When it comes to treating epilepsy, each patient needs a custom tailored regimen because the difference between a therapeutic dose and a toxic one is very small. A recent Medgadget article discussed a new breath test that can quickly determine the optimal drug treatment approach for each patient. The test was developed by researchers at Switzerland’s University of Basel, and it helps outline metabolic hallmarks to help clinicians determine the efficacy of a medication.
The test’s technology is based on a system that measures breath metabolites in real time without the need for laboratory analysis. Not only does the test provide information about drug levels in the body, it also covers how the patient is responding to the therapy. The device has a way to go before it is clinically viable, but the team is working to advance the novel technology.
