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Beta Blocker Specificity: A Building Block Toward Personalized Medicine., Brent R Degeorge, Walter J Koch

Center for Translational Medicine Faculty Papers

Drugs known as beta blockers, which antagonize the beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR), are an important component of the treatment regimen for chronic heart failure (HF). However, a significant body of evidence indicates that genetic heterogeneity at the level of the beta(1)-AR may be a factor in explaining the variable responses of HF patients to beta blockade. In this issue of the JCI, Rochais et al. describe how a single amino acid change in beta(1)-AR alters its structural conformation and improves its functional response to carvedilol, a beta blocker currently used in the treatment of HF (see the related article beginning on …