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Troubled Dream of Genetic Medicine:

Ethnicity and Innovation in Tay-Sachs, Cystic Fibrosis, and Sickle Cell Disease
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Why do racial and ethnic controversies become attached, as they often do, to discussions of modern genetics? How do theories about genetic difference become entangled with political debates about cultural and group differences in America? Such issues are a conspicuous part of the histories of three hereditary diseases: Tay-Sachs, commonly identified with Jewish Americans; cystic fibrosis, often labeled a 'Caucasian' disease; and sickle cell disease, widely associated with African Americans. In this captivating account, historians Keith Wailoo and Stephen Pemberton reveal how these diseases -- fraught with ethnic and racial meanings for many Americans -- became objects of biological fascination and crucibles of social debate. Peering behind the headlines of breakthrough treatments and coming cures, they tell a complex story: about different kinds of suffering and faith, about unequal access to the promises and perils of modern medicine, and about how Americans consume innovation and how they come to believe in, or resist, the notion of imminent medical breakthroughs. With Tay-Sachs, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell disease as a powerful backdrop, the authors provide a glimpse into a diverse America where racial ideologies, cultural politics, and conflicting beliefs about the power of genetics shape disparate health care expectations and experiences.

AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Ethnic Symbols in Conflicted Times1. Eradicating a ''Jewish Gene'': Promises and Pitfalls in the Fight against Tay-Sachs Disease2. Risky Business in White America: Gene Therapy and Other Ventures in the Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis3. A Perilous Lottery for the Black Family: Sickle Cells, Social Justice, and the New Therapeutic GambleConclusion: Dreams amid DiversityNotesGlossaryIndex

""The authors are two historians of health care policy and politics, and their well-researched account of the 'genetic revolution' reveals drama and intrigue rarely seen in descriptions of medical history.""

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