Genetic Test Personalizes Heart Failure Therapy

The result of the study, which analyzed the data obtained during a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of the beta-blocker bucindolol, intended for the treatment of congestive heart failure, was the identification of genetic profiles that allow predicting the response of patients to therapy.

According to one of the leaders of the study, Dr. Stephen B. Liggett from the University of South Florida, his laboratory staff studied the molecular basis of heart failure in order to identify genetic variations in the DNA of patients that affect the effect of the drug. The use of the data obtained in the laboratory in the clinic demonstrated that the test for the identification of two genes really makes it possible to identify patients who respond positively to bucindolol therapy, as well as those of them in whom this reaction is most pronounced.

The developed test will allow to determine the expediency of prescribing bucindolol before the start of treatment and immediately exclude patients for whom this drug is useless, saving them from possible side effects of therapy. To confirm the advantages of bucindolol over other beta-blockers in the treatment of patients with heart failure who respond positively to it, it is necessary to conduct promising studies.

According to Dr. Lidgett, the proposed approach is applicable to most diseases. In the near future, such genetic testing will become a routine procedure, which will improve the results of treatment of patients, as well as increase efficiency and reduce the cost of medical care.

Article by Christopher M. O'Connor et al. Combinatorial Pharmacogenetic Interactions of Bucindolol and beta1, alfa2C Adrenergic Receptor Polymorphisms is published in the journal PLoS ONE.

Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of South Florida:
Two-gene test predicts which patients with heart failure respond best to beta-blocker drug, study finds.

18.10.2012