate psychiatric care for effective treatment.

Media Contact:

West Coast Life Center
Chauna Myles
818-990-5901
http://westcoastlifecenter.com/

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/11/2014 -- Both adult men and women with common mental issues like mood disorders, anxiety disorders, insomnia, ADHD, personality etc. often find it hard to find a treatment facility that looks at the problem in a holistic manner rather than taking on a symptomatic treatment approach. When signs return following symptomatic care, patients as well as their families slip into further depression making the problem worse.

For years now, research has been employed to devise treatments that can sustain results for long term mental health. And, an institute that is dedicated to this pursuit is the West Coast Life Center in Los Angeles, California.

The West Coast Life Center, under the leadership of care specialist, Kira Stein MD, APC has introduced a comprehensive wellness program where the focus is to help patients with their issues by adopting a holistic approach that involves considering every little detail of the patient's health – from behavioral and medical history to genetic and family backgrounds – in order to design a treatment program that is highly individualized and therefore, effective.

Some of the most popular techniques used by this treatment center include, talk therapy, mindfulness meditation, bright light therapy, nutritional and medication management, psychiatric medication, as well as non-invasive brain stimulation. All these techniques create a comfortable environment for the patient, facilitating the healing process.

Emphasizing on this care philosophy, Dr. Kira Stein in a recent interview said "In addition to keeping up-to-date on cutting-edge treatments, our professionals are diligent and thorough, and we work hard to provide patients with comprehensive care. We are interested in our patients' day-to-day experiences and backgrounds, their families, communities and cultures of origin — all of which enhance our abilities to be an empathic and effective."

About West coast life center
West Coast Life Center works closely with patients by rendering treatment coupled with support every step of the way. It is not a 12 step program where a common treatment plan is used for every patient, but a highly customized and personalized care regime that ensures that each patient's needs are given top priority.

Dr. Kira Stein -- the force behind this unique program -- is a doctor with years of experience and expertise in helping men and women achieve mental health and balance. Last year, Dr. Stein added associate Dr. Christine Tylka to her practice in order to give even more people access to the excellent, comprehensive and integrative care provided by the West Coast Life Center. Through their passion and intense understanding of psychotherapy and their expertise in the field of behavioral medicine, Drs. Stein and Tylka have helped countless patients and their families attain amazing results. To know more about the approaches used and to get in touch with a representative, log onto http://westcoastlifecenter.com/

Media Contact

West Coast Life Center
818-990-5901
http://westcoastlifecenter.com/

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Tailoring Psychiatric Treatment To Your Specific Biology By Kira Stein MD & Christine Tylka, MD, The West Coast Life Center, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/11/2014 -- When patients are frustrated when a prescription causes psychiatric medication side effects or fails to work, experts commonly explain to clients, that "we all process medications differently." Doctors often ask patients if family members are on medications, not because they are nosy, but because they know that -- based on genetics --if one medication works well for one close family member, it is more likely to work and be tolerated by another. Now, science is getting closer to learning which medications might be tolerated or more effective with psychiatric genetic testing.

A Los Angeles-based integrative psychiatry group, The West Coast Life Center,uses a genetic test that involves putting a small amount of saliva (about a spoonful) into a plastic tube. The expert then sends the sample off for analysis and results are returned within about two weeks. While such tests do not diagnose a condition or illness, it does give helpful information about the way the brain works and how the body processes medication.

Genes are a two-pronged code of DNA that has one prong inherited from the father, and the other inherited from the mother. Small pieces of DNA actually provide the body with instructions on how to make various proteins. Proteins that affect mental health include enzymes that exist in the digestive system and blood stream, transporter proteins that pump chemical messengers into the areas between brain cells (synapses), and protein receptors that bind to chemical messengers, resulting in changes in signaling that effect mood, thought, and behavior.

It may be surprising to learn that may people have inherited genes that either accelerate or slow the liver's ability to break down certain medications.This can lead to lower or higher-than-expected medication levels, and lead patients to have lower response rates or higher risks of side effects, even at normal dosages. Getting more information about a patient's specific ability to metabolize a medication can help doctors figure out how to choose and dose medications more effectively and determine which medications, and which doses, may be more tolerable for a client. This can be invaluable for patients who tend to struggle with psychiatric medication side effects.

Many people at risk for depression have inherited a gene that results in inefficient conversion of dietary folate into methyl-folate, which is a precursor to chemical messengers that are vital to mental health and cognition: serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Insufficient levels of these neurochemicals make it harder for many psychiatric medications to do their jobs.

These are but a sampling of the genetic tests available in psychiatry. There are other genetic tests that can be used to examine a specific individual's biochemistry to further minimize psychiatric medication side effects and maximize various therapies.

Genetic Testing is paving the way for more effective and tolerable medication treatment. This is an exciting time in psychiatry. Now it is possible to go beyond the clinical interview and tailor a patient's treatment not only to their symptoms, but specifically to their individual body chemistry.

About West Coast Life Center
West Coast Life Center, http://westcoastlifecenter.com/ is a California based emotional wellness boutique. West Coast Life Center integrates cutting-edge technology with compassionate psychiatric care for effective treatment.

Media Contact:

West Coast Life Center
Chauna Myles
818-990-5901
http://westcoastlifecenter.com/

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm