- Andrew Karnes
Patient
- Susan Karnes
Patient's Mother
- Shirlene Sampson, M.D.
Mayo Clinic
Psychiatrist
- Richard Weinshilboum, M.D.
Mayo Clinic
Center for Individualized Medicine
Susan Karnes, Patient's Mother: When Andrew first became ill in 4th grade, it was as if the child I'd raised had been traded for a totally different boy. But for 16 years no one had an answer for us, except to throw another medication and another diagnosis on top of the heap.
Andrew Karnes, Patient: At my lowest point I thought about suicide. I knew I couldn't live like that anymore.
Susan Karnes, Patient's Mother: So as a last resort, we went to Mayo Clinic.
GRAPHIC: Shirlene Sampson, M.D., Mayo Clinic, Psychiatrist.
Shrilene Samspon, M.D., Mayo Clinic Psychiatrist: When Mrs. Karnes told me that she had some family members who had difficulty tolerating medications, I told her that often these kinds of problems can run in families.
Susan Karnes, Patient's Mother: Doctor Samspon listened to me. I felt we were finally going to get the answer to all of these issues for so many years.
Shrilene Samspon, M.D., Mayo Clinic Psychiatrist: We did the genetic testing and found out, in fact, Andrew was not able to break down the medications the way most individuals would. Because of this, the medication level was likely higher in his system,
causing him to have more side effects and, in fact, making him ill.
Andrew Karnes, Patient: For 16 years no one knew what was wrong with me, and in two months Mayo Clinic had it figured out. And now I have my life back.
GRAPHIC: Richard Weinshilboum, M.D., Mayo Clinic, Center for Individualized Medicine
Richard Weinshilboum, M.D., Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine: The hope for the application of the technology that's come out of the genome project is in the case of Andrew. It's that it will make it possible for us to select the right drug at the right dose for every patient every time.
Susan Karnes, Patient's Mother: We are so grateful to Mayo Clinic. The fact that Mayo's research was integrated into patient care saved Andrew's life, and they saved our family's happiness.