Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Commentary
  • Published:

The genetics of health

Recent experience with several high-profile drugs demonstrates the great challenges in developing effective and safe therapeutics. A complementary approach to the popular paradigm of disease genetics is based on inherited factors that reduce the incidence and severity of disease among individuals who are genetically predisposed to disease. We propose testing specifically for modifier genes and protective alleles among at-risk individuals and studying the efficacy of therapeutics based on the genetics of health.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Nadeau, J.H. Nat. Rev. Genet. 2, 165–174 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Perls, T., Kunkel, L.M. & Puca, A.A. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 50, 359–368 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Weinshilboum, R. N. Engl. J. Med. 348, 529–537 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Rieder, M.J. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 352, 2285–2293 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Lynch, T.J. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 350, 2129–2139 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Haslam, D.W. & James, W.P.T. Lancet 366, 1197–1209 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Bell, C.G., Walley, A.G. & Frougel, P. Nat. Rev. Genet. 6, 221–234 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Abenhaim, L. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 335, 609–616 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Topol, E.J. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 293, 366–368 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Kerkela, R. et al. Nat. Med. 12, 908–916 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Rozmahel, R. et al. Nat. Genet. 12, 280–287 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Zielenski, J. et al. Nat. Genet. 22, 128–129 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Corder, E.H. et al. Nat. Genet. 7, 180–184 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Klein, R.J. et al. Science 308, 385–389 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Edwards, A.O. et al. Science 308, 421–424 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Haines, J.L. et al. Science 308, 419–421 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Zareparsi, S. et al. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 77, 149–153 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Hageman, G.S., Anderson, D.H. & Johnson, L.V. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102, 7227–7232 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Gold, B. et al. Nat. Genet. 38, 458–462 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Kardys, I. et al. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 47, 1568–1575 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Dietrich, W.F. et al. Cell 75, 631–639 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Youngren, K.K. et al. Nature 435, 360–364 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Todd, J.A. Nat. Genet. 38, 731–733 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Matin, A. & Nadeau, J.H. Trends Genet. 17, 727–731 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Cormier, R.T. et al. Nat. Genet. 17, 88–91 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Noben-Trauth, K., Zheng, Q.Y. & Johnson, K.R. Nat. Genet. 35, 21–23 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Ikeda, A. et al. Nat. Genet. 30, 401–405 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Buchner, D.A., Trudeau, M. & Meisler, M.H. Science 301, 967–969 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Floyd, J.A. et al. Nat. Genet. 35, 221–228 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Schultz, J.M. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 352, 1557–1564 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Eng, C. Hum. Mutat. 22, 183–198 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Zheng, Q.Y. & Johnson, K.R. Hear. Res. 154, 45–53 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Collin, G.B. et al. Mamm. Genome 7, 68–70 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Muller, A.J., Teresky, A.K. & Levene, A.J. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97, 8421–8426 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Smith, J.D., Dansky, H.M. & Breslow, J.L. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 947, 247–252 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Smith, J.D. et al. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 23, 117–122 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Dansky, H.M. et al. Genetics 160, 1599–1608 (2002).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Collin, G.B. et al. Physiol. Genomics 22, 182–190 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Seidelmann, S.B. et al. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 25, 204–210 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Stoehr, J.P. et al. Diabetes 53, 245–249 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Lim, J. et al. Cell 125, 801–814 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Fisher, R.A. The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection (Dover, New York, 1958).

    Google Scholar 

  43. Crow, J.F. Nat. Rev. Genet. 1, 40–46 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Sierra, S. & Stephenson, M. Semin. Reprod. Med. 24, 17–24 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Wagner, A. Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems (Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 2005).

    Google Scholar 

  46. Rutherford, S.L. Bioessays 22, 1095–1105 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Queitsch, C., Sangster, T.A. & Lindquist, S. Hsp90 as a capacitor of phenotypic variation. Nature 417, 618–624 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Malkin, D. in The Genetic Basis of Human Cancer (B. Vogelstein & K.W. Kinzler, eds.) 393–407 (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1998).

    Google Scholar 

  49. Harvey, M. et al. FASEB J. 7, 938–943 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Collins, F.S. et al. Nature 422, 835–847 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the support of US National Institutes of Health grants P40 RR12305 and RO1 CA75056 to J.H.N. and P50 HL077101 to E.J.T.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nadeau, J., Topol, E. The genetics of health. Nat Genet 38, 1095–1098 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1006-1095

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1006-1095

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing