Pharmacogenomics of allergy and asthma

Abstract

Allergy and asthma are the diseases of multifactorial etiologies increasing dramatically all over the world. Numerous factors (e.g., aeroallergen, toxin, pathogen, food, chemical insect debris, and drugs) play a key role in the patho physiology of allergy and asthma. Recent advances in the field of genetics have led to the identification of genetic factors which are involved not only in the pathogenesis of asthma and allergy but also significantly (60-70%) contribute toward the interindividual variability to drug response and adverse drug reactions. There are several common categories of medications for treating asthma and allergy. Significant heterogeneity in the efficacy and adverse drug reactions of anti-allergic and anti- asthmatic drugs have been observed and efforts have been made to study the role of genetic determinants in the variable inter individual response to medication. Armed with the knowledge of a patient’s pharmacogenomic information, a clinician could predict the response to certain drugs and adverse drug reactions to improve the efficacy and tolerability of the therapeutic interventions.