Damian Sendler discusses advances in personalized medicine

Damian Sendler: A great lot of hoopla surrounds the idea of individualized healthcare. It is the notion of personalized medicine that because each individual has distinct qualities at the molecular, physiological and environmental exposure and behavioral levels, they may require interventions customized to their specific traits for diseases they have.

Damian Sendler On Emerging Technologies

Damian Jacob Sendler: Emerging technologies like DNA sequencing, proteomics, imaging procedures, and wireless health monitoring devices have confirmed this idea to some extent. As part of this analysis, we look at the rationale for customized medicine, its historical precedents, the developing technologies that are enabling it, some recent experiences including successes and setbacks, methods for vetting and implementing individualized medicines and future directions.

Damien Sendler: Personalized medicine's present limits are also examined. As relevant assays and deployment tactics become more cost-effective, we conclude that customized medicine practices in certain situations are likely to be unavoidable, particularly as relevant assays and deployment strategies become more efficient and cost-effective.

Dr. Sendler: High-throughput biomedical tests like DNA sequencing and proteomics have shown a wide range of inter-individual variation in the impacts of diseases, as well as the mechanisms and variables that contribute to their development. To what extent should this inter-individual variance be taken into account when deciding how best to treat, monitor, or prevent a disease? To be more specific, it's now widely accepted that the inherent heterogeneity of many disease processes necessitates the development of treatment plans and prevention methods that are individualized to the unique biochemical, physiological, environmental, and behavioral characteristics of the individual being treated or monitored or prevented.

Damian Jacob Sendler On Knowledge Creation

Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: A rising number of textbooks for medical students and practitioners cover the topic of customized medicine, which has received numerous positive evaluations. Some contend that while the term "personalized" medicine is commonly used interchangeably with phrases such as "individual" and "precision" medicine, there are major differences between them.

Damian Sendler: It is difficult to gain authorization from numerous regulatory agencies for the use of tailored medicines on a regular basis. Many health care stakeholders, including physicians, health care executives, insurance companies, and ultimately, patients, have concerns about the widespread use of individualized medicines. In nearly every case, the challenge is to demonstrate the superiority of personalized medicine over more traditional approaches. This is critical, given the high cost of treatments like autologous CAR-T cell transplants for certain types of cancer and mutation-specific medicines like ivacaftor for cystic fibrosis.

Damian Sendler: It is our goal in this review to provide readers a sense of the evolution of customized medicine over the previous few decades, the roadblocks that have slowed its progress thus far, and where it might be headed in future. Considered are also methods for demonstrating the superiority of personalized medicine over conventional methods. Examples and problems related with individualized illness prevention, health monitoring, and personalized therapy of overt disease are critical.