Molecular Genetic Medicine, Volume III, summarizes progress in several of the most important areas of modern molecular genetics and medicine. The book opens with a chapter on the birth and early development of the field of human gene therapy and the earliest conceptual and technical descriptions of the issues and opportunities in this new area of medicine. This is followed by separate chapters on the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis; interactions and genetic phenomena that accompany the progression of astrocytic tumors; and molecular biology of Alzheimer's disease; and the search for the Huntington's disease gene and the role of genetic instability in this disease. The final chapter discusses the ways in which both the medical insurance and genetics industries will have to respond to changes in the power of genetic information and its ability to predict coronary vascular disease, cancer, neurological disease, and all the other common afflictions that constitute the bulk of their businesses.