The FDA announced yesterday that the Carbamazepine drug label will now recommend HLA-B* 1502 genetic testing of patients with Asian ancestry prior to initiation of therapy. About 6 in 1000 Asian patients have a variation of this immune system gene that increases the risk for developing Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), or drug hypersensitivity syndrome (HSS).
Full details are at http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01755.htmlAnother small step towards personalized medicine.
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