Pharmacogenomics
Research into the Pharmacogenomics deals as well as the pharmacogenetics with the influence of the genetic material ( genome ) to the effect of drugs .
Occasionally the terms are used synonymously, but a distinction is usually made between pharmacogenomics as the application of DNA- based genotyping with the aim of developing drugs specifically for specific populations, and pharmacogenetics as the study of the genetic variations that lead to a different response in individuals lead to drugs .
With the help of pharmacogenomics, among other things, an individualized drug therapy ("individualized medicine" or " personalized medicine ") is aimed at, in which patients receive the drug that is tailored to their genetic material in the predicted effective dose. The genotype of the patient is of great relevance in this context . The breakdown of drugs can be accelerated, slowed down or prevented. This are mutations or polymorphisms in genes responsible for the enzymes encoded because these ver among other drugs metabolise . This can lead to non-working of the drug or to side effects , which in the worst case can cause death of the patient. It is estimated that around 17,000 people die each year in Germany from such side effects.
The pharmacogenomics approach also harbors ethical and legal problems with regard to the handling of harmful genetic information and data protection.
literature
- J. Lazarou, BH Pomeranz, PN Corey: Incidence of Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospitalized Patients. In: Journal of the American Medical Association , No. 279 (April 15, 1998), pp. 1200-1205
- Werner Kalow, Urs A. Meyer, Rachel F. Tyndale (Eds.): Pharmacogenomics. Second edition. Taylor & Francis Ltd, Abingdon 2005, ISBN 1-57444-878-1
Web links
- Pharmacogenomics ( Memento from February 23, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) In: Nachrichten aus der Chemie , 50th year, Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker eV (GDCh), March 2002.