ILLUMINATION OF THERAPEUTICS BY TOXICOLOGY - A PERSONAL VIEW

1. My specialties are therapeutics and toxicology. When we think in cl assical terms about drugs, therapeutics refers to curative healing, to xicology to the capacity to produce harm. However, they are not opposi te disciplines, but rather reflect a continuum along the dose-response curve of a drug or toxin. Since antiquity, the study of toxicology ha s underpinned and illuminated therapeutics. Even the most potent toxin s, such as botulinum and ricin, are used for therapeutic purposes. 2. In the case of one of my favourite research topics, the herbicide para quat, I illustrate how investigating methods to treat patients poisone d by it has led to important advances in knowledge in medicine and the rapeutics. Studying paraquat has launched my own research group on a p ath towards elucidating the mechanisms of the chronic neurological sid e effects of the antipsychotic drug, haloperidol, which is used widely to treat schizophrenia. In tracing these tortuous paths, the roles th at serendipity and creativity play in research and their implications far education and funding policies are highlighted.