Vol. 49, Issue 4, 369-380, December 1997

Pharmacogenetics in Biological Perspective

W. Kalow^a

Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

I. Introduction
II. The Word "Pharmacogenetics"
III. The Nature of Examples
    A. Human Data
        1. Pharmacokinetic compared with pharmacodynamic variation.
        2. The example of debrisoquine hydroxylase deficiency.
        3. Epidemiological implications of kinetic variants.
    B. Toxicant Resistance in Arthropods and Bacteria
        1. Arthropods.
        2. Bacteria.
IV. Comparing Intoxication and Infectious Disease
V. The Biological Cost of Variation
VI. Quantitative Aspects of Pharmacogenetic Variation
    A. Monogenic Variation
    B. Gaussian Variation
VII. Pharmacogenetics and Evolution
VIII. Summary and Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References