Genetics of Complex Disease is a concise text for final year undergraduate and first year graduate students. Healthcare professionals and other biomedical scientists trying to come to grips with the impact of new genetics research will also find the book useful. After explaining genetic variation and defining complex diseases, the text shows how and why complex diseases are investigated. The focus then changes to areas where there is strong evidence for the genes/alleles involved. Important ethical consequences are also covered, as are the methods used to generate new genetic data.

Peter Donaldson, Ann Daly, Luca Ermini, Debra Bevitt

Genetics of Complex Disease examines how the identification of genetic variations that increase or reduce the risk of common, genetically complex, diseases can be used to improve our understanding of the pathology of many common diseases; enable better patient management and care; and help with differential diagnosis. It starts with the quest

1. Genetic Diversity2. Defining Complex Disease3. How to Investigate Complex Disease Genetics 4. Why Investigate Complex Disease Genetics?5. Statistical Considerations for the Planning and Analysis of Genetic Studies in Complex Disease. 6. The MHC7. Genetics of Infectious Disease 8. Pharmacogenetics9. Cancer as a Complex Disease: Genetic Factors Affecting Cancer Susceptibility and Cancer Treatment10. Genetic Studies on Susceptibility to Diabetes11. Ethical, Social and Personal Consequences12. Sequencing Technology and the Future of Complex Disease Genetics