Pharmacogenomics can show what your bodymakes of a drug
藥物基因組學(xué)能夠揭示你的身體是如何利用藥物的
That provides safer, more effectiveprescriptions
從而為你提供更安全、有效的處方
Doctors have long appreciated that the samedose of medicine will not necessarily have the same effect on differentpatients. Today they are able to predict how patients will respond to hundredsof drugs.
醫(yī)生們早就認(rèn)識到，相同劑量的藥物未必能對不同患者產(chǎn)生相同的效果。如今，人們已經(jīng)能夠預(yù)測成百上千種藥物作用于不同患者可能出現(xiàn)的藥物反應(yīng)了。
One of the ways in which people differbiologically is in how they metabolise drugs, a process largely dependent onenzymes in the liver that can vary a lot from person to person, and which aregenetically determined.
人與人之所以會在生物學(xué)上存在差異，原因之一在于藥物代謝過程，其在很大程度上依賴于肝臟中的酶，人與人之間酶的差異很大，而酶是由基因決定的。
Differences in enzymes can lead twopatients with the same disease, and the same treatment, to end up with afive-fold difference in the amount of working drug molecules in their blood.
對于兩名患有相同疾病、接受相同治療的患者，酶的差異最終會導(dǎo)致他們血液中起作用的藥物分子的數(shù)量相差五倍。
Sometimes such differences will mean thatthe drug is not circulating at a high enough level to work. Sometimes it iscirculating at too high a level and causing toxic side-effects. Thoughside-effects sound peripheral they are a huge medical problem. In Britain 6.5%of hospital admissions are related to adverse drug reactions.
這種差異意味著，藥物有時會因轉(zhuǎn)化水平過低而無法發(fā)揮藥效，有時則會因轉(zhuǎn)化水平過高而產(chǎn)生毒副作用。雖然副作用聽起來好像無關(guān)緊要，但這其實是一個巨大的醫(yī)學(xué)問題。在英國，6.5%的住院患者存在藥物不良反應(yīng)。
The study of how genes affect anindividual’s response to drugs is known as pharmacogenetics, and it isflourishing. The NHS in Britain is looking at applying pharmacogenetic tests tothe treatment of 65 different medical conditions within the next few years.
藥物基因?qū)W是研究基因如何影響個體藥物反應(yīng)的一門學(xué)科，這一學(xué)科目前正在蓬勃發(fā)展。英國國家醫(yī)療服務(wù)體系正在考慮在未來幾年內(nèi)對65種不同疾病的治療采取藥物遺傳測試。
One example of the technique’s potential isfound with warfarin, a commonly used blood thinner that has what doctors call a“narrow therapeutic window”: the distance between a level in the blood too lowto do good and a level too high for safety is small.
被醫(yī)生們稱為“窄治療指數(shù)藥物”的常用抗凝劑華法林正是證明該技術(shù)潛力的一個例子：它在血液中的含量過低則不起作用，過高則不安全，其中間范圍很窄。
Variations in an enzyme gene called CYP2C9,which allow warfarin to stay in the blood for longer, are quite common in whiteEuropeans and Americans. This makes it harder to find the best therapeutic doseand increases the likelihood of adverse effects such as bleeding on the brain.Complications with warfarin cause about one-third of emergency hospital visitsfor older Americans.
酶基因 CYP2C9 的變異在歐美白人中很普遍，而這一基因的變異會使華法林在血液中維持的時間更長。這不僅使最佳治療劑量更難被把握了，而且還會增加腦出血等副作用發(fā)生的可能性。美國大約三分之一的老年人急診就醫(yī)正是由于華法林并發(fā)癥。
Part of the problem with warfarin is thatfor a long time there was no real substitute, so it was used despite itsdrawbacks. The various selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors used to treatdepression offer a different challenge. Both their effectiveness and theirside-effects are influenced by enzymes produced in the liver.
華法林的問題在一定程度上是由于人們長期以來沒能找到合適的替代藥，因此盡管它存在缺點，卻仍然在被使用。但用于治療抑郁癥的各種選擇性血清素再吸收抑制劑則有所不同了。這些藥物的有效性和副作用均受到肝臟所產(chǎn)生的酶的影響。
A test produced by Myriad, agenetic-testing company, makes it possible to look at the genes for suchenzymes before an antidepressant is prescribed and appears to limitside-effects and improve clinical outcomes.
基因檢測公司 Myriad 能夠在醫(yī)生開處方之前對患者體內(nèi)的這些酶進(jìn)行檢測，從而讓人們能夠選擇副作用輕、臨床效果好的藥物。
注：雙語全文源自經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人
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