La Farmacogenética y la Medicina individualizada

Abstract

The last decade has seen rapid progress and development in the understanding of genetic influences that underlie inter-individual differences in drug action and drug response. Differences in DNA sequences that alter the expression or function of proteins that are targeted by drugs can contribute significantly to variation in the responses of individuals. Many of the genes examined so far are linked to highly penetrant, single-gene traits, but future advances are focused on the more difficult challenge of elucidating multigene determinants of drug response. The interaction of genomics and medicine has the potential to yield a new set of molecular diagnostic tools that can be used to individualize and optimize drug therapy