Drug action and toxicology

DRUG ACTION AND TOXICOLOGY Student’s Name Course Professor Institution City Date Page Break Definition of Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacogenetics The administration of medication to human health is a critical practice in the practice of medical sciences, with the aim of preventing the occurrence of illnesses, curing existing illnesses, or managing a subsisting health condition. As such, the concepts of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics have emerged among the recent trends in the specialty. Specifically, pharmacogenomics is a pharmacological branch specialized in studying how differences in genetics affect the way various patients respond to medication. To establish that, pharmacogenomics correlates gene expression or single nucleotide polymorphisms with the effectiveness or toxicity of the drug being studied. It is, therefore, imperative to note that pharmacogenomics examines individual response profiles and elucidates the differential impacts of various components on genetic expression in a bid to assist in the identification of targets, discovery of drugs, and the selection of compounds (Aneesh et al., 2009). Overall, it can be argued that pharmacogenomics is centered on the primary objective of developing and administering the right drugs to the right individuals; depending on their genetic makeup. Pharmacogenetics, on the other hand, is centered on studying the variations in people’s responses to different drugs as an outcome of heredity. As such, it is critical to highlight the fact that pharmacogenomics is an outgrowth of pharmacogenetics, with the former is centered on the effect of all genetic contents in the genomes that may influence the response to drugs while the latter relates the role of genes in determining the metabolism of drugs (Pirmohamed, 2001). History of Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacogenetics The existence of the highly-advanced pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics in the modern world are not founded on a recent development, but a long history that has seen the development of the two concepts over centuries. However, it is imperative to note that pharmacogenetics is the oldest o the two concept, whose history dates as early as 510 B.C, a time when Pythagoras discovered the variation in the reactions displayed by individuals who consumed fava beans. At that time, Pythagoras was keen to highlight the fatal reactions in some individuals as a result of ingesting the beans, while others did not display such fatal reactions (Pirmohamed, 2001). It was later discovered that the deficiency of G6PD triggered the fatal reactions among individuals. Pythagoras laid the foundation for pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics. Another landmark development in the fields was made by Mendel in 1886. It is imperative to no...

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