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Human genome sequencing revolutionizes medical treatment
Genomics can be used to predict how well a person will respond to a treatment.
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Ill health: A medical worker examines a patient who is undergoing hemodialysis at Saiful Anwar Hospital in Malang, East Java, on Aug. 8, 2023. (Antara/Ari Bowo Sucipto)
W
hen the COVID-19 pandemic reared its ugly head, discussions about whole genome sequencing (WGC) stole the limelight. WGC gave us a better understanding of the virus, its variants and subvariants and measures to control them.
In fact, this method of understanding the genome is not new; it began before the pandemic struck.
When the first draft of the human genome was announced in April 2003, it was claimed that it would revolutionize medical treatments. As researchers learned more about the functions of genes and proteins, they hoped the knowledge would significantly impact the fields of medicine, biotechnology and life science.
The recognition that the human genome may influence everything from disease risk to physiological response to medications has led to the emergence of the concept of personalized medicine, the idea that the knowledge of a patient’s entire genome sequence will give health care providers the ability to deliver the most appropriate and effective care to that patient.
As a result of this advanced knowledge of the human genome, today's researchers can find a gene suspected of causing an inherited disease in a matter of days, instead of years.
There are now thousands of genetic tests available for human conditions. These tests allow patients to learn about possible genetic risks and help healthcare professionals diagnose diseases. With the drastic decline in the cost of sequencing whole exomes or genomes, groundbreaking comparative genomic studies can now identify the causes of rare diseases.
Based on a deeper understanding of disease at the genomic level, we will see a whole new generation of targeted interventions, many of which will be drugs that are much more effective and cause fewer side effects than those available today.
