Ethics, genetic screening, and pharmacogenetics

Abstract

The publication of the human genome project results has increased predictions of a paradigm shift in medicine (Schmidt, 1998), and genetic screening and testing are at the heart of the debate . Over the past few years much work has been done on developing criteria for the implementation of population genetic screening, including the seriousness of the condition screened for; the reliability and predictive power of the test; and the possibilities for effective intervention, or scope for action in the light of a positive result. It has been argued, however, e.g. by John Bell in the British Medical Journal, that the "development of drugs along genetic guidelines will be a major force driving the implementation of screening by healthcare providers" (Bell, 1998). The term used to describe the use of genetics to show how variations in patients' DNA may diminish or increase the effects of a drug, or render it harmless, is 'pharmacogenetics'.