Suraj Sakaram & Panashe Nyengera
Tailoring Healthcare to Your Genes
Can medicine be tailored to fit each individual’s unique needs? That’s the goal of personalized medicine which aims to correct the “one size fits all” approach to healthcare and medication delivery by using an individual’s unique genetic profile. The difference in our genomes result in varying responses to treatment and medications. Personalized medicine’s goal is to offer customized treatment plans, optimize the effectiveness of drug therapies, and minimize adverse reactions.
Customized treatment plans refer to the individualization of healthcare services tailored to specific medical conditions of a patient. These customized plans take into account the patient’s medical history, genetic profile, lifestyle and specific health conditions. Customized treatments plans allow healthcare providers to attend to specific needs of the patient, minimizing risk of any adverse effects and maximizing the potential benefits of the treatment.
Optimizing the effectiveness of medications through understanding how an individual’s genetic variations can help influence their response to drugs (Abrahams E et al., 2025). The identification of genetic markers related to pharmacokinetics, and toxicity can be done by analyzing an individual’s genome. This information can guide the selection of appropriate medications and dosage adjustments for individual patients, increasing the likelihood of positive treatment outcomes and reducing the risk of adverse reactions or allergies (Laura and Nicholas., 2018).
Minimizing adverse drug reactions is another critical area in personalized medicine. Adverse drug reactions occur in patients when they experience unexpected and harmful effects that can range from mild discomfort to death (Rotenberg et al., 2010). Personalized medicine allows complete study of an indivudals’ genetic markers that influence drug metabolism and efficacy, thereby shedding light on an individual’s response to specific drugs. Informed decisions can be made when information on a patient’s pharmacogenomics is known and adverse drug reactions can be minimized.
References
Laura H. Goetz, M.D. and Nicholas J. Schork, 2018 Personalized Medicine: Motivation, Challenges and Progress
Vogenberg FR, Barash CI, Pursel M. Personalized medicine: Part 2: Ethical, legal, and regulatory issues. P T. 2010;35:624–642. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
