From Personalized Medicine to Personalized Justice: The Promises of Translational Pharmacogenomics in the Justice System

Forensic Pharmacogenetics

“…Like DNA-based identification at that time, fundamental pharmacogenetic research needs to be performed so that our knowledge is sufficient to render valid and reliable interpretations related to medico-legal genetic findings". Significantly, Wong et al (2010) state that personalized justice complements personalized medicine, but "personalized justice" in a firm foundation should be based on sound legal principles as well as reliable and valid evidence-based studies, not on 'junk' science and unsubstantiated case reports. Furthermore, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences supports the National Academy of Science's 13 recommendations (National Academy of Sciences, 2009, as cited in Wong et al, 2010) and the following principles: the need for strong scientific foundations; laboratory accreditation; certification of technicians; the standardization of terminology; ethical protocols; governmental oversight; and the education of legal professionals, including judges, in forensic scientific methods and principles.…”

“…Significantly, Wong et al (2010) state that personalized justice complements personalized medicine, but "personalized justice" in a firm foundation should be based on sound legal principles as well as reliable and valid evidence-based studies, not on 'junk' science and unsubstantiated case reports. Furthermore, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences supports the National Academy of Science's 13 recommendations (National Academy of Sciences, 2009, as cited in Wong et al, 2010) and the following principles: the need for strong scientific foundations; laboratory accreditation; certification of technicians; the standardization of terminology; ethical protocols; governmental oversight; and the education of legal professionals, including judges, in forensic scientific methods and principles. Forensic medicine is a continuously evolving science that is constantly being updated and improved, not only as a result of technological and scientific advances (which bring almost immediate repercussions) but also because of developments in the social and legal spheres.…”

“…By investigating drug metabolism related to individual genetic polymorphism, pharmacogenetics has a significant impact on the clinical setting so that forensic implications may arise throughout the public health sector. The concept of "therapy with the right drug at the right dose in the right patient" was highlighted just about ten years ago (Mancinelli et al, 2000) and pharmacogenetic tests are now available for a number of drugs by biotechnology companies, some with FDA approval, as reported in Wong et al, (2010): Luminex xTag ® (Luminex Corporation, TK, USA), Roche AmpliChip ® (Roche, Basel, Switzerland), Affymetrix DMET ® chip (Affymetrix, CA, USA), Autogenomics INFINITI™ Analyzer (Autogenomics, CA, USA), Osmetech eSensors ® (WA, USA), ParagonDx (NC, USA), and ABI PRISM ® SNaPshot™ (Applied Biosystems, CA, USA) and TaqMan ® assays (Applied Biosystems). In addition, the Authors underlined the limitations: existing evidence to demonstrate significant and medically relevant correlations for many disease-causing genes and variants, limited detection of genetic variants within the context of each testing platform, clinical interpretation of genotype results including environmental factors, and transplanted organs interfering with testing.…”

“…Tort suits include product liability suits against manufacturers and negligence suits against physicians and other providers of health-related services (Evans, 2007). Recently, Wong et al (2010) stressed that personalized medicine by means of pharmacogenomics may have a dramatic impact on the justice system in ways we are only beginning to understand. They stated that if personalized medicine has already entered the curricula of well-regarded medical schools such as that of Johns Hopkins University (MD, USA), law schools offer no analogue.…”

Interpretación de resultados toxicológicos post-mórtem: criterios de garantía de calidad

“…Wong et al 37 resumieron en su trabajo publicado en el año 2010 las ventajas y las desventajas de la aplicación de la farmacogenómica a la interpretación de resultados en toxicología forense (tabla 4).…”