Genetic variation can affect drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and contribute to variability between individuals in response to medications. Specifically, differences in allele frequencies among individuals and ethnic groups have been associated with variation in their propensity to develop drug hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs). This article reviews the current knowledge on the genetic background of HSRs and its relevance to Jewish and Arab populations. The focus is on human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and haplotypes as predictive markers of HSRs ("immunopharmacogenetics"), but other genes and alleles are described as well. Also discussed is the translation of the pharmacogenetic information to practice recommendations.
Keywords: Arab; Jewish; human leukocyte antigens; hypersensitivity reactions.