Drug Discovery and Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Gene Mutations May Increase Risk for Elderly on Multiple Meds

By Columbia University Medical Center | November 4, 2016

Gene mutations may increase adverse event risk in older adults taking multiple meds.

Gene mutations that affect drug metabolism may explain higher hospitalization rates for some older adults taking multiple medications, according to researchers from Columbia University.

The study was published recently in Pharmacogenetics and Personalized Medicine.

Use of multiple medications, known as polypharmacy, is on the rise among U.S. seniors. Nearly 40 percent of Americans 65 or older take at least five or more medications. Previous studies have shown that older adults with polypharmacy are more prone to adverse events and hospitalizations than those taking fewer medications. However, few studies have investigated individual, genetic risk factors for adverse drug events in this population.

For this small pilot study, the researchers hypothesized that older adults with polypharmacy and increased hospitalization rates would have more genes associated with altered drug metabolism or lack of sensitivity to certain drugs than those with fewer hospitalizations. 

The researchers performed pharmacogenetic testing to identify five such genes — CYP2C19, CYP2C9, VKORC1, CYP2D6, CYP3A4/5 — in older adults with polypharmacy. The study included six seniors who had been admitted to the hospital at least three times over the past two years and six age-matched controls who had fewer hospitalizations. Both groups had an average age of 77 years, and were taking an average of 14 medications.

In the higher hospitalization group, each of the participants had at least one of the mutations, and half had more than one. None of the controls had any of the mutations. 

“Although this was a very small pilot study, the findings suggest that routine testing for these gene variants could improve health outcomes for older adults taking multiple medications,” according to Joseph Finkelstein, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Bioinformatics and Data Analytics in Oral Health at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, associate professor of health informatics in dentistry at Columbia University Medical Center, and lead author of the paper. “In dentistry, for example, pharmacogenetic testing could be part of a personalized approach in which clinicians select pain medications that are most effective and least risky for each patient.” 

Because of the small size of the pilot study, Dr. Finkelstein and his colleagues are planning a larger clinical trial to investigate whether identification of drug-metabolism-altering mutations in adults with polypharmacy may improve outcomes. 

The study is titled, “Pharmacogenetic polymorphism as an independent risk factor for frequent hospitalizations in older adults with polypharmacy: a pilot study.” Authors included Joseph Finkelstein, Carol Friedman, and George Hripcsak (Department of Bioinformatics, Columbia University Medical Center), and Manuel Cabrera (Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons).

(Source: EurekAlert!)


Filed Under: Drug Discovery

 

Related Articles Read More >

Lokavant’s Spectrum v15 uses AI to cut trial-feasibility modeling from weeks to minutes
Prime time for peptide-based drug discovery 
Why smaller, simpler molecular glues are gaining attention in drug discovery
Glass vial, pipette and woman scientist in laboratory for medical study, research or experiment. Test tube, dropper and professional female person with chemical liquid for pharmaceutical innovation
Unlocking ‘bench-to-bedside’ discoveries requires better data sharing and collaboration
“ddd
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest news and trends happening now in the drug discovery and development industry.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
Drug Discovery and Development
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • Medtech100 Index
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Medical Design & Outsourcing
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • R&D World
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Drug Discovery & Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE