Genes and Common Diseases
Genetics in Modern Medicine

This book examines the role of genetics in modern medicine, reflecting the strengths and limitations of a genetic perspective.

Alan Wright (Edited by), Nicholas Hastie (Edited by)

9780521833394, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 August 2007

560 pages, 37 b/w illus. 23 colour illus.
25.2 x 19.5 x 3 cm, 1.354 kg

Genes and Common Diseases presents an up-to-date view of the role of genetics in modern medicine, reflecting the strengths and limitations of a genetic perspective. The current shift in emphasis from the study of rare single gene disorders to common diseases brings genetics into every aspect of modern medicine, from infectious diseases to therapeutics. However, it is unclear whether this increasingly genetic focus will prove useful in the face of major environmental influences in many common diseases. The book takes a hard and self-critical look at what can and cannot be achieved using a genetic approach and what is known about genetic and environmental mechanisms in a variety of common diseases. It seeks to clarify the goals of human genetic research by providing state-of-the art insights into known molecular mechanisms underlying common disease processes while at the same time providing a realistic overview of the expected genetic and physiological complexity.

Part I. Introductory Principles: 1. Genes and their expression Dirk-Jan Kleinjan
2. Epigenetic modification of chromatin Donncha Dunican, Sari Pennings and Richard Meehan
3. Population genetics and disease Donald Conrad and Jonathan Pritchard
4. Mapping common disease genes Naomi Wray and Petter Visscher
5. Population diversity, genomes and disease Gianpiero Cavalleri and David Goldstein
6. Study design in mapping complex disease traits Harry Campbell and Igor Rudan
7. Diseases of protein misfolding Christopher Dobson
8. Aging and disease Thomas Perls
9. The MHC paradigm - genetic variation and complex disease Adrian Kelly and John Trowsdale
10. Lessons from single gene disorders Nicholas Hastie
11. Environment and disease A. J. McMichael and K. B. G. Dear
12. Contemporary ethico-legal issues in genetics Renate Gertz, Shawn Harmon and Geoffrey Pradella
Part II. Common Medical Disorders: 13. Developmental disorders Stephen Robertson and Andrew Wilkie
14. Genes, environment and cancer Timothy Bishop
15. The polygenic basis of breast cancer Paul Pharoah and Bruce Ponder
16. TP53: a master gene in normal and tumour suppression Pierre Hainaut
17. Genetics of colorectal cancer Susan Farrington and Malcolm Dunlop
18. Genetics of autoimmune disease John Bell and Lars Fugger
19. Susceptibility to infectious diseases Andrew Walley and Adrian Hill
20. Inflammatory bowel diseases Jean-Pierre Hugot
21. Genetic anaemias W. G. Wood and D. R. Higgs
22. Genetics of chronic disease: obesity Sadaf Farooqi and Stephen O'Rahilly
23. Type 2 diabetes mellitus Mark McCarthy
24. Genetics of coronary heart disease Rossi Naoumova, Stuart Cook, Paul Cook and Timothy Aitman
25. Genetics of hypertension B. Keavney and M. Lathrop
26. Obstructive pulmonary disease Bipen Patel and David Lomas
27. Skeletal disorders Robert Colbert
28. The genetics of common skin diseases Jonathan Rees
29. Molecular genetics of Alzheimer disease and other adult-onset dementias Peter St George-Hyslop
30. Major psychiatric disorders in adult life Amanda Elkin, Sridevi Kalidindi, Kopal Tandon and Peter McGuffin
31. Speech and language disorders Gabrielle Barnby and Anthony Monaco
32. Common forms of visual handicap Alan Wright
33. Genetic and environmental influences on hearing impairment Karen Steel
34. Pharmacogenomics - clinical applications Gillian Smith and Roland Wolf.

Subject Areas: Molecular biology [PSD], Biomedical engineering [MQW], Paediatric medicine [MJW], Haematology [MJF], Oncology [MJCL], Medical genetics [MFN], Medicine: general issues [MB]