Know your future disease through gene study

KOCHI: The Australian High Commission is all set to launch Gene Study Centres in India to study the gene of an individual and analyse the individual’s vulnerability to contract certain diseases. According to doctors, it is a breakthrough in the advance warning system which will alert a person of the possibility of becoming vulnerable to cancer, heart diseases or the like. Dr Sreekumar, Chairman of the Indian Nutritional Medical Association and also the head who assisted the Australian Government in their studies in India, said: “This is one of the best tools which will help prevent majority of the diseases in India. People who have either inherited a default in their gene or likely to acquire a certain disease in the future can be alerted. The future of our medicines in the country can be based on this.”  The saliva of a person will be collected and send to Australia where studies on the gene of the individual will be conducted. Detailed studies can identify at least 10,000 genetic expressions which will speak of the body defects and the mutations it is prone to in the future.  “Besides, the study will help detect what is good and bad for the body and what should be done to correct the disease. At least 100 pages of data  will be prepared and send back to India where doctors can use it to explain to the patient about the disease he is likely to acquire in the next few years or what are the exact reasons to acquire the disease,” Dr Sreekumar said. Through the data, the doctors will be able to interfere into a patient’s lifestyle and save him from potential danger he is likely to be exposed at a later stage in life. “We will be able to modulate the nutrition of the individual by asking him to take the medicines which are meant only to benefit him. There will be no risk of mismatch of any medicine nor any side effects since doctors have data on the exact disease the person has and prescribe medicines based on this.” Doctors feel that this would extensively benefit them and the patient. “Our accountability level goes up, because we will be acute in our prescriptions of medicines for the patient. The general mistrust of patients will be brought to an all time low. Besides, patients would also be aware of their specific metabolic disorder,” said Dr Sujith S R, a Kochi-based doctor. The `50,000 test will bear fruit within a month. The catch is that it has to be done just once in a life time. “We are expecting it to be a huge hit in India which has a larger population prone to various diseases,” Dr Sreekumar said. The first centre in the country is being launched in Delhi New and another one will be opened here in January.