Pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics

With the first draft of the human genome Essentially completed, there is considerable optimism that genomic technologies will accelerate the identification of disease-validated targets and substantially the development of novel strategies for therapeutic intervention. Although genetic factors are important determinants of inter- and intraindividual variability in both drug disposition and response in children, variability due to growth and development is superimposed upon a basal level of pharmacogenetic variability. The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of pharmacogenetics in the context of the changes in growth and development characteristics of the pediatric population, with a major emphasis on the ontogeny of enzymes involved in the biotransformation of selected therapeutic entities used widely in the intensive care unit.