Predicting exactly when the symptoms of an infection will appear or how much the biological age differs from the chronological age: it becomes possible thanks to precision medicine, cross-referencing billions of data from a single individual and analyzing it with the help of artificial intelligence. It is the future presented in Rome at the Human Genome Meeting, the international conference dedicated to the analysis of genetic data hosted for the first time in Italy, at the Sapienza University of Rome. Scheduled until April 10, the meeting brings together leading experts in the sector to discuss new technologies for the analysis of DNA and RNA, rare diseases and reproductive genetics. The common thread is tailor-made medicine, poised to have a major impact and which will require funding, facilities and training.
Adequate investments to support the relationship between research and health protection are necessary, said the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci at the opening of the conference. He cited in particular the precision medicine program for the mapping of the human genome conducted as part of the Health Development and Cohesion Plan, with which 13 projects were supported, 80% to be carried out in the South, and approximately 18 million assigned in the last 5 years to 48 projects "of high scientific content and with implications for the National Health Service".
The importance of preparing for precision medicine is also clear to the president of the Lazio Region, Francesco Rocca, who announced a technical table on this subject open to family doctors.
The rector of Sapienza, Antonella Polimeni, said that Italy has the scientific competence to face this impending change, who retraced the main stages of genetic research in Italy, from the pioneering phase of 1940 to participation in the Human Genome Project. An undeniable expertise also for the geneticist Giuseppe Novelli, of the University of Rome Tor Vergata and co-president of the conference with Juergen Reichardt, of the Australian James Cook University.
"Italian geneticists are good and their contribution is recognized internationally, but they are few," Novelli observed. In fact, there are 138 operational genetics units in universities and hospitals, equal to 1 for every 567 thousand inhabitants: less than half compared to the 313 active in France, there are just 26 postgraduate schools, full professors (50), associate professors ( 74) and researchers (70), not to mention that those who have completed a PhD have low pay and precarious jobs.
However, there are many challenges ahead. Tailored medicine is increasingly closer to becoming a reality, thanks to pioneering research conducted in the genetics department of the Californian University of Stanford and presented in Rome by geneticist Michael Snyder. "Health - he said - is the product of a vast set of factors, with billions of data collected both with traditional diagnostic methods and with wearable devices". It is possible, he added, "to measure thousands of proteins, fats and metabolic molecules from a single drop of blood." It's still basic research, but "we're going in this direction," Novelli noted. "Another big problem - he added - is privacy, especially for the communication of predictive tests". One more reason, he noted, to be aware that "training is fundamental".
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