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Review
. 2020 Nov 30:11:569175.
doi: 10.3389/fgene.2020.569175. eCollection 2020.

Milestones in Personalized Medicine: From the Ancient Time to Nowadays-the Provocation of COVID-19

Sophie Visvikis-Siest  1   2 , Danai Theodoridou  1   2 , Maria-Spyridoula Kontoe  1   2 , Satish Kumar  1   2 , Michael Marschler  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Milestones in Personalized Medicine: From the Ancient Time to Nowadays-the Provocation of COVID-19

Sophie Visvikis-Siest et al. Front Genet. .

Abstract

The first evidence of individual targeting medicine appeared in ancient times thousands of years ago. Various therapeutic approaches have been established since then. However, even nowadays, conventional therapies do not take into consideration individuals' idiosyncrasy and genetic make-up, failing thus to be effective in some cases. Over time, the necessity of a more precise and effective treatment resulted in the development of a scientific field currently known as "personalized medicine." The numerous technological breakthroughs in this field have acknowledged personalized medicine as the next generation of diagnosis and treatment. Although personalized medicine has attracted a lot of attention the last years, there are still several obstacles hindering its application in clinical practice. These limitations have come to light recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This review describes the "journey" of personalized medicine over time, emphasizing on important milestones achieved through time. Starting from the treatment of malaria, as a first more personalized therapeutic approach, it highlights the need of new diagnostic tools and therapeutic regimens based on individuals' genetic background. Furthermore, it aims at raising global awareness regarding the current limitations and the necessity of a personalized strategy to overpass healthcare problems and hence, the current crisis.

Keywords: COVID−19; inflammation; personalized medicine; pharmacogenomics; public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Promising pharmacotherapy for encountering COVID-19 virus.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Therapeutic recommendations from the Hellenic government.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Concomitant agents that can assist on the COVID-19 therapy.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Personalized medicine: from the ancient times to a promising future.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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