Researcher Dr. Zina Nizar Al Mahairy, from the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the United Arab Emirates University, remotely discussed a scientific thesis to obtain a PhD, on the subject of pharmacogenomics. It is titled "Pharmacogenetics in the UAE Society", under the supervision of Prof. Bassam Ali from the Department of Genetic & Genomics. The researcher explained that she worked to shed light on a set of genes for pharmacogenetics studies, their variations of the studied population, and the potential applications of pharmacogenetics in the UAE, to open new horizons in future research, on pharmacogenomics, for the UAE community.

She pointed out that the study aims to assess the diversity of genes that affect drugs, and to evaluate the importance of applying pharmacogenetics tests in the UAE community, as genetic variations contribute to the difference of individuals in their response to drugs. Advances in molecular techniques have revealed how different societies differ in genes that influence drugs. A new branch of science, known as population pharmacogenetics, is concerned with the detection of the genetic variants of a specific population, which can be employed in "precision medicine".

There is an urgent need to assess the extent of the diversity in the genes that affect drugs, and the importance of applying pharmacogenetics tests in the UAE society and the application of the concept of "personalized medicine". This study has been accepted for publication in academic reports and journals. The researcher gave a presentation of the results of the tests she had reached, where a set of genetic changes were identified, in 100 drug genes, of 100 healthy Emirati citizens, and 1234 genetic changes were detected, 63% of which were rare, and 30% of them were newly discovered.

The recommendations of the Pharmacogenetics Application Committee were reviewed clinically, revealing that 93% of the healthy participants in the group carry at least one genetic change that makes its holder eligible to change the dose of a drug, or replace it with another drug, and most of these observations are related to cardiovascular drugs. In the second group of the research population, the effect of genetic changes in the "VKORC1" gene on the dose of "warfarin" in 90 patients was reviewed, and the statistical model based on the genetic change and the patient s age showed that it had the ability to highly reliably predict the appropriate dose of warfarin for the patient. In the third group, which included 66 children with acute lymphocytic leukemia, high rates of side effects of the drugs used were detected, and the reported variations in possible doses of oral chemotherapy drugs were presented and compared with other populations. The need for hospitalization was selected due to side effects of the drugs, and febrile seizures associated with a deficiency of neutrophils. Genetic tests for each of the "NUDT15 and TPMT gene" were performed on the group. Patients with mutations in one of these genes were treated with low doses of drugs. The study showed that these patients developed fewer side effects, which confirms the efficiency of making adjustments to the dose based on the patient's genetic information.

In the fourth group, the side effects resulting from the treatment of 77 women with breast cancer were reviewed, and a number of weaknesses were revealed in recording drug side effects in breast cancer patients. Emphasis was placed on some side effects. Prof. Bassam Ali, from the Department of Genetics and Genomics at the United Arab Emirates University, pointed out that 93 percent of Emiratis will benefit from pharmacogenomics tests before taking some prescribed medications. He added that in the UAE, few pharmacogenetics studies have been applied. Since 1996, only 6 studies have been published, all from the United Arab Emirates University. They covered 6 types of different pharmacogenomics genes. He added: We encourage preventive testing of pharmacogenomics, meaning that the test to be performed before an individual needs a drug, and we keep the information in his medical record or provide him with a "pharmacogenomics card." These genetic tests will be necessary once in a lifetime, because these genes are inherited and will not change over time, and this card will remain with the individual throughout his life, whenever a person needs treatment with any of the included drugs, the physician can adjust the prescription according to the card information.