Have you ever wondered why the same medicine and treatment methods don't work for every disease and every person? Sometimes the medicine you give to your friend for the same disease may not work for you. That's why the world is talking about this new medical method as a solution. This is called 'Precision Medicine' or ``(Precision Medicine)''. Let's talk about this in detail today.
What is Precision Medicine?
Simply put, this is a medical treatment that is right for you, specific to you. Imagine, your genes, the environment you live in, your lifestyle – this is a new way of taking information about all of these and using them to give you the best health care. In this way, scientists and doctors can predict in advance what kind of disease prevention methods, what kind of medicine, and what kind of group will be suitable. This is also called 'personalized medicine'.
Usually, we see that doctors often plan treatments in a way that works for the 'average person'. That is, a 'one-size-fits-all' approach. In this, they don't think much about the small differences between people. So, this approach works well for some people, for some diseases. But, for some people, for some diseases, it doesn't work at all. That's the solution to this, which is called `(Precision Medicine)`. This involves choosing the treatment that best suits your body, your genes, and your lifestyle.
What is this Precision Medicine Initiative?
This is a very important, special program started by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States - that is, the largest institution there that researches diseases and works to improve health - together with a number of other world-renowned research institutions. Their biggest effort is to find out what are the best ways to use things like your genes, your environment, and your lifestyle to treat and prevent diseases.
This ``Precision Medicine Initiative'' has short-term and long-term goals.
- " The short-term goal is to bring this concept of ``Precision Medicine'' to cancer research. Scientists at the US National Cancer Institute want to understand the biology and genetics of cancer in more depth and develop new, more effective treatments. Imagine, when a cancer develops, if you know exactly what kind of cancer it is and what genetic changes caused it, you can give it a drug that works for it, right?"
- " The long-term goal is to expand this `(Precision Medicine)` to all aspects of healthcare. For this, `(NIH)` has started a special research program called `(All of Us Research Program)`. Through this research, they are trying to collect information from a large group of people with different genetic backgrounds and lifestyles, and use that data to find out how to make healthcare better for everyone."
What benefits do we get from Precision Medicine?
This ``Precision Medicine'' approach can improve your health and the medical care you receive in many ways. Check out these benefits:
- Your doctor can use your genetic information to help with everyday medical care. Imagine how valuable that would be! For example, some medications may cause more side effects in people with certain genes. Knowing your genetic information can help you avoid taking those medications.
- We gain a better understanding of why diseases occur. This means that instead of just treating the symptoms, we can treat the root cause of the disease.
- You can identify in advance which treatments are most suitable for you . Then you can reduce the use of unnecessary medications and side effects. You save time and money.
- There are more advanced methods for preventing, diagnosing, and treating diseases. It is even possible to determine whether there is a genetic predisposition to some diseases before they develop.
- Your electronic health records (EHRs) – the records of your illnesses, medications, and tests that are stored in a computer system – will be more easily accessible. This will make it easier for doctors to access your medical information and plan treatment.
Where is Precision Medicine currently used?
Doctors are already using this ``Precision Medicine'' approach in many areas of medicine. Although it is still in its early stages, the results are very encouraging. Here are a few examples:
- Precision oncology
- Cancer immunotherapy
- Pharmacogenomics
- Rare diseases
Shall we talk about each of these in more detail? Then you will understand the importance of this better.
What is precision oncology?
Doctors usually classify cancer by the part of the body it is in (e.g., lung cancer, breast cancer) or the type of tissue (e.g., lymphoma). But with this ``Precision Medicine,'' they are now finding molecular fingerprints of different cancers. That is, they are identifying small chemical patterns and genetic changes that are unique to each cancer, just like our fingerprints. These markers are used to further subdivide cancers into types and subtypes.
Researchers have found that cancers that develop in different parts of the body can have many similarities at the molecular level. So, this ``Precision oncology`` allows doctors to choose treatments based on the ``DNA signature`` of a person's cancer. This means that instead of giving everyone the same medicine, they can give a treatment that is specifically tailored to that cancer, to that genetic change. This makes the treatment much more likely to be successful.
What is cancer immunotherapy?
Did you know that your body's immune system can prevent some cancers from developing? This is because it has the innate ability to recognize and destroy abnormal cells. However, sometimes cancer cells are so cunning that they evade this immune system, hide, and grow.
But, through this method called ``Cancer immunotherapy'', scientists are now tricking cancer cells! Do you know how? You can use your own immune system to control cancer, and sometimes even cure it completely. This is really amazing, isn't it?
These types of ``Cancer immunotherapy'' drugs can mimic the action of your body's natural immune system molecules, or even strengthen them. These types of drugs include:
- Anticancer antibodies bind to cancer cells and destroy them.
- Methods that take your own immune cells, "supercharge" them in the lab, and reintroduce them into your body.
- Treatment vaccines are special vaccines that teach your immune system to attack cancer cells.
What is Pharmacogenomics?
This is a bit of a deep topic, but it's very important. Pharmacogenomics is the study of how your DNA responds to the drugs you take. This field combines pharmacology – the study of drugs – and genomics – the study of genes – to create safe, effective drugs and doses that are tailored to the specific changes in your genes.
Simply put, the goal of ``Pharmacogenomics'' is to move away from the 'one size fits all'' approach. Researchers now know that there are many factors that affect how your body responds to different medications. It's not just your age, gender, or body size. Your genes also play a big role in this. ``Precision Medicine'' tries to give you the right medicine, at the right dose, for your body. Then the medicine will work properly and have fewer side effects.
Rare diseases and precision medicine
According to researchers, about 25-30 million people in the United States alone suffer from rare genetic conditions. There are such patients in Sri Lanka too. Diagnosing and treating these diseases is very difficult. Hundreds of such very complex medical problems have been studied through the 'Undiagnosed Disease Program' at the (NIH). Through that research, they have been able to diagnose many such diseases. With the development of genetic technology, it has been possible to identify the exact genetic defects that cause these rare diseases.
The NIH has now expanded this program to several other centers across the country to study more diseases. They are working with several other partners to quickly develop effective treatments for these rare diseases. Precision Medicine is a great hope for people like this.
What is the difference between 'Precision Medicine' and 'Personalized Medicine'?
According to the US National Research Council, 'Personalized Medicine' is an old term used to refer to 'Precision Medicine'. That is, the two terms mean the same thing.
However, the council has been a little concerned that when people say 'personalized', they think that each person will receive a different, tailor-made treatment. However, the focus of ``Precision Medicine'' is not just on you. Instead, it is about finding out what treatments work best for which groups of people – that is, others who have the same genetic characteristics and lifestyle as you. Now, ``Precision Medicine'' is the most widely used and considered more appropriate term. However, people still use the two terms interchangeably. The important thing is that this method tries to provide more accurate, more effective treatment, rather than treating everyone the same way.
What is the most important thing we want to take home from this story?
Your genes, the environment you live in, your lifestyle – all of these things affect your health. The ultimate goal of precision medicine is to study all of these factors and then take action to protect and help you. Then, instead of giving everyone the same treatment, your doctors can create a plan to prevent and treat diseases that is right for you. Doctors are already using precision medicine in many areas of medicine. But, there are so many possibilities that it will change the healthcare industry in the future that it is hard to imagine. So, this is really a great hope for our healthcare future!
"Remember, ``Precision Medicine'' is not about creating a unique medicine for everyone, but about choosing the most suitable and effective treatment for a group of people with similar characteristics to you."
As this technology develops further, we will be able to successfully combat many more diseases. Therefore, it is very important to stay informed about new things like this.
` Precision Medicine, Genetics, Cancer Treatment, Personalized Medicine, Future Medicine, Health Technology
💬 අදහස් (0)
තවමත් කිසිදු අදහසක් පළ කර නොමැත. ඔබේ අදහස පළමු වරට මෙහි එක් කරන්න.
ඔබේ අදහස එක් කරන්න