Nuffield Council on Bioethics2019-09-252019-09-252012-05-0720031 904384 06 4http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/184931"People vary in their response to the same medicine. Few medicines are effective for everyone; all may cause adverse reactions or occasionally death. Some of the variation between individuals in response to medicines is due to differences in their genetic make-up. There are many different reasons why medicines may be dangerous or ineffective, such as inaccurate prescribing, poor compliance by the patient and interaction between a particular medicine and other substances, including other medication. However, advances in genetic knowledge may enable us to take better account of differences between individuals. Pharmacogenetics is the study of genetic variation that affects response to medicines. It has the potential to play an important role in improving safety and efficacy. Adverse reactions to medicines have significant costs, in both human and monetary terms. In addition, considerable resources are wasted on prescribing medicines that have little or no effect in particular patients". (p. xiii)Pages: 103engWith permission of the license/copyright holdermedicinehealth ethicsPharmacogeneticsBioethicsMedical ethicsHealth ethicsBook