Abstract
In the first of a two part series, Ahn and colleagues discuss the reductionist approach pervading medicine and explain how a systems approach (as advocated by systems biology) may complement reductionism.
Highlights
This is the first in a series of two articles that look at the lessons for clinical medicine from systems biology
In order for a systems perspective to be fully appreciated, we must first recognize the reductionist nature of medical science and understand its limitations
Systems biology was conceived to address the molecular complexities seen in biological systems
Summary
While the implementation of clinical medicine is systems-oriented, the science of clinical medicine is fundamentally reductionist This is shown in four prominent practices in medicine: (1) the focus on a singular, dominant factor, (2) emphasis on homeostasis, (3) inexact risk modification, and (4) additive treatments. The Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure lowered its initial diastolic blood pressure threshold of 105 in 1977 to 90 in 1980, to 85 (for high normal) in 1992, and to 80 (for prehypertension) in 2003 The cost of such a strategy is the unnecessary treatment of individuals who wouldn’t have developed coronary disease in the first place. The assumption is that the results of treatments are additive rather than nonlinear
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