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Pharmacogenetics and personalised medicine.
1Department of Pharmacology, Medical Sciences Building, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 1A8, Canada. w.kalow@utoronto.ca
Fundamental & Clinical Pharmacology
|February 27, 2003
Summary
Pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics use genetic variations to predict drug responses. Pharmacogenomics expands this to multifactorial influences, aiming to improve drug efficacy and enable personalized medicine.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Pharmacogenetics traditionally focused on Mendelian (monogenic) variations impacting drug response.
- The field has evolved to include multifactorial genetic and environmental influences on drug responses.
- Variability in gene expression also plays a crucial role in pharmacogenetics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the evolution of pharmacogenetics into pharmacogenomics.
- To highlight the potential of pharmacogenomics in identifying genetic causes of common diseases and new drug targets.
- To discuss the transition towards personalized medicine for improved drug selection and efficacy.
Main Methods:
- Review of traditional pharmacogenetics and its expansion.
- Integration of gene expression variability and multifactorial genetic influences.
- Leveraging methodological advances to transition to pharmacogenomics.
Main Results:
- Pharmacogenetics primarily improved drug safety.
- Pharmacogenomics aims to enhance drug efficacy by identifying genetic factors.
- Methodological advances facilitate the identification of genetic causes for common diseases and new drug targets.
Conclusions:
- Pharmacogenomics holds promise for improving drug efficacy and enabling personalized medicine.
- Categorizing patients by genetic profiles can optimize drug selection.
- Despite advancements, complete certainty in personalized medicine is not guaranteed.