Almost one-half of adolescents have experienced a mental health disorder, and while medications have the potential to be very effective for some, others might not respond or even experience adverse reactions as a result of their genetics. When it comes to treating children and teens in crisis, every second counts—and drug-gene testing can help doctors ensure they prescribe the right therapies from the start. Genetic tests for variants impacting drug metabolization have advanced tremendously and insights uncovered in youth can yield lifelong benefits by identifying which treatments will be effective for each patient. Joel Diamond, MD (University of Pittsburgh, 2bPrecise), unpacks how drug-gene testing can optimize behavioral health treatment pathways for young patients for their entire lives.

Also, Jennifer Brown, MD, PhD, covers what every doctor should know about recognizing chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), including recent treatment developments. She discusses the meeting of the International Workshop on CLL  iwCLL that she is organizing this year in Boston; iwCLL is an international, non-profit association committed to creating progress in the management and outcome of patients with CLl world-wide.

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