The Politics of Personalised Medicine Pharmacogenetics in the Clinic [Paperback]

Explores the impact of pharmacogenetics, the use of genetic testing to prescribe and develop drugs, on clinical practice.This book applies a social science perspective to an examination of some of the issues that arise in clinical practice as a result of drug development linked to genetic testing. These include the social context within which new drugs are trialled, the attitudes of the clinicians asked to administer them, the expectations of clinicians and patients and associated ethical issues. Two case studies are used to illustrate the arguments, one on aspects of Alzheimer's disease, the other on the drug Herceptin which is used in the treatment of breast cancer.This book applies a social science perspective to an examination of some of the issues that arise in clinical practice as a result of drug development linked to genetic testing. These include the social context within which new drugs are trialled, the attitudes of the clinicians asked to administer them, the expectations of clinicians and patients and associated ethical issues. Two case studies are used to illustrate the arguments, one on aspects of Alzheimer's disease, the other on the drug Herceptin which is used in the treatment of breast cancer.This book applies a social science perspective to an examination of issues that arise in clinical practice as a result of drug development linked to genetic testing. These include the social context within which new drugs undergo trials and the related attitudes and expectations of clinicians and patients. Two case studies illustrate the arguments--one on aspects of Alzheimer's disease, and the other on the drug Herceptin which is used in the treatment of breast cancer.1. Personalised medicine - a revolution in health care; 2. Pharmacogenetics, expectation and promissory science; 3. Genetics, moral risk and professional resistance; 4. Clinical resistance to Alzheimer's pharmacogenetics; 5. Research, industry and pharmacogenetic literacy; 6. Engineering the cll“-