One of the newest subspecialties of biological science is pharmacogenetics, the science that deals with the relationship between inherited genes and the ability of the body to metabolize drugs. Medicine today relies on the use of therapeutic drugs to treat disease, but one of the longstanding problems has been the documented variation in patient response to drug therapy. The recommended dosage is usually established at a level shown to be effective in 50% of a test population, and based on the patient's initial response, the dosage may be increased, decreased, or discontinued. In rare situations, the patient may experience an adverse reaction to the drug and be shown to have a pharmacogenetic disorder. The unique feature of this group of diseases is that the problem does not occur until after the drug is given, so a person may have a pharmacogenetic defect and never know it if the specific...