Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Idiosyncratic drug reactions: current understanding.

Jack Uetrecht1

  • 1Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S2, Canada. jack.uetrecht@utoronto.ca

Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology
|August 2, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Idiosyncratic drug reactions are likely immune-mediated, possibly involving reactive metabolites. Further research is needed to confirm mechanisms and identify biomarkers for these unpredictable adverse drug events.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Relevance of reactive metabolites and covalent binding to drug candidate selection.

Drug metabolism reviews·2026
Same author

DILI prediction in drug development: present and future.

Expert opinion on drug metabolism & toxicology·2025
Same author

TAK-994 mechanistic investigation into drug-induced liver injury.

Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology·2025
Same author

Propofol and Fentanyl Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Annals of the American Thoracic Society·2024
Same author

The use of PD-1 functional knockout rats to study idiosyncratic adverse reactions to nevirapine.

Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology·2024
Same author

The role of corticosterone in nevirapine-induced idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury.

Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology·2024

Area of Science:

  • Pharmacology
  • Immunology
  • Toxicology

Background:

  • Idiosyncratic drug reactions (IDRs) are unpredictable adverse events.
  • Clinical evidence suggests IDRs involve reactive metabolites and immune responses.
  • Mechanisms remain poorly understood, hindering prediction and prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current hypotheses on the mechanisms of immune-mediated idiosyncratic drug reactions.
  • To discuss the challenges in studying IDRs and the potential of animal models and biomarkers.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on idiosyncratic drug reactions.
  • Discussion of proposed hypotheses: hapten, danger, and PI hypotheses.
  • Exploration of metabolic idiosyncrasy as a potential cause.

Main Results:

  • Strong association between specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes and certain IDRs noted for limited drugs.
  • Limited data support metabolic idiosyncrasy as a cause for IDRs.
  • Valid animal models for IDR research are scarce.

Conclusions:

  • Immune-mediated mechanisms involving reactive metabolites are the leading hypothesis for IDRs.
  • Further research is crucial to elucidate mechanisms, identify risk biomarkers, and develop predictive models.
  • Development of robust animal models is essential for mechanistic studies.

Related Experiment Videos