Newsletter
Therapeutic Index2025-10-13
“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.”
—John F. Kennedy
Most things in life in general, and in medicine in particular, have some beneficial (therapeutic) effects and some detrimental (toxic) effects. These effects depend on the timing and duration of the intervention, on the quantity/dose used, and on the fit to the person. SSRIs and statins, two of the most prescribed types of medications, are prime examples of this.
Oftentimes we focus on one or the other, without looking at the full picture.
Having an explicit and quantitative therapeutic index for each intervention in each person would permit better decisions to be made about which course to pursue.
Specifically, medications and nutraceuticals can affect gene expression biomarkers for various diseases in a corrective way (therapeutic), or potentially in an accentuating way (toxic). The ratio of these effects is in essence a therapeutic index. We are working on adding by the end of the year this objective information in the reports we provide with our MindX One Blood Testing. Currently, besides helping with objective assessment of what a patient currently has and future risks, the reports are providing information on the potential beneficial effects of drugs in a particular patient, which has been very useful to patients and clinicians. It leaves it up to the clinician to make an actual diagnosis and to choose medications also based on potential other (side-) effects, as clinicians know the patient and their medical history best. We will add an objective layer to aid with that in the near future, as part of our quest to always add more value to our products and offerings.
More broadly in life, some activities can lead to success but also have some addictive or other detrimental impact. In terms of longevity, some wins are good for your active longevity, but they create wear and tear on your body. Having a “therapeutic index” for activities, a success to addiction ratio, a win to wear ratio, may be very powerful. We are building that over the next year into our Life x Mind app.