JEDDAH, 14 May 2003 — The movie “Gattaca” (1997) presents a future society where humans are genetically enhanced at insemination to predetermine their characteristics and health from the genetic make-up of their parents. Although this is a science-fiction movie, it is possible with the advancements being made in the field of genetics for the medical community to make it a reality at some future time. The year 2003 marks the fiftieth anniversary since Watson and Crick established that the genetic code is carried by a series of four bases arranged in pairs in a double helix fashion. On March 13th, 2003 the completion of sequencing the human genome was announced and the final draft is due to be published this summer. The Human Genome Project (HGP) began in 1990 to understand the hereditary instruction that makes each of us unique. The ultimate goal of the HGP is to decode, letter by letter, the chemical sequence of nucleotide bases that make up the human genome. Another important goal is to develop detailed maps of the location of all the estimated 30,000-35,000 human genes and make them accessible for further study. Away from the ultra-futuristic scenarios and controversial issues concerning genetic manipulation, there are many beneficial applications for HGP in medicine.
This was the topic of a recent symposium at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah. “As HGP promises to transform both biology and medicine, the blueprint for human life is already having an impact on finding genes associated with diseases,” said Dr. Rowyda Al-Harithy, professor of biochemistry at King Abdul Aziz University.
Over 30 genes have been identified and associated with breast cancer, muscle disease, deafness and blindness. Current research on finding the DNA sequences underlying such common problems as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis and cancer will help lay the foundation for biomedicine in the twenty-first century. “The next step is to find out the function of each gene and use that knowledge in health care,” said Dr. Al-Harithy. “Exploring the functions of many genes and how malfunction affects development, may lead to safer drugs, genetic screening and other methods to prevent or treat birth defects,” said Dr. Najla Al-Gifary, pediatrician at Thaqar Hospital.
Studies of functional genomics go beyond humans. Learning about non-human organisms can lead to an understanding of their natural capabilities to be applied to solving problems related to health care, energy sources, agriculture and environmental cleanup. The field of pharmacogenomics is a rapidly growing field based on the belief that understanding an individual’s genetic make-up is the key to creating personalized drugs with greater efficacy and safety. “Pharmaceutical companies will be able to discover possible therapies more easily using genome targets, thus decreasing the number of failed drug trials, the time it takes to get a drug approved and a decrease in the cost of health care,” said Maha Al-Eid, a researcher in the genetics departments at KFSH in Riyadh.
Of course, the debate continues about the moral and ethical considerations relative to genetic engineering. Dr. Mohammed Albar, consultant in internal medicine and advisor on Islamic medicine, spoke about international laws and Islamic jurisprudence protecting human rights from being trampled on in the name of research and scientific advancement. And as in the movie Gattaca, there could be discriminatory consequences to the misuse of genetic information in job applications, insurance policies and marriage. “While most medical fields are concerned with the treatment of an individual and maybe a few people around the patient, hereditary medicine is concerned with the effects of a disease on the patient, the family, the community and future generations,” said Dr. Zuhair Al-Hasnan, consultant of pediatrics and hereditary medicine at KFSH in Riyadh.
