Pharmacogenetics and personalized treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world. An important difference in effectiveness and toxicity of hypoglycemic agents has been associated with the presence of genetic variants in people with T2DM. We conducted a literature review up November 2015 by combining keywords type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypoglycemic agents and pharmacogenetics (PKG). Metformin, sulfonylureas, and meglitinide drugs are widely used for the T2DM treatment, although new drugs in combination with metformin are administered. Genetic variants in proteins that function as carriers, channels, or metabolizing enzymes affect both the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of these agents. Significant progress in T2DM’s pharmacogenetics has been made; however, more studies involving a larger number of patients from different ethnic groups must be done. Furthermore, patients with T2DM generally are complex patients receiving hypolipidemic and hypotensive medications. Drug-drug interaction studies between these drugs must be done to really know the contribution of each polymorphism in drug effectiveness and/or toxicity.