HYPOTHESIS - COMPARISONS OF INTERINDIVIDUAL AND INTRAINDIVIDUAL VARIATIONS CAN SUBSTITUTE FOR TWIN STUDIES IN DRUG RESEARCH

Twin studies are useful devices to determine the heritability of persi stent but variable characteristics that tend to differ among individua ls. Drug responses are not persistent affairs; they are temporary char acteristics. One therefore may ask whether twin studies are necessary to assess the genetic element in pharmacological responsiveness. To me asure the genetic component contributing to their variability, it seem s logical to investigate the response variation by repeated drug admin istration to given individuals, and to compare the variability of the responses within and between individuals. We attempt here to describe a theoretical background of this venture, and to show some results of the exercise. Potential sources of error or uncertainty are discussed. Pharmacogenetics 8:283-289 (C) 1998 Lippincott-Raven Publishers.