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Bridget M. Kuehn

JAMA. 2008;299(4):399.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A genetic test should be used to identify patients of Asian ancestry who may be at a higher risk of rare but serious skin reactions when taking medications containing carbamazepine, according to updated product labeling announced by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Carbamazepine, which is used in the treatment of epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and neuropathic pain, has been associated with severe and sometimes life-threatening skin conditions such as toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome. The risk of such reactions in predominantly white populations is small, with about 1 to 6 in 10 000 new users experiencing a serious skin reaction. Previous labels of the drug have warned of this risk.

But in some Asian countries the risk of these reactions is 10 times greater. A gene variant found almost exclusively in individuals of Asian ancestry, HLA-B* 1502, has been linked to such severe skin reactions. Blood tests . . . [Full Text of this Article]