Insights into pharmacogenomics and its impact upon immunosuppressive therapy.
The advent of the genomic era has brought about several new fields of study, one of them being pharmacogenomics, which seeks to link drug treatment (pharmaco-) with the individual's genetic make-up (genomics). Pharmacogenomics holds many promises for improved treatment of a large variety of medical conditions, including immunosuppression for organ transplantation and autoimmune disease. Many of these promises have, however, not yet been fulfilled. In this brief overview of the subject, we attempt to provide insights into the evolving field of pharmacogenomics and discuss some of its potential benefits and promises, technological tools used by pharmacogenomics, the reasons for delays in breakthroughs in the field, and the relevance of pharmacogenornics to immunosuppression.
Yagil
Yoram
Y
Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University, Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon, Israel. labmomed@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
Yagil
Chana
C
D000818:Animals; D015195:Drug Design; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D016377:Organ Transplantation; D010597:Pharmacogenetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents