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Pharmacogenetics: The art of personalized medicine. |
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The study of pharmacogenetics is still relatively in its infancy. Being first developed as a field in its own right roughly five decades ago, it only began to gain importance in the country about 10 years ago. By studying how people's genetic make-up affects their response to medicines, it was touted possible to provide the public with better and more efficient healthcare.
The PRG is made up of eight separate research groups based in USM, UiTM and UIA which forays into various fields including the development of analytical methods in pharmacogenetics, the identification of in vitro reactions of specific enzymes, the applications of pharmacogenetics in psychiatry, tuberculosis, nicotine addiction and cardiovascular disease, the genetic epidiomology of drug metabolising enzymes and the possibility of manoeuvring enzymes to alter the pharmacokinetics drugs. Speaking
to Dr. Teh Lay Kek, project head of the group conducting research
on analytical methodology for pharmacogenetics, it was impossible
not to feel excited about the cutting edge science that is in the
works at UiTM. What is being developed is a series of rapid assay
kits which would allow researchers and even medical doctors to analyse
the genotypic predisposition of a patient and how the patient would
react to a certain prescription drug. By obtaining a genetic profile
of the patient it is possible to understand what metabolic processes
the drug goes through upon ingestion. Hence, the doctor is able to
provide a more fitting prescription for the patient as a result. Currently,
the challenge for Dr. Teh is to produce an assay that would be inclusive
and conclusive of all known mutations of CYP2D6 and NAT2 genes which
are known to affect the potency and absorption of most drugs. Here,
faster results time and better product designs are included in the
criteria that Dr. Teh is looking for.
The culmination of her current research is the production of the DNA dipstick which allows a user-friendly interface for consumers to identify one’s genetic makeup (CYP2D6 and NAT2 genes) with relation to drug potency. The dipstick is similar to a pregnancy kit in which the user needs only to include a sample of DNA onto the dipstick and wait for the results to appear. Unlike current methods in genetic determination which requires the samples to be stored under low temperature and takes a relatively long time to process, the dipstick test can be done under room temperature allowing its use even in areas with no such facilities. “However, the challenge right now is to shorten the length of time to obtain the result, which currently stands at 2 hours,” said Dr. Teh. “We hope to shorten it to a maximum of 15- 30 minutes in future.” Speaking animatedly about the upcoming projects the group is working on, Dr. Teh mentioned the 1st North-South Conference and Workshop on Pharmacogenetics on the 12th to the 17th of December at the Hyatt Regency Saujana, Subang. The conference aims at increasing intellectual exchange among participants and hopefully increase the dialogue among researchers to provide better solutions to many problems faced. The conference will also feature lectures by the leaders in the field including Prof. Dr. Roger W. Jelliffe of the University of California, Dr. Collen Muto Masimirembwa of AiBST, Zimbabwe, and Dr. Rusli Ismail of USM. In light of current developments, much more is being anticipated in the near future for pharmacogenetics as Dr. Ismail optimistically noted in his email to MABIC, “Hopefully we can come out with rapid tests for the betterment of the field of pharmacogenetics. We have only just begun.”
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