Genomic Medicine
We apply genetics in diagnostic procedures and therapeutic strategies for our patients.
What is Genomic Medicine?
Genetics is the area of biology that studies the beginning of life and evolution of species and explains how biological inheritance is transmitted from generation to generation.
All genetic information and instructions specific to an individual are contained in deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. DNA is made up of units of information, called genes, which are linked to the development of a physiological function.
The human genome includes a total of 25,000 genes. Each of these genes has a specific sequence that allows it to perform its biological function. For this reason, variations in the gene sequence (polymorphisms or mutations) often alter the function of these genes and are related to the development of many diseases. These mutations are transmitted from parents to their offspring, passing diseases from generation to generation.
Knowledge of the sequence of the human genome has revolutionised the field of medicine, as it allows the detection of modifications in the sequence of certain genes responsible for many diseases. This has enabled the development of Genomic Medicine, which recognises the genetic predisposition of an individual to developing common diseases such as diabetes mellitus, asthma, vascular diseases (myocardial infarction, stroke, atherosclerosis), infectious diseases or cancer, among many others. In this way, Genomic Medicine allows for more precise, personalised, and preventive care aimed at avoiding or delaying the onset or development of these diseases, and thus reducing the complications associated with them.
Genomic Medicine also studies pharmacogenetics, i.e., the genetic pattern of an individual related to the tolerance and effect of many drugs, which allows the possibility of developing a much more precise and less costly treatment.
Genetic Risk
Each person is born predisposed to certain diseases because of their genes (genetic risk factors). However, they do not necessarily develop these diseases if they combat the environmental, emotional, and behavioural factors that precipitate them before they manifest themselves.
There are people who represent a group at greater risk due to the type of activity they carry out and the pressure to which they are subjected: stress, the obligation to make risky decisions, nutritional imbalance, work conflicts, the disruption of circadian rhythms associated with continuous travel that induce hormonal alterations and sleep disorders, problems of attention to the family environment, etc. These circumstances of permanent psychological pressure make give this person a high-risk profile for suffering cardiovascular disorders, hypertension, strokes, depression, anxiety, insomnia, gastroenteropathies, immune deficiencies or psychosomatic illnesses.
Conventional medical screening is of limited use for risk prediction of major health problems in advanced societies.
To prevent all these threats, for years the EuroEspes International Centre for Neuroscience and Genomic Medicine, directed by Dr. Ramón Cacabelos, has been offering a pioneering programme that predicts the risks of suffering from different diseases, especially those linked to the central nervous and vascular systems.
Prevention is the best strategy for achieving a longer and healthier life
Approximately 80% of today's most important chronic pathologies can be predicted by identifying genetic risk factors.
Today we can identify this risk many years before the first symptoms of the disease appear.
Early identification of disease risk brings important benefits to the individual and allows them or her to implement prevention strategies that avoid or significantly delay the clinical onset of the disease.
The importance of Genomic Medicine
The incorporation of genomics and knowledge of the human genome allows the EuroEspes International Centre for Neuroscience and Genomic Medicine to implement Prevention Plans for those individuals and family groups in which, generation after generation, a genetically based disease manifests itself.
We currently apply genetics in our diagnostic procedures and therapeutic strategies, providing personalised medicine for our patients. Genetic tests, which make it possible to obtain all this information in just a few days, are becoming commonplace in the most advanced healthcare protocols. Early detection of diseases, monitoring their evolution and avoiding the application of more expensive and standardised treatments, which are ineffective in many patients, make genetics the key to reducing health costs.
Patient Genetic Profiling
The difference in genetic sequence makes each person unique.
Genetic diversity explains hair, skin, and even eye colour, but it also explains the risk of disease and the way our bodies respond to drug treatments.
Human Genome Project
Genetic testing offers unique opportunities to assist physicians in the monitoring and in-depth understanding of a particular disease. Today, these tests can confirm a likely diagnosis, rule out diseases in a differential diagnosis, predict the onset of future diseases in a healthy individual, and assist couples in their family planning.
The future is promising, as advances in genetic technology will be able to help doctors diagnose and treat diseases through both pharmacogenetics (drugs selected for an individual based on their specific genetic profile) and gene therapy.
Genetic Variability
The sequencing of the human genome has provided the world of medicine with a new insight into the relationship between health and disease, offering the possibility of moving towards a more personalised medicine, considering individual genetic differences, the molecular causes of diseases, and the influence of environmental factors on their development.
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