Search is Powered by Google
Follow us on:
Follow our health news on Twitter
Follow Our News on Facebook
Personalization
login | register
Genetics News

Race, Genetics Could 'Disrupt' Pursuit Of Using DNA To Tailor Medicine, Health Care, Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Genetics
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 16 Nov 2007 - 10:00 PDT

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon view / write opinions   rate icon rate article
Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:not yet rated

Health Professional:4 and a half stars

4.14 (7 votes)

Article Opinions: 0 posts

"Recent discoveries about our genetic makeup have turned medicine, science and even our legal system into high-stakes players in a DNA lottery, one that could affect the treatment people receive for cardiac care, diabetes and other diseases," Karla Holloway, a Duke University law professor, writes in a Raleigh News & Observer opinion piece.

Holloway writes that "extracting DNA information ... is so closely tied to the complicated issue of race in this country that it seems impossible to separate the two." Holloway makes reference to BiDil, the first heart disease drug specifically targeted to blacks, noting that not all blacks physically appear or identify themselves as black. She asks, "[W]hat kinds of determinations do physicians make before they consider BiDil as a treatment option? ... Exactly what percentage of African ancestry must one have to merit a particular drug marketed to black folks?"

She adds that the "goal of genetic science is appropriately targeted toward medical decisions that are individual. A person's genetic makeup will one day lead to very specific, indeed individualized medical advice. But as long as we equate genetics and race, we bring along a set of biases that could disrupt this important medical objective and urge the short cut of race as a stand-in for the scientific question." Holloway writes, "It's a slippery slope that could discourage our consideration of medically significant issues such as nutrition, stress and lifestyle" (Holloway, Raleigh News & Observer, 11/15).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

View drug information on BiDil.





Personalized Homepage Weekly Newsletters Daily News Alerts
Hemophilia Opioid Induced Constipation Pneumococcal Disease ADHD Anxiety Asthma Atrial Fibrillation Autism Cancer Diabetes Lung Cancer Lupus Medicare / Medicaid Obesity and BMI Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells All 'What Is...' Articles

Ophthalmology Urology
About Us News Licensing Free Website Feeds Free Tools & Content Tell a Friend Accessibility Help / FAQ Article Submission Links Contact Us

add medical news today to your facebook
medical news gadget

Please fill in our survey

Swine Flu Image

Swine Flu Updates

- Latest Swine Flu News
- What is Swine Flu?
- Map Of H1N1 Outbreaks
- Swine Flu - Top 20 FAQ
- Daily Email News Alerts
Stick with Medical News Today for the latest news updates on swine flu.


These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Top Article Star
Same-Sex Behavior Seen In Nearly All Animals, Review Finds
20 Jun 2009
Same-sex behavior is a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom, common across species, from worms to frogs to birds, concludes a new review of existing research. "It's clear that same-sex sexual behavior extends...


When Clutter Takes Over Your Life
When Clutter Takes Over Your Life

Clutter had taken over Cora's life. Working with a professional organizer and finding out what's beneath the clutter is helping her get her life back.

more videos are available in our health videos section.