[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/10114\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n        \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n  \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ECommon illnesses including high cholesterol prompt hunt for personalised drugs\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne size does not necessarily fit all. This is as true in medicine as in most other areas of life. People can react very differently to the same treatment and the results are potentially very serious.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EConsequently, it can be difficult for doctors to decide on exactly which drug to prescribe to patients with the same presenting symptoms but very different genetic and biological make-ups. Research in the field of personalised medicine is seeking to tailor drug prescriptions to individual profiles more effectively.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cstrong\u003ECholesterol case\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the University of Helsinki in Finland, the EU-funded \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/725249\u0022\u003EIndiviStat\u003C\/a\u003E project is looking at the use of statins as a case in point. This common cholesterol-reducing medication is one of the most widely prescribed drugs in Europe\u0026nbsp;\u2013 and indeed the world. Statins are credited with reducing the threat of illness and death in people at risk of heart disease by lowering their \u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol levels.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EUnfortunately, a common side effect is muscle pain, which can cause some people to stop taking these drugs. The consequences can be fatal. A \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/eurheartj\/article\/37\/11\/908\/2398344?login=false\u0022\u003EDanish study\u003C\/a\u003E found that forgoing prescribed statins increased the risk of heart attack by 26%.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There may be 20\u0026nbsp;000 to 30\u0026nbsp;000 excess deaths worldwide because people stop taking this therapy,\u2019 said Professor Mikko Niemi, a University of Helsinki clinical pharmacologist who is leading the project funded by the European Research Council.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nNiemi has been researching how gene mutations affect people\u0027s reactions to statins since the early 2000s.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe ERC grant of \u20ac2 million that he received in 2017 will help him design an algorithm to aid doctors in choosing the most suitable statin \u2013 there are about half a dozen to pick from \u2013 for each patient. At the push of a button, the algorithm will use the results of a genetic test to evaluate how the patient\u2019s body is likely to react and select the one best adapted to the person.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Differences with statins are not in what the drug does to the body, but in how the body handles the drug,\u2019 said Niemi.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003EThere may be 20 000 to 30 000 excess deaths worldwide because people stop taking this therapy.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Mikko Niemi, IndiviStat\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMuscle test\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/b\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAll statins work the same way \u2013 by blocking the manufacture of low-density (bad) cholesterol in liver cells. But in some people, their liver can be predisposed to take up less of the drug so that more of it circulates in their blood.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAs levels of statin in the blood go up, the risk of muscle toxicity rises. This can lead to the muscle pain that causes some people to stop taking the drugs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETowards the end of the research project, the algorithm will be tried out on between 500 and 1\u0026nbsp;000 Finnish patients who are to be prescribed the cholesterol-lowering drugs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We hope we can reduce the number of patients who stop taking statins from around 30% to 20%,\u2019 Niemi said.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nSuch a result could save thousands of lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EAll right\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EStatins are not the only life-altering medicines that could benefit from new approaches better tailored to individuals.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nPersonalised medicine is a medical model that aims to tailor the right therapeutic strategy for the right person at the right time.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nIt can help determine a patient\u2019s predisposition to disease and propose the correct treatment, based on the individual\u2019s unique situation, before an illness has progressed too far. The \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu\/research-area\/health\/personalised-medicine_en\u0022\u003EEuropean Commission\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;has been supporting research in personalised medicine for many years.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nProfessor Sara Marsal at the Vall d\u2019Hebron Research Institute in Barcelona, Spain is studying six inflammatory diseases within the context of the EU-funded\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/848028\u0022\u003EDocTIS\u003C\/a\u003E project. It involves research organisations from Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe diseases being looked at include psoriasis, Crohn\u2019s and rheumatoid arthritis. On the face of it, these seem quite different, impacting skin, bowel and joints. Yet doctors have long recognised that their symptoms overlapped.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a young doctor, Marsal recalls how patients seeing a dermatologist for psoriasis would be sent to her for arthritis, for example.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u2018These diseases are highly prevalent chronic conditions and we have no cures,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThen, 20 years ago, the link was confirmed in a positive way when a group of drugs\u0026nbsp;\u2013 TNF inhibitors\u0026nbsp;\u2013 targeting inflammation were found to reduce symptoms in patients with all three disorders. More recent studies revealed shared genetics between the conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EPatients with these inflammatory conditions\u0026nbsp;also have common experiences.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nTheir disease may flare up, improve for periods but never go away. They can be prescribed a drug, which reduces symptoms, but over time these benefits fade. A doctor then prescribes a different treatment. The patient may or may not respond to the drug.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBiobank help\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMarsal has a plan to do better through DocTIS, which runs for six years through 2025. The other three diseases being assessed are ulcerative colitis, lupus and psoriatic arthritis.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe project is tapping a biobank, which Marsal helped to build, that stores thousands of biological samples from patients with chronic inflammatory diseases.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EResearchers will look at patient cells, proteins and genes at the start of a treatment. This is to help understand the biology associated with a treatment response.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe individual will have either responded or not responded after three months of therapy. The project intends to identify, at a molecular and cellular level, the reasons for differences in response and better target existing treatment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003EWe are striving for higher efficacy, without safety concerns\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EDr Sara Marsal, DocTIS\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We urgently need to understand the biology behind responders and non-responders in order to predict what the result will be of using some of these drugs together,\u2019 said Marsal.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDrug duos\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EExperiments in cells, and then in animals, will pinpoint likely drug duos for patients with any one of the six inflammatory diseases. Towards the end of the project, a clinical trial will administer these combinations to patients. If successful, it will help clinicians match specific patients with existing drugs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are striving for higher efficacy, without safety concerns,\u2019 said Marsal. \u2018This would be a fantastic outcome.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EUsually, developing a new drug could take a decade \u2013 with no guarantee of success. However, this new approach with existing drugs means that patients might benefit from a new combination at the end of the project, in around three to four years.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nBefore then, Marsal and her colleagues\u0026nbsp;hope to publish results that will help scientists and doctors better understand the biological foundations that lie beneath these chronic inflammatory diseases.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Helsinki, Niemi\u2019s ambition is for his statin-choosing algorithm to be available not just in Finland or in Europe but worldwide. With heart and inflammatory diseases being such common ailments, both projects have the potential to improve the health of countless people.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded via the EU\u2019s European Research Council (ERC). If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n            \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n      Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n    \u003C\/div\u003E\n  \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-70jiasqd-xjecluz69f6bizfl8mgyahglbrebwqypj8\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-70jIaSQd_XJECLUZ69F6BiZFL8mGyAHglbReBWqYpj8\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]