[Genetics and therapeutic intervention]

Elucidating the molecular mechanisms involved in metabolic diseases can, in many cases, characterize individual susceptibility resulting from mutations altering genetic inheritance. Better knowledge of this genetic component emphasizes the importance of revising disease classifications and diagnostic procedures which are currently based on phenotypic examination and may result in heterogeneous groupings of patients with different etiologies. By taking into account interindividual variability of therapeutic response, a new field of pharmacology, called Pharmacogenetics, may help evaluate and optimize therapeutic procedures in more homogeneous groups of patients.