Pharmacodynamics
Pharmacodynamics is the study of what a drug does to the body, how it binds to cell receptors and the chemical reactions it produces.
A topical example is the drug Herceptin, used to fight breast cancer. Herceptin is a "monoclonal" antibody; one that only recognises one specific molecule, in this case the human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 or HER2. Overexpression of HER2 occurs in 20-30% of invasive breast cancers (malignant tumours) and drives tumour development. Herceptin binds to HER2 and stops it from forming its active state, which inhibits this form of tumour growth and proliferation.
Tests are carried out on breast cancer patients to see whether they overexpress the HER2 receptor, this reveals whether or not the patient will benefit from herceptin therapy.
These tests are the beginning of personalised medicine. In the future your doctor will be able to decide which drug and how much of it suits your individual body based on which genes you have inherited.
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Researchers are beginning to map out what they have found about genes, diseases and drug reactions and are sharing this knowledge in databases such as the
Pharmacogenomics Knowledge Base.
What should we do with the genetic knowledge revealed by pharmacogenetic tests?
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