Invisible Victims Of FDA Drug Policy

http://radioviceonline.com/ ^ | February 9, 2011 | Steve McGough

[Biggirl]

I’d call this quite the intellectual challenge. At what point do you stop testing and start distributing new drugs that will help people live healthier lives? Walter Williams points out an important issue influencing the drug approval process.People are physiologically unique, that’s why some drugs may work very well for an individual while others do not. The side effects can be all over the place too. Common side effects for Lisinopril, a popular drug to treat high blood pressure, include cough, diarrhea, dizziness, headache and tiredness, but there are many other side effects that preclude the user from taking the drug.

[Biggirl]

It is an very intellectual challenge indeed.

[exDemMom]

I believe that the wave of the future will be to characterize drugs with respect to which segment of the population they are most likely to help.

For example, it has been known for a long time that the drug metabolizing enzymes in the liver have many different genetic variants which drastically affect how efficiently they eliminate drugs (and other substances) from the blood. Obviously, someone with more efficient enzymes might need a higher dose than someone whose enzymes take twice as long to eliminate the drug. It’s about time for drug prescribing practice to catch up with what is known in the field of genetics.