Good and bad experiences recorded in our genome
19 October 2011
Speaking at the RCGP Annual Conference in
Liverpool this week (20 October), Dr Linn Getz from the Norwegian
University of Science and Technology (NTNU) will explain to an
audience of 1,500 GPs and other healthcare professionals that
feelings such as neglect, care, hope and fear can affect them
biologically, right down to the expression of their genes
(DNA).
In her plenary session Diversity: from Hippocrates to
HUGO and back again Dr Getz plans to use the example of a
typical patient in general practice with several conditions,
including high blood pressure, as a guide to demonstrate how
medicine's view of disease and treatment options have changed since
the mapping of the Human Genome in 2001.
Dr Getz says, “When the Humane Genome was sequenced (HUGO
project) in 2001, it was widely claimed that both the causes and
the cures of the major (non-communicable) human diseases were to be
found in the DNA as such.
“Today, only a decade later, we are starting to realise that
things are much more complex than HUGO medicine predicted. With the
aid of hi-tech science, researchers clearly demonstrate that the
human body is indeed not a genetically determined machine; the
human biology is "saturated" with experience, both mental and
physical. With the same hi-tech methods, we are also starting to
'rediscover' the inherent healing power of good human
relationships.”
ENDS
Further information
RCGP Press office – 020 3188 7574/7575/7576
Out of hours: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk
Notes to editors
Dr Linn Getz will present Diversity: from Hippocrates to HUGO
and back again on Thursday 20 October at 10.20am in the main
auditorium of ACC Liverpool as part of the RCGP Annual Primary Care
Conference 2011. This is the fifth RCGP annual conference and
this year’s theme is Diversity in Practice, to highlight the huge
variety of work undertaken by GPs as generalists every day.
The conference runs until 22 October and details of the full
programme can be found at www.rcgpannualconference.org.uk.
The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of over
44,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work
to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical
practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training,
research and clinical standards.