ABSTRACT
There is great heterogeneity in the way asthmatics respond to medications, and a substantial portion of this heterogeneity is genetic in origin. This therapeutic heterogeneity, or variable drug response, may take a variety of forms, such as interindividual differences in absolute drug efficacy, differences in the amount or duration of drug required for effect, or predisposition to adverse drug reactions. Pharmacogenomics is a rapidly evolving discipline and approach to patient care that uses genetic information and genomic technologies to identify the genetic loci and underlying mechanisms responsible for variable therapeutic outcomes. Once pharmacogenetic* loci are identified, they can be used to prospectively tailor an individual’s therapeutic regimen to optimize efficacy and avoid adverse reactions. Ideally, this approach would allow physicians to bypass therapeutic trials, during which a patient is placed on sequential drugs to see which particular class of drug or individual preparation is best suited for that patient. This approach to patient care has obvious benefits and is applicable to all diseases.
