{
  "id": 19542610,
  "title": "You likely have genes that affect how well your medications work – testing for them could improve treatment",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/you-likely-have-genes-that-affect-how-well-your-medications-work",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-11T19:00:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation",
    "slug": "the-conversation",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/you-likely-have-genes-that-affect-how-well-your-medications-work-testing-for-them-could-improve-treatment-296352"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hereditary genetic differences can significantly impact how individuals respond to medications, according to a recently published study. This phenomenon is studied by the field of pharmacogenomics, which investigates how DNA variations influence the body's processing and reaction to various drugs. The study, conducted by the research team led by a certain Philip Empey, examined the genomes and health records of nearly 100,000 participants from the All of Us Research Program, a project by the National Institutes of Health aiming to increase diversity in biomedical research.\n\nThe researchers focused on 16 genes known to affect a person's response to different medications and cross-referenced this information with the participants' electronic health records. They discovered that every participant carried at least one genetic variant that could influence their medication response, with many carrying several of these variants. Astonishingly, around 99.5% of participants had a genetic variant for which the Food and Drug Administration or medical guidelines suggest a different drug or dosage adjustment for certain medications.\n\nFurthermore, about 24% of the participants had already taken a drug that is affected by a genetic variant they carried. Common examples of such drugs include omeprazole and pantoprazole used to reduce stomach acid, and statins used to lower cholesterol levels. However, the study's findings likely underestimate the actual prevalence of these gene-drug interactions due to the potential incompleteness of health records.\n\nThis research can enhance the databases used by clinicians and researchers in their routine practices. The team identified 17,704 previously unreported variants in the gene regions encoding proteins, with computer models predicting that around a quarter of these may significantly impact drug processing. Additionally, the frequencies of hundreds of genetic variants linked to drug response were reported for people from genetic ancestries that had incomplete data in previous research.\n\nIn conclusion, the study demonstrates that DNA variation is exceptionally common, and broader genetic testing could potentially optimize the medications prescribed by clinicians to their patients. Nevertheless, it is essential to note that this research does not prove that testing would improve outcomes for each individual. Genes are only one factor among many that affect how the body processes drugs, including age, kidney and liver function, and other medications. Nonetheless, the study suggests that pharmacogenomics holds promising potential for improving precision medicine.",
  "summary": "Researchers found that everyone in a 100,000 sample of people has at least one genetic variant that interacts with common prescriptions.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}