Current Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine (Formerly Current Pharmacogenomics) - Volume 6, Issue 4, 2008

Pharmacogenetics/-genomics (PGx) was a major topic of the XI edition of the Sao Paulo Research Conferences (SPRC, 18-20 September, 2008), sponsored jointly by the Sub-Committee on Pharmacogenetics of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) and the Brazilian Pharmacogenetics Network (Refargen), in collaboration with the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Conceived as a series of meetin Read More

Estrogen hormones play critical roles in the regulation of many tissue functions. The effects of estrogens are primarily mediated by the estrogen receptors (ER) α and β. ERs are ligand-activated transcription factors that regulate a complex array of genomic events that orchestrate cellular growth, differentiation and death. Although many factors contribute to their etiology, estrogens are thought to be the primary agents fo Read More

The main goal of pharmacogenomics is to study the effects of genetic variation on patient responses to therapies. Its applications range from the evaluation of safety and efficacy of treatment to the optimization of therapies and therapeutic regimens. Pharmacogenomics is becoming increasingly important in immunology, for the development of new generation vaccines, immunotherapies and transplantation. The hu Read More

Cutaneous malignant melanoma represents one of the most aggressive human cancers with high metastatic potential. Differences in the response and toxicity to current melanoma therapies among individuals are observed in nearly all-available treatment regimens. The first step toward personalized medicine is identifying a panel of biomarkers that allow classification of melanoma patients for appropriate treatment and Read More

Growth hormone (GH) promotes height growth by stimulating bone and cartilage cell proliferation, and influences carbohydrate and lipid metabolism through a direct stimulatory effect by GH, and an indirect effect mediated by insulin- like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). The effects of GH are mediated by the interaction between GH and the GH receptor (GHR). In response to GH, two GHR polypeptides form dimers and turn on Read More

Genetic variability in molecular drug targets is increasingly recognized in the treatment of bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The long-acting β2 adrenoreceptor (β2AR) agonists and long-acting muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) antagonists have been widely used as bronchodilatory therapies in these clinical indications. These treatments are, however, far from ideal and display li Read More