Pharmacogenetics and ethnically targeted therapies

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7499.1036

BMJ 2005;330:1036-1037 (7 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7499.1036

Editorial

Pharmacogenetics and ethnically targeted therapies

New drug BiDil marks the return of biology to the debate aboutrace and ethnicity

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

In modern conceptions of race and ethnicity, biology has beenrelegated to a minor underlying factor.¹ Instead, these conceptshave been cast as largely social constructions.² For example,race traditionally distinguishes between groups according toa mixture of physical characteristics (including skin colour),which reflect ancestry and hence biology. A modern conceptionof race would place the emphasis on a common social and politicalheritage. Similarly, ethnicity puts emphasis on distinguishingbetween groups by using a mixture of cultural factors, includinglanguage and religion.² Recent developments in pharmacogenetics,however, renew the historical emphasis on biology in conceptsof race and ethnicity. Pharmacogeneticists examine whether differentresponses to drug treatment may be attributable to genetic differences.They are focusing on race and ethnicity as a means to this end.A recent international conference, the 8th world congress onclinical pharmacology and therapeutics, in Brisbane, Australia,had an afternoon on ethnopharmacology, . . . [Full text of this article]

Taslin Rahemtulla, research associate

Public Health Sciences, Division of Community Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Medical School, Edinburgh EH8 9AG

Raj Bhopal, professor of public health

(raj.bhopal@ed.ac.uk), Public Health Sciences, Division of Community Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Medical School, Edinburgh EH8 9AG

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