Ulster University researchers look to target illness through DNA profile

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he University's Personalised Medicine Centre takes a patient's DNA profile and sees which medications will work best for that individual, and which drugs may be less effective. We can use our genome to fit medicines to the individual not to the disease itself. We can think of this a little bit like if you wanted to get a tailor or a dressmaker to make a suit or an outfit for you. It's not unlike then going to your doctor and the same idea of getting your genome or your DNA measured and getting your medicines prescribed to fit your need, to fit your genome. It's about trying to get the right medicine to the right person at the right time, and improve the outcomes for that individual and reduce the burdens on the primary care and secondary care sectors. The savings for our NHS could be huge. Here's a figure to stop you in your tracks. 7% of all hospital admissions are the result of patients receiving ineffective or even inappropriate medications, and that figure doubles to 15% when it comes to patients aged over 65. We really need to do better that aren't working and remove treatments that are potentially putting that patient at risk. So, we can look forward to this becoming part of the health care landscape in the coming years? And one of the ways you can do it is with saliva, just a spit sample. It could be as quick as 20 minutes. The researchers here say that targeting the right drugs to the right person will mean fewer side-effects and better patient outcomes. And reducing the number of hospital admissions will free up staff and resources for a health service that badly needs a break. Mark McFadden, UTV Live, Derry.