Abstract
An individuals’ reaction to a specific drug is influenced by various factors including environmental, systemic and genetic factors. In most cases the reactions of a group of individuals are of the Gaussian type with non- to low responders at the lower end of the curve and high- to ultra-high responders at the upper end of the curve. As these extraordinary reactions to a drug are at least partly genetically determined pharmacogenetics is set to decipher the underlying genetic constitution and to establish an individualised genotype-based drug therapy. Candidate genes in pharmacogenetics include genes of receptors as well as their downstream pathway and genes of drug metabolising or activating enzymes. Most prominent examples from the medical literature are warfarin, clopidogrel and various psychotropic and oncological drugs. Regarding glaucoma therapy studies investigating the role of polymorphisms in the genes of β-adrenergic receptors, the important metabolising enzyme CYP2D6and the prostaglandin F2αreceptor have been performed. Results of these studies are presented and an outlook on the role of pharmocogenetics in glaucoma therapy will be provided.
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