Hippocrates and Genomic Medicine

Abstract

The completion of the Human Genome Project is catalyzing a revolution in the biomedical sciences, ushering medicine into the post-genomic era. The unravelling of pathophysiological processes at the subcellular level presages novel diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic approaches deriving from the study and manipulation of genes and their products. Amazingly, the main framework of the emerging medical scenery has been ‘‘foretold’’ by Hippocrates himself. Genomic medicine’s viewpoints on the biological foundations of human nature, the conceptualization of health and disease, the determinants of individuality in disease predisposition, and the personalized approach to diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment represent a revival of methodological and humanitarian Hippocratic principles. The timeliness of these ancient concepts suggests that biomedicine is tackling puzzles that remain unresolved since its dawn. Because Hippocrates always signified a benchmark of medical progress (1), the physicians’ and the public’s collective memory of his legacy can bolster the integration of genome science in biomedical research and clinical practice, in the same manner that the bioscientists’ collective memory of Watson and Crick’s discovery promoted the public acceptance and scientific popularity of the Human Genome Project (2). Both as a historical figure and as a symbol of tradition, Hippocrates is rightfully considered ‘‘the father of western medicine.’’ In the 5th century B.C. he shaped the first scientific medical paradigm, restructuring medicine upon a rational organization of empirical knowledge, guiding its emancipation from religion and philosophy and formulating