Pharmacogenomics helps in analyzing traits and differences of individuals to determine disease risk

 

Pharmacogenomics is the study of the relationship between the genetic code and drug response. Its name is based on its blending of genomics and pharmacogenetics. Pharmacogenomics studies how a person's genetic makeup impacts their response to prescribed medications. A great example of this is done by genetic counselors who assess patients with diabetes. These can show how certain sequences in the DNA that dictates the activity of a particular gene on cells that manufacture insulin may change and cause an increased or decreased response to a drug used to treat diabetes.

Another use of pharmacogenomics is in analyzing traits and differences of individuals to determine disease risk. Often, geneticists use variants on the same autosomal DNA to determine if two people share the risk of a certain disease. In doing so, the variants are compared against each other and compared to the average frequency of these variants in the general population to see if any of them are unique to the individual. While variants are still linked to an individual's physical appearance, they can now be used to study how these variations affect the disease risk for that person.

Another way in which pharmacogenomics can be used is in analyzing the response to medications that have been administered to patients. For instance, researchers use data from the Pharmacogenetics study to examine whether a person's ability to metabolize medications is affected by the type of the medication as well as by the length of time that the person has been taking the medication. Once information is gathered from these studies, the researchers can test a patient for susceptibility to illness by administering a specific type of vaccine or by analyzing the results from pharmacogenomic testing to see if the body has an aversion to the vaccine once the medication has been introduced into it. In many ways, the future of pharmacy is at stake with the potential to use pharmacogenomic tests to diagnose and treat a wide range of medical conditions.