006 - Predictive, Preventive, Personalized, and Partecipatory Laboratory Medicine: the case of Metabolic Syndrome
Autor(s): P. Cappelletti
Issue: RIMeL - IJLaM, Vol. 6, N. 3-S1, 2010 (MAF Servizi srl ed.)
Page(s): 6-10
P4 Medicine is a term coined for “predictive, preventive, personalized, and participatory medicine”, an idea rapidly becoming practical as a result of advances in biomedical research and know-how. The diagnostic capability determined by “omics” and novel biomarkers allow an efficient and individual prediction of person’s health status and future and consequently an individual concrete prevention. Personalized Medicine can be viewed as a comprehensive, prospective approach to preventing, diagnosing, treating, and monitoring disease in ways that achieve optimal individual health care decisions. As a result of personalization, medicine should become participatory: healthcare consumers should be encouraged to actively participate in their own healthcare, by correct lifestyle and awareness of disease/ treatment history. In this new “prospective health care”, Laboratory Medicine has a central and exciting role. The Metabolic Syndrome offers an interesting example of the present and future Laboratory role in the prospective medicine: criteria for Syndrome are based on Laboratory measurements; Laboratory Medicine is necessary for prediction, prevention and monitoring of the Syndrome; Laboratory data could aid patients to take responsibility of their own health and healing. Moreover, the debate about the real existence of Metabolic Syndrome focuses the necessity of a systems biology approach instead of a reductionist approach to explain the “emergent properties” of the metabolic system, resulted by interactions between the parts of the system and not attributed to any single part.