-Caveat Lector- .............................................................. >From the New Paradigms Project [Not Necessarily Endorsed] Note: We store 100's of related "New Paradigms Posts" at: http://www.msen.com/~lloyd/oldprojects/recentmail.html From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <undisclosed-recipients:> Subject: "...replacing prisons with pills." (Genome Map; Assoc. Press 2/10/01) Date: Sunday, February 11, 2001 5:51 AM Genome Map Could Change Mental Care By PAUL RECER .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - The genetic revolution made possible by mapping the human genome may include new cures for drug addictions, restoring health to the mentally ill and, perhaps, one day replacing prisons with pills, experts say. ``Ultimately, the human genome sequence will revolutionize psychology and psychiatry,'' says Dr. Peter McGuffin, co-author of an analysis in the upcoming edition of the journal Science. McGuffin, a researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, England, and other experts believe that finding genes which influence behavior may lead to drugs that treat or prevent some of the major problems that confront society. ``The sequencing of the human genome will improve our ability to identify the genetic risk factors genes for a whole variety of conditions, from addiction to criminality to anti-social personality,'' said Dr. Eric J. Nestler, chairman of the department of psychiatry, University of Texas, Southwest Medical Center in Dallas. ``This is going to be an enormous advance for this field.'' McGuffin said that many forms of mental illness are only poorly controlled with the current medications, many of which have side effects that limit their usefulness. ``When we treat depression, for instance, we have only a limited number of medications and these have uneven results,'' he said. ``We can probably get resolution of symptoms in perhaps 70 percent of the cases of depression.'' The variability of results are even worse for some other forms of mental illness, say experts. Some patients enjoy perfect control, while others, taking the same medication, have repeated and often unmanageable relapses. The different reaction to the drugs could be caused by the difference in genes. Identifying the genes that put people at risk of mental illness, said McGuffin, ``would be a big advance in understanding things like personality and what makes us susceptible to depression and schizophrenia and so on.'' Once those differences - the genetic twists and turns unique in each person - are understood, ``pharmaceutical companies could use this information to find novel drugs to alter behaviors.'' It is possible, McGuffin said, that drugs could be specifically tailored to fit the unique pattern of genes in an individual patient instead of the current one-size-for-all pharmaceuticals. Nestler, co-author of an analysis in the journal Nature, said genetic therapy could be a key advance in treating drug addiction, a complex syndrome that is a mix of social and biological factors. ``At its core, addiction involves a biological process,'' said Nestler. ``The ability of a drug to change the brain and cause addiction is, in part, determined by genetic factors.'' Mapping the human genome may enable researchers to identify genes that predispose some people to quickly become alcoholics or cocaine or heroin addicts. ``There is very good evidence that about 50 percent of a person's risk to become addicted is genetic,'' said Nestler. ``Finding those genes means we will be able to identify people who are at risk of addiction and target them for more intensive prevention intervention.'' Finding genes for addiction is unlikely to be the final answer for the use of illegal drugs, he added. Genes may be only half the problem. But it could make the difference between a cure and a failure. ``When a person with an addiction is recovering, he is struggling to combat incredibly strong biological factors,'' said Nestler. Medication that blocks the action of addiction-prompting genes ``could make therapy more effective.'' Experts believe there may even be genes that help explain why some people become violent criminals while others, living in the same conditions, do not. ``Some physicians already regard criminality as a disease while others hotly dispute that,'' said McGuffin. Mapping the human genome may help settle that debate and, perhaps, lead to medical treatments that correct criminal behavior. Treating crime with pills, ``is a possibility'' if researchers can find a genetic basis for some the human impulses that underlie some crimes, said McGuffin. ``I don't think we can say that there will be a genetic panacea for all of crime,'' he said. ``I suspect not. But we might be able to tease out some genetic aspects of criminal behavior and target those with drugs.'' For instance, there are research suggestions that genes may play a role in poor impulse control and in inappropriate aggression, both factors in many violent crimes, said McGuffin. If such genes could be found and drugs developed to control their action, then people at risk of becoming criminals could end up taking pills instead of going to prison. AP-NY-02-10-01 2040EST Forwarded for info and discussion from the New Paradigms Discussion List, not necessarily endorsed by: *********************************** Lloyd Miller, Research Director for A-albionic Research a ruling class/conspiracy research resource for the entire political-ideological spectrum. **FREE RARE BOOK SEARCH: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ** Explore Our Archive: <http://a-albionic.com/a-albionic.html> <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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