Pharmacogenetics
Definition
Pharmacogenetics is one of the newest subspecialties of genetics that deals with the relationship between inherited genes and the ability of the body to metabolize drugs.
Description
Medicine today relies on the use of therapeutic drugs to treat disease, but one of the longstanding problems has been the documented variation in patient response to drug therapy. The "recommended" dosage is usually established at a level shown to be effective in 50% of a test population, and based on the patient's initial response, the dosage may be increased, decreased, or discontinued. In rare situations, the patient may experience an adverse reaction to the drug and be shown to have a pharmacogenetic disorder. The unique feature of this group of diseases is that the problem does not occur until...
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