fundamentals
Uses of Genetics
Responding to drugs
Increased understanding of human genetics has the potential to predict how people, depending on their precise genetic makeup, will respond to certain drugs ( Genetic Makeup and Response to Drugs ). For example, specific genes can predict how much Gene analysis can also predict whether a person will have intolerable or only minor side effects when takingirinotecan, an anticancer drug. People likely to have intolerable side effects can be treated with a different drug. Gene analysis can also determine how quickly people metabolize and thus respond tocodeine, an analgesic. People who metabolizecodeinerapidly can accumulate high levels of a metabolic byproduct ofcodeinethat impairs their unconscious drive to breathe. This effect of rapid metabolization resulted in the death of some children who were givencodeineafter tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy were done to treat obstructive sleep apnea. 