Clinical practice in the new era

‘… As genetics develops in the new millennium it will be important to remember that computer modelling or other sophisticated approaches to unravelling biological complexity can never replace the study of these remarkable “experiments of nature”. It is vital, therefore, that the field evolves as a closely integrated partnership between the clinical and basic biological sciences; they will continue to have much to offer each other.’ Sir David J. Weatherall, 1999.Frank Moore Hospital , 1992. Oil on wood with frame. Courtesy Sperone Westwater, New York![][1] The explosive growth in biomedical research during the last two decades has radically altered the manner in which the medical sciences approach disease pathogenesis and cure. The advances in and the thematic overlap among disciplines, such as molecular genetics, cellular biochemistry, molecular pharmacology and immunobiology, have made possible new perspectives and tools that are permeating experimental medical research, with recombinant DNA technology providing the catalytic factor. The provisions of ‘old’ medicine impregnated with the new understanding of human function are creating a new field: molecular medicine. This new concept tries to explain human illness as a ‘malady of molecules’ with the precision of the physical sciences and seeks to understand the structural and functional anomalies of genes and their protein products in the diseased state. Molecular medicine reflects the ‘hybridisation’ of classical medicine with basic research. It is not limited, as implied by its name, to the applications of molecular biology to clinical problem solving, but rather seeks to identify and confront clinical entities at the molecular level.> The Provisions of conventional ‘old’ medicine impregnated with the new understanding of human function are creating a new field: molecular medicine. This new concept tries to explain human illness as a ‘malady of molecules’ with the accuracy of the physical sciencesThe key terms in … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif