Precision and Personalized Medicine

Personalized Drug Therapy in Diabetics

The definition of personalized medicine for diabetes (PMFD) is the use of information about the genetic makeup of a person with diabetes to tailor strategies for preventing, detecting, treating, or monitoring their diabetes. The practice of PMFD involves four processes. First is the identification of genes and biomarkers for diabetes as well as for obesity, which is the greatest risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Second, after these predictors of diabetes are identified, is allocation of resources to prevent or detect the diabetes and/or obesity phenotype in high-risk individuals, whose risk is based on their genotype. Third is selection of individualized therapies for affected individuals. The selection process involves deciding which drug to prescribe, what dose of drug to use, and which diet to prescribe. The selection process also accounts for which drug is least likely to cause side effects or toxicity. Fourth is measurement of circulating biomarkers of diabetes to monitor the response to prevention or therapy.