* Pharmacogenetics is the study of influences of a gene on therapeutic and adverse effects of drugs.
* Primaquine induced hemolysis in patients with G6PD (Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase ) deficiency, was the first pharmacogenetic discovery.
* The term Pharmacogenetics was coined by Vogel in 1959.
* Two main divisions of Pharmacogenetics include…
Ø Drug-disposition Pharmacogenetics
Ø Drug-target Pharmacogenetics
* Drug-Disposition Pharmacogenetics deals with the pharmacokinetics of a drug.
* Drug-Target Pharmacogenetics deals with the pharmacodynamics of a drug.
* Pharmacogenetic Studies include…
Ø Candidate-gene studies
Ø Genome-wide association study (GWAS)
* The Candidate-gene approach, tests how frequent an allele or a set of alleles in patients who have a better (or worse) drug response.
* The role of common genetic variations in disease or drug response surveyed by Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS).
* Pharmacists can take a lead in application of pharmacogenetics in clinical practice, since they are experts in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
* Health-care providers will increasingly need to take pharmacogenetics into consideration when prescribing medications.
