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Based on present knowledge, in this work we review the importance of the pharmacogenetic tests in the treatment with antipsychotic drugs. Many associations have been reported between different genetic markers and response to treatment as well as to the appearance of adverse reactions. However, up to now, no "prime" biomarker capable of unequivocally predicting the clinical benefits of a specific treatment or its toxicity has been identified. The use of individual pharmacogenetic markers has been demonstrated to have little clinical utility, and therefore the combination of information obtained from the analysis of different genes seems to be a more promising strategy. Inclusion of pharmacogenetic tests in clinical trials conducted prospectively and that include a large number of cases could, undoubtedly, significantly contribute to the development of individualized medicine protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alter the whole genome sequentiation, there is a bigger gap between the capabilities of biomedical technology and the diagnostic of the clinician on its practice. One of the genomic sciences is the pharmacogenomics; the discipline, like its predecessor, pharmacogenetics, attemps to predict the way a specific individual reacts to a medicament, formerly called "medicament idiosyncrasy", with the aim of personalize the therapy. The objective of this article is to make a simple review of the genetic basis of medicament response with a clinical importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmacogenomics studies the influence of hereditary factors in determining individual differences in response to drugs. Its main objective is the study of genes and their activity, toxicity and metabolism in drug reactions, as well as the righteous way to prescribe any treatment and its specific dosage with less toxicity for each patient. One of the goals of the pharmacogenomics is to determine whether the expression of the gene influences the efficacy of a drug by affecting its metabolism, availability at the site of action (pharmacokinetics), and by the way the drug binds to its target receptors and achieves a desired pharmacologic action (pharmacodynamics). There are three main enzyme systems in the human body in charge of drug metabolism: the Cytochrome P-450, N-acetyltransferases types 1 and 2, and thiopurine methyltransferase. Nevertheless, many non-genetic factors influence the effects of medications, including age, organ function, concomitant therapy, drug interactions, alcohol intake, smoking, infections, and the nature of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]