Personalized Medicine Toward Multiple Sclerosis;Current Challenges and Future Prospects

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) has not been comprehensively characterized in the 21th century yet. MS is an autoimmune neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with unknown etiology. It is a heterogeneous disease both in the course and clinical symptoms and in the clinical response to treatment. Pharmacogenomics has potential to impress the treatment strategies of the diseases. It is related to the targeted populations that are genetically identifiable with the therapeutic interventions and it permits to elicit quick and optimized curative outcomes alongside the least possible side effects. In the case of successful manipulation of the personalized medicine, the trial-and-error approach for the treatment of diseases such as MS would no longer be mandatory. Moreover, pharmacogenetic and pharmacogenomic investigations contribute to the determination of genetic background of individual patients and may open new horizons to the personalized medicine. By identifying the various biological and social determinants of MS outcomes, personalized medicine could be applied in medical interventions and psychosocial manifestations, exercise and nutrition. Application of this highly personalized approach is promising and hopefully would culminate in cost-effective care.

Keywords

• Multiple sclerosis
• Personalized medicine
• Pharmacogenetics