• Question: Taking into account the rate of progression of new scientific discoveries, where do you think science will be in 10-20 years?

    Asked by Sara to Alex, Laura, Lesley, Richard, vediacan on 16 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Richard Prince

      Richard Prince answered on 16 Jun 2015:


      Hi Sara,
      I think we will have made amazing strides! Just thinking about Pharmacology, one of the areas that is really going to take off is personalised medicine. That’s when a doctor analyses your genetic make-up to decide which medicines will work best for you. At the moment, we don’t take much notice of this kind of thing but it is really important. Have you ever had the strong painkiller co-codamol? It’s paracetamol mixed with the opioid (morphine like) drug codeine. Most people feel a bit sleepy if they’ve had some codeine, but don’t get any serious effects. However, the way codeine works is that your body slowly metabolises it to morphine (that’s where the pain killing effect comes from). Some people have a gene difference that makes them metabolise codeine to morphine really quickly. These “ultra-rapid metabolisers” can get serious side effects if they take codeine, especially if they are children. In fact, there was a case where a mother who was an ultra rapid metabolizer took codeine and there was so much morphine in her breast milk that her baby died. With advances in gene sequencing, we can find out if people are going to have this kind of problem before it happens, and then give them an alternative medicine.
      Best wishes
      Richard

    • Photo: Vedia Can

      Vedia Can answered on 16 Jun 2015:


      Hi Sara!!!!

      I think we will definitely have more cures/ treatment options for certain diseases, and a drastic change in the use of Pharmacology. Also, as Richard mentioned personalised medicine will be at the forefront of use. However, I think that due to the NHS cuts, the project may be hindered.

      Best Wishes,

      Vedia

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