NYT: Personalized Medicine Postponed
“The genetic analysis of common disease is turning out to be a lot more complex than expected,” proclaims a recent New York Times article. There are the rare diseases that are caused by just one defective gene, the article notes, but most common, problematic diseases like cancer and diabetes are caused by numerous genetic variations—combined, of course, with a whole host of environmental factors.
It’s an interesting article and links back to recent commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine—but I don’t recall anyone ever saying discovering the genetic link to diseases and making personalized medicine an accessible reality would be easy. The challenges are great, to be sure, but with technology and our understanding still developing, it’s far too early to throw in the towel.