Human Disease - From Genetic Causes to Biochemical Effects

Over the past ten to fifteen years our steadily increasing knowledge in the basic sciences of modern biology, especially in the fields of molecular biology, immunology, neurology and molecular genetics, has brought about a fundamental change in the concepts, strategies and daily practice of medical and pharmaceutical research. Today, genes, the informational elements which specify the structures of all proteins and thereby determine the shape, life cycle, function and behaviour of all cells in the human body, have gained increasing significance in our understanding of physiological and pathophysiological processes. The Centennial Symposium on the "Genetic Basis of Human Disease" of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, held in October 1996 in Basel, Switzerland, offered a platform to leading scientists from Europe and the USA to give a broad analysis of the impact of modern biology on the medicine of tomorrow, and to express and discuss their views on how genomic sciences will influence the diagnosis, prevention and therapy of diseases in the future. The consequences for drug discovery and development processes, for physicians and patients, and for society as a whole will be immense.