European journal of molecular biology and biochemistry

THE PROMISE OF HUMAN GENOME PROJECT (HGP) IN MEDICINE

Matin Ahmad Khan, Binod Kumar, Uma Shanker Singh, A K Jha, Indrajeet Kumar, Fatin Raza Khan, Shahzeb Ahmad Khan, Shekh Arshad Ali

mak5962@hotmail.com

Human Genome Project

The worldwide scientific undertaking known as the Human Genome Project studies the genetic make-up of several organisms in addition to humans. The information derived from these studies has applications in the identification, characterization and understanding of genes that affect or cause human diseases. The year 2000 marked both the start of the new millennium and the announcement that the vast majority of the human genome had been sequenced. Much work remains to understand how this "instruction book for human biology" carries out its multitudes of functions. But the consequences for the practice of medicine are likely to be profound. Genetic prediction of individual risks of disease and responsiveness to drugs will reach the medical mainstream in the next decade or so. The development of designer drugs, based on a genomic approach to targeting molecular pathways that are disrupted in disease, will follow soon after. Potential misuses of genetic information, such as discrimination in obtaining health insurance and in the workplace, will need to be dealt with swiftly and effectively. Genomic medicine holds the ultimate promise of revolutionizing the diagnosis and treatment of many illnesses. The following statement which appeared in the January 15, 2001, issue of ‘Time’ magazine, as :"Doctors will treat diseases like diabetes and cancer before the symptoms ever begin, using medications that boost or counteract the effects of individual proteins and they will know right from the start how to select the best medicine to suit each patient". aptly sums up the public perceptions about the implications of the Human Genome Project in the future practice of medicine.