While science is rushing forward, many people are flocking to complementary medicine instead. Some believe that the investment in genetic engineering and mapping the human genome comes at the expense of other areas of public health
By Danit Nitzan
After the cloning of Dolly the sheep, the exciting announcements about the decoding of the genome sequence
the human, the resurrection of a bison from a species that became extinct already eight years ago
years, finding the area of the brain where consciousness resides, will produce a small pill
that takes pictures of the large intestine from the inside and creates a genetically modified monkey, it seems common sense
This scientific progress has not yet brought us closer to the initial goal
Her - finding a cure for diseases.
As scientists present more fantastic medical possibilities, and governments
And research institutes devote huge sums to research in advanced fields
in the most of science - this is how the general public's tendency towards the fields is evident
Medicine that is not scientific at all, such as acupuncture, shiatsu, homeopathy
and the other fields of alternative medicine, especially ancient medicine.
According to Prof. Meir Barzis, internist at Hadassah Hospital
In Jerusalem, most of the new information is completely inaccessible to most people.
"The genetic engineering, the cloning and the deciphering of the 'Book of Life' that we have just learned about
Those who are sick and need to see a doctor are not helped today. Not if he has
flu, high blood pressure, obesity or diabetes, and not if he has Alzheimer's or
some chronic disease. Nor is understanding the meanings of these revelations
Simple, and it is clear that there are many in the public who do not understand this new science -
Bioinformatics".
Prof. Francis Collins, one of the heads of the genome project, said at the party
The journalists on the occasion of the end of the project that "the genome is the medical guide
The most detailed ever written." Prof. Barzis says that regarding the diseases
The prevalence - high blood pressure, obesity or diabetes - "The genome book is effective
As a medical guide about as effective as the telephone book is the most detailed description
of the company". According to him, for the most common diseases of modern society
The genome book does not offer a more effective treatment than medicine offers today,
and physical activity, proper nutrition and avoiding smoking.
Prof. Neil Holtzman from Johns Hopkins University wrote in the journal
"" New England Journal of Medicine because "from eagerness to insert the
Health and medicine for genetic patterns, we ignore possibilities
others to improve public health. Differences in the social structure, in the environment
The life and lifestyle between people is related to the types and extent of morbidity
Genetic differences between people are more related to this. Obviously the genetic knowledge
Not in the scope of 'the king's new clothes', but health policy planners
For the coming decades, other areas should also be taken into account
Public health, even if they are not the latest fashion".
"The fact that there is a 99.9% similarity between humans means nothing to me",
says Prof. Barzis. He quotes Prof. Dorothy Nelkin, a sociologist
from New York University who wrote in her book, "The DNA" "Mystique that the company
Modernity has turned the genome into a new cultural symbol, on which everything is dressed
The characteristics and problems of society - fidelity in relationships, violence, diseases
and happiness. According to her, this indicates a desire to find one technological solution
for complex issues.
"The backlash to scientific discoveries - in the form of running after medicine
The ancient, or natural, is the fault of conventional medicine in measure
Rabbah", says Barzis. "Because of the high technology, we, the doctors,
We have become less human - we have less time to explain and give attention.
Planning the tests and the logistics around them and decoding take most of the time,
And we lose the main thing, which is, for the patient, to talk to the doctor. also
Medical malpractice lawsuits encourage defensive medicine, and then do more
And more tests, and the multitude of tests does not improve interpersonal communication.
Patients feel this and turn to complementary medicine, whose therapist is Ben
A person who stands in front of the patient and listens to him, and in a large part of these treatments as well
touching him".
Bishem Azgad, scientific reporter and editor, says that the "despair" of the genome project is
early. "People's expectation of immediate solutions is what causes them
Seeing the genome mapping project as an irrelevant scientific adventure, and it is
which makes them go to other places to look for answers. But as it becomes clear what
Exactly the function of more and more genes, and there will be new drugs and methods
Treatment news, the mapping results will be more relevant. Completion of decoding
It is the beginning and not the end, so we shouldn't expect our lives to change right now."
In addition to this, says Azgad, the "heroic" science, as he defines it, is becoming more and more
relevant. "Already a year or two ago there were attempts to use engineering
Genetically for curing cancer and treating diabetes, and every day that passes, and this one is not
Melitsa, the future is approaching us in two days. It is impossible to expect that in a short time
There will be new drugs - for the drug Copaxone, developed at the Weizmann Institute against
MS, it took 30 years to reach a state where it is approved for use.
So will the scientific changes we are talking about today
We lived in 30 years. In my opinion, any prediction we make today about the possibilities
In the future you will be revealed as poor compared to what it really will be."
Dr. Orna Levin, general practitioner and lecturer on medicinal plants and Chinese medicine,
She was one of the pioneers of alternative medicine, when she learned about medicinal plants
18 years ago. According to her, the influx into the fields of alternative medicine has begun
Long before anyone had heard of Dolly the sheep or inoculation
using genetically engineered viruses.
The ancient fields of medicine and the most advanced fields of science are not interchangeable
Each other, says Dr. Levin. Hemophilia, for example, has a basis
Genetic, so genetic research can help cure it. to the enormous increase
In the "therapeutic" activity in the fields of alternative medicine, there are, in her opinion,
Other reasons: "Some people are afraid of medicines - there is a lot of information (and not
always accurate) about the harms of drugs, such as Ritalin, and fear of taking drugs
Too many when it is possible, perhaps, to treat in other ways; the medicine
The conventional one concentrated on saving lives and less on improving the quality of life,
And so people find answers to problems that threaten their quality of life in the fields
the alternatives; The opening of the world to the Far East and its places
Different medical methods were used than what we are familiar with, which contributed to the diversity
the options; It is easier for people to understand and connect to areas that are not
scientific-technological, and they also feel that these are more relevant
to their lives, even if not always rightly so. There may also be alienation between
the patients and the medical establishment, which stems from its scientificity and lack of
The treatment of the patient".
Another factor identified by Levin is people's desire to feel that they are being "cared for"
– not that they are treated by acupuncturists, for example, but that they are
acupuncturists themselves. "The feeling that he is a 'caretaker' gives a person status
some kind, a positive feeling, connection with other human beings, and answers sometimes
for emotional needs, in addition to the benefit the patient derives from it. It can too
explain the vast multitude of courses where devices handle everything
Various fields, from Reiki to the transfer of energies."
Prof. Michel Revell from the Department of Genetics at the Weizmann Institute, chairman of the committee
The National Institute for Biotechnology and a member of the Ethics Committee of UNESCO, understands the
The sources of alienation that many feel towards biotechnology. "Scientists don't
succeeded in showing the humane face of biotechnology and genetics",
He says. "The thought of taking tissues from embryos to use them
for transplants, or the genetic diagnosis down to the last detail - which presents information that we are
Not necessarily wanting to know and not necessarily being able to deal with it - factors
for this science to appear demonic."
However, Prof. Rowell claims, the feeling of alienation is not always justified. "Changes
The seventies, the beginning of the days of genetic engineering, about 20 medicines for diseases were developed
which previously were almost incurable. The most well-known of which are
Interferon-beta for multiple sclerosis, erythropoietin that stimulates blood formation in
Dialysis patients, growth hormones, iterfuron-alpha against jaundice,
Hormones used in fertility treatments - these are all products of engineering
genetic". Since until now only about 10,000 genes were known, and today
Everyone knows, nevertheless there will be a revolution in the field of medicine. "I am watching
that in ten years there will already be a significant change in the field of pharmaceuticals," he says
Prof. Rowell. If today there are many medicines for many diseases, and not every medicine
works with the same efficiency in every patient - after all, with the help of genetic information it will be possible
Adjust a medicine to the person according to the genetic structure, when the benefit will be maximum
And the side effects are minimal, he says.
Rovel predicts that two additional fields will be integrated into the medical profession: "Medicine
Predictive" and "pharma-genomics". Predictive medicine will be used for genetic diagnosis of
Diseases or chances of getting sick, both before pregnancy or birth and in the person
The adult after his genomic map is read. The pharma-genomics will deal
In matching specific drugs to genetic data of patients with diseases
the difference Predictive medicine has already integrated to some extent in services
the medical ones, especially in the prenatal field. Pharma-genomics will go from strength to strength
The more useful genetic information.
"At the same time as developing these and other areas," says Ravel, "about the establishment
The medical learn to accept the patient back. Patients are flocking to medicine
The supplement is not because it is an alternative to conventional medicine - because it is
Not alternative - but because conventional medicine is very technical
and scientifically, and turned to the doctor. Hospitals are designed for doctors,
The language is a medical language, and the technology is more familiar to doctors than
for the sick". Another factor that will reduce alienation, says Prof. Ravel, is
Intensive activity of ethics committees in the field of genetics
and biotechnology, to illuminate the human face of these sciences
and show the day-to-day benefit they bring, instead of the focus
The contemporary in what seems "satanic" - reproduction of living beings.
Yossi offers another explanation of what motivates people to choose complementary medicine
Morgenstern, chairman of the Acupuncture Association in Israel and practitioner of Chinese medicine
traditional According to him, people want to take back some of the responsibilities
about themselves. "In Western medicine, the responsibility for the safety and health of the patient
is up to the doctor. If there is a 'breakdown' the doctor corrects it - if it is laser surgery
In the eyes, replacing a damaged organ and transplanting an alternative organ, mastectomy
as prevention or administration of cholesterol-lowering drugs. Western medicine treats
to people as objects that can be repaired, replaced with parts and changed,
And that's what I think people are kicking. The advanced technologies and genetic knowledge
The expanding only increases the distance between the person and the sense of responsibility
And the closeness he has on his body and his condition."
According to Morgenstern, the perception of non-western medicine is one of sharing
The patient in decisions, treatment and dealing with his condition and responsibility for
his health "We don't just poke and press - we talk,
They explain, advise how to change a lifestyle, give hope. A person
Can sometimes heal himself, if he learns what his failures are and where
He can fix it. A western doctor will sometimes give a remedy for a problem, without trying
See if it can be solved with diet, exercise and internal change. the doctor
The holistic will try to work with the patient. Such an approach gives the patient a sense of
Control, responsibility and participation in the treatment and healing process, and this is what is sorely lacking
In the relationship between the Western doctor, with all the systems behind him, and the patient."
Published in "Haaretz" on 02/26/2001
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