Systems Medicine

Systems Medicine: Physiological Circuits and the Dynamics of Disease introduces the topic of physiological circuits, in which cells and organs communicate with each other. Rather than circuits inside a cell, it discusses circuits between cells. This is the level relevant to the most common and deadly diseases that currently plague humanity. The goal is to start from basic principles or ‘laws’ and derive why physiology is built the way it is, and why certain diseases happen while others don’t. By the end of the book you will be able to use simple but powerful mathematical models to describe physiological circuits. The models are powerful because they turn details into useful understanding and new ways to think about treating diseases. We will understand the fundamental causes of some of the most mysterious diseases: diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and age-related diseases such as lung fibrosis and cancer. The trajectory begins with basic principles. From these are derived circuits and their fragility to disease. The book explores (i) hormone circuits, (ii) immune circuits, and (iii) aging and age-related disease, and culminates in a periodic table of diseases. It is written in a very accessible style, suitable for anyone with a background in biology, engineering, physics, math, engineering, computer science, chemistry or other subjects.