Motulsky A G
Trans Assoc Am Physicians. 1977;90:76-90.
A genetic approach to medicine provides a powerful concept for understanding of the etiology of many diseases. Significant investigative and therapeutic advances have already been made in the chromosomal and Mendelian diseases using genetic concepts which initially were discovered completely unrelated to medicine. The combination of unfettered basic biomedical research together with family and population studies is likely to bring new insights to understanding, prevention and treatment of the yet poorly understood multifactorial diseases which represent the greatest public health problems in the Western world. Identification of specific genes involved in susceptibility and resistance to these diseases and their interaction with various environmental factors will allow a more rational preventive medicine in the future.
医学中的遗传学方法为理解许多疾病的病因提供了一个强有力的概念。利用最初发现与医学完全无关的遗传学概念，在染色体疾病和孟德尔疾病方面已经取得了重大的研究和治疗进展。不受限制的基础生物医学研究与家庭及群体研究相结合，可能会为理解、预防和治疗目前仍了解甚少的多因素疾病带来新的见解，而这些疾病是西方世界最大的公共卫生问题。确定与这些疾病易感性和抗性相关的特定基因及其与各种环境因素的相互作用，将使未来的预防医学更加合理。
