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OverviewThalassaemia is the most common type of genetic disorder in the human population, and one of the first whose genetic basis was established. Written by Sir David Weatherall, an expert in molecular medicine and the founder of the Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford, this tells the story of early reports of the disease, historical accounts, the identification of the disease as having an inherited basis, early work on thalassaemia as a disorder of the synthesis of haemoglobin, and from the 1960s with the rise of molecular biology, the study of the condition at the DNA level. The commonality of the disease raised an important evolutionary question: if thalassaemia is a genetic disorder then why hasn't it been selected out? Why does it persist, especially in Mediterranean populations? The great geneticist JBS Haldane suggested a reason - that carriers might be more resistant to malaria. Now that we have much more detailed understanding of the molecular basis of this set of diseases, has Haldane proved to be right? Weatherall shows that Haldane turns out to have been partially right. The book ends with recent improvements in treatment that have transformed patients' lives and a general assessment of how molecular approaches are impacting on medicine.Thalassaemia: the biography is part of the Oxford series, Biographies of Disease, edited by William and Helen Bynum. In each individual volume an expert historian of medicine tells the story of a particular disease or condition throughout history - not only in terms of growing medical understanding of its nature and cure, but also shifting social and cultural attitudes, and changes in the meaning of the name of the disease itself. Full Product DetailsAuthor: David Weatherall (Founder of the Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford)Publisher: Oxford University Press Imprint: Oxford University Press Dimensions: Width: 13.70cm , Height: 2.60cm , Length: 19.50cm Weight: 0.386kg ISBN: 9780199565603ISBN 10: 0199565600 Pages: 272 Publication Date: 26 August 2010 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Out of Print Availability: In Print Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock. Table of ContentsPrologue 1: Beginnings: 1920 - 1935 2: Thalassaemia is an extremely common genetic disease: 1935 - 1950 3: Thalassaemia as a genetic disorder of haemoglobin production: 1950 - 1960 4: Defective haemoglobin synthesis in thalassaemia and speculations about its molecular basis: 1960 - 1974 5: The molecular era and the birth of molecular medicine: 1975 - 2000 6: Was Haldane right? 7: Lessons for the biomedical sciences Glossary Further ReadingReviewsWeatherall's scientific history of thalassemia does serve as a useful reference for scholars interested in the disease...offering insights into the ways in which molecular understandings of disease have come to transform clinical medicine in the last half century. Domonique A. Tobbell, ISIS Author InformationSir David Weatherall established the Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford in 1989. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |