Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2011 Aug 9;7(9):537-50.
doi: 10.1038/nrrheum.2011.117.

Pharmacogenetics: implications for therapy in rheumatic diseases

Lesley Davila  1 , Prabha Ranganathan
Affiliations
Review

Pharmacogenetics: implications for therapy in rheumatic diseases

Lesley Davila et al. Nat Rev Rheumatol. .

Erratum in

Abstract

DMARDs not only improve the joint pain and swelling associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but also slow down the joint damage associated with the disease. The efficacy of biologic therapies, introduced in the past decade for the treatment of RA, has been unequivocally established. Similarly, in addition to traditional drugs such as hydroxychloroquine, new biologic agents such as rituximab have been introduced for systemic lupus erythematosus in recent years. However, considerable variability occurs in the responses of patients to these therapies. Pharmacogenetics, the study of variations in genes encoding drug transporters, drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug targets, and their translation to differential responses to drugs, is a rapidly progressing field in rheumatology. Pharmacogenetic applications, particularly to the old vanguard DMARD, methotrexate, and the newer, more expensive biologic agents, might make personalized therapy in rheumatic diseases possible. The pharmacogenetics of commonly used DMARDs and of biologic therapies are described in this Review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2003 Apr;42(4):528-33 - PubMed
    1. Ann Rheum Dis. 2004 Oct;63(10):1227-31 - PubMed
    1. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2009 Mar-Apr;27(2):321-4 - PubMed
    1. Transplantation. 2003 Mar 15;75(5):711-7 - PubMed
    1. J Rheumatol. 2008 Apr;35(4):572-9 - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources