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Review
. 2009;11(4):427-34.
doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2009.11.4/kevers.

Personalized medicine in psychiatry: ethical challenges and opportunities

Kathinka Evers  1
Affiliations
Review

Personalized medicine in psychiatry: ethical challenges and opportunities

Kathinka Evers. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2009.

Abstract
in English, Spanish, French

Pharmacogenomic developments hold promise for personalized medicine in psychiatry with adjusted therapeutic doses, predictable responses, reduced adverse drug reactions, early diagnosis, and personal health planning. The prospects are exciting, but at the same time, these new techniques stand faced with important scientific, ethical, legal, and social challenges that need to be met in order for the scientific advances to be responsibly applied. This review discusses the ethical balance between challenge and opportunity of personalized medicine in psychiatry under the aspects of adequacy, cost:benefit ratio, and therapeutic equity. It is argued that the promising nature of these therapeutic possibilities makes it all the more important to avoid exaggerating the expectations, and that a sophisticated social infrastructure needs to be developed in order to ensure the realistic and responsible application of personalized medicine in psychiatry.

Los progresos farmacogenómicos generan esperanzas para la medicina personalizada dentro de la psiquiatría en cuanto a ajuste de dosis terapéuticas, respuestas predecibles, reducción de las reacciones adversas a los fármacos, diagnóstico precoz y programas personales de salud. Las posibilidades son apasionantes, pero al mismo tiempo estas nuevas técnicas se enfrentan con importantes desafíos científicos, éticos, legales y sociales, los que requieren estar de acuerdo con los avances científicos para que ellas se puedan aplicar responsablemente. Esta revisión discute el balance ético entre los desafíos y oportunidades de la medicina personaiizada en psiquiatria en relación con aspectos de adecuación, relación costo beneficio y equidad terapéutica. Se argumenta que el carácter prometedor de estas alternativas terapéuticas hace aun más importante evitar la exageración de las expeciativas y que se necesita desarrollar una sofisticada infraestructura social para asegurar la aplicación realista y responsable de la medicina personalizada en psiquiatria.

Les développements de la pharmacogénomique ont tenu leurs promesses pour la médecine personnalisée en psychiatrie en permettant d'ajuster les doses thérapeutiques, de prévoir les réponses, de diminuer les effets indésirables, d'établir des diagnostics précoces et des calendriers personnels de santé. Les perspectives sont prometteuses mais en même temps, ces nouvelles techniques doivent faire face à des défis scientifiques, éthiques, légaux et sociaux importants afin de permettre aux avancées scientifiques de s'appliquer de manière responsable. L'équilibre éthique entre défi et opportunité de la médecine personnalisée en psychiatrie fait l'objet ici d'une discussion au sujet de sa pertinence, de son rapport coût/bénéfice, et de son équité thérapeutique, La nature prometteuse de ces possibilités thérapeutiques prend le pas sur le risque d'attentes exagérées ; la mise en application réaliste et responsable de la médecine personnalisée en psychiatrie demande de développer une infrastructure sociale sophistiquée.

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