Good science and the medicine of freedom
At the Salute Festival ‘No one left behind’ (in Rome from 12 to 14 October) the stage was occupied by good science. The one that knows how to cure and often manages to prevail despite a bad or distracted policy that ignores it. Good science told by almost two hundred guests, including Nobel Prize winners in different parts of the world. And the new issue of the magazine Healthon newsstands October 26th with The Republic, The print and all the newspapers of the Gedi group, raises their gaze towards this horizon.
We care about the health of Italians
“We tried to address the most controversial issues of Italians’ health needs. But, above all, we wanted to understand what needs to be done. And what are the cultural, medical and social emergencies from which we cannot look away. There are so many “. The director of. writes it in the editorial Health Daniela Minerva. On the one hand, “great scientific and clinical advances that allow us to increase survival in the face of diseases such as cancer, to perform sensational surgeries, to penetrate the mysteries of our brain, and even to know well how to prevent diseases from a young age “, but on the other the feeling that “society struggles to use them for the well-being of all citizens”. Why? Of course there are problems of financing and organizing healthcare, things reiterated by many at the Festival. However, Minerva highlights: “There is a deep cultural gap which does not allow us to fully appreciate the simple fact that only science can save us.”
Research will save us
Health indicates four fundamental points on which to focus your attention. The first is, precisely, scientific research. From there, it is common opinion, shared conclusions arrive which are the closest thing to the truth we have to provide useful answers to people’s health needs. And only in this way can lives be saved in harmony with the environment. He testifies to it Gregg SemenzaNobel Prize winner for Medicine 2019, interviewed by Gabriele Beccaria. Semenza, guest at the Salute Festival, dedicates his efforts to the study of the basic principles and their applications.
“If you are someone like me, you take one or more medicines every day. None of these drugs would exist if there were no biomedical research – he underlined -. And the rapid development of vaccinesbased on a new approach discovered thanks to basic research, has saved millions of lives”. “As for the future – he added – one of the challenges is to investigate the neurodegenerations, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’sso as to diagnose them early and apply effective treatments.”
Tumors, a new era opens
But the Rome Festival also talked about something else: the new era of oncology. AND Health magazine collects this echo. The new oncology “also fueled by the genetic revolution” which “has transformed many tumors into chronic diseases and increased the survival of patients”, it explains. “But Italy does not offer the same opportunities to everyone.”
Just look at the data: fifty thousand women in Italy live with metastatic breast cancer. A number destined to increase. Unfortunately and fortunately: unfortunately because it means that there is still a percentage of patients in whom the disease progresses despite initial treatment, or who discover it late; fortunately because it is finally possible to keep it under control for longer and longer, in more and more cases. Who are these women? “10% of patients discover the tumor when it is already in the metastatic stage,” he confirmed Pier Franco ConteScientific director Irccs San Camillo of Venice-Lido.
Aging & mind: let’s bring the years to life
Finally there are the years of good life and healthy mind that should accompany us longer. Salute also addresses these two themes. Compared to the first, compared to a increasingly long life expectancythe data indicates that after the age of 60, disabilities increase. And that many are unable to live the extra years ahead of them. In fact, it has all the characteristics of an emergency to be addressed with priority. The tools are there: Italy ranks fifth in the world for life expectancy with an average of 84.01 years (81.90 for men and 85.97 for women). But 6.5% of over 60s complain of severe frailty, which increases with age. The objective then is to guarantee Italians to become elderly, but healthy.
And then there is the mind. We started with music, of the brain and the universe. Since we are living beings who watch and listen, our evolution puts sounds and melodies at the center. Suffice it to say that the brain is set on the waves of music, and music is many things: communication with others and knowledge. Without forgetting that it is a form of self-discovery and a tool that allows us to open our arms to others.
