If you think the cost of knowledge is high wait till you learn of the cost of ignorance. A Einstein

Figures have been published in the United States that I believe dramatically demonstrate the cost of ignorance in medicine!

Adverse reactions to drugs caused more than 100,000 deaths in the USA in 1994 according to a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (vol279). Of more concern is that these reactions often occur in patients receiving a standard dose of a particular drug. The point I am trying to illustrate here is the tremendous potential to improve the use and benefit of drugs already on market in addition to the discovery of new ones. That potential comes, in part, from the increased knowledge of the genetic basis for the therapeutic and side effects of the drug. As the molecular and genetic basis of disease is more deeply understood so the opportunity for new treatments increases. This is a classic example of an increasing returns "industry". It leads to the emergence of a whole new branch for medicine.

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