“Patients differ dramatically in how they metabolize medicines. Some are far more susceptible to drug side effects than others. Your genes tell the story.”
The QandA
“There are dozens of other enzymes that are responsible for ridding the body of thousands of drugs. Many people have genetic variants of the genes that make those enzymes and hence are far more susceptible to drug side effects than others. If you suspect that you are someone who is super-sensitive to medications, you can ask your physician to run a genetic profile on your enzyme activity. That way she may be better able to tailor a dose to suit your physiology.”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.people ... e-a-reason
If You Are Sensitive to Drug Side Effects There May Be a Reason
Genetic Makeup and Response to Drugs
Differences in genetic (inherited) makeup among individuals affect what the body does to a drug and what the drug does to the body. The study of genetic differences in the response to drugs is called pharmacogenetics.
Because of their genetic makeup, some people process (metabolize) drugs slowly. As a result, a drug may accumulate in the body, causing toxicity. Other people metabolize drugs so quickly that after they take a usual dose, drug levels in the blood never become high enough for the drug to be effective.
In about half of the people in the United States, N-acetyltransferase, a liver enzyme that metabolizes certain drugs, works slowly. Such people are called slow acetylators. Drugs, such as isoniazid (which is used to treat tuberculosis), that are metabolized by this enzyme tend to reach higher blood levels and remain in the body longer in slow acetylators than they do in people in whom this enzyme metabolizes drugs rapidly (fast acetylators).
https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/drugs ... e-to-drugs
Because of their genetic makeup, some people process (metabolize) drugs slowly. As a result, a drug may accumulate in the body, causing toxicity. Other people metabolize drugs so quickly that after they take a usual dose, drug levels in the blood never become high enough for the drug to be effective.
In about half of the people in the United States, N-acetyltransferase, a liver enzyme that metabolizes certain drugs, works slowly. Such people are called slow acetylators. Drugs, such as isoniazid (which is used to treat tuberculosis), that are metabolized by this enzyme tend to reach higher blood levels and remain in the body longer in slow acetylators than they do in people in whom this enzyme metabolizes drugs rapidly (fast acetylators).
https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/drugs ... e-to-drugs
Debbie