A book. By the name 'Why We Get Sick' (1) caught the medical
establishment by surprise, since it spreads some unorthodox ideas,
like 'sickness can be good for you' (2), 'fever, nausea, and
running nose' are defensive measures and should not be treated
as such‘ or : 'much of clinical medicine relieves people's
discomfort by blocking defenses.'
Benefit
of disease
Darwinian (or evolutionary) Medicine studies medical problems in light of
the Theory of Evolution. It attempts to understand what might be the benefit
of disease. Disease cannot be entirely negative since it includes
also defensive mechanisms, and these, according to Darwinism,
evolved (3). We ought therefore to distinguish between disease
trigger and defense. Treatment ought to support defense:'Fever
is a defense that protects against infection. The low iron levels associated
with infection are the body's way of keeping iron away from invading bacteria.
Nausea and vomiting and diarrhea are useful ways to rid the body of infection
and toxins. The nausea that accompanies pregnancy discourages the mother from
eating toxic substances that may harm her baby. . . . . Much of clinical medicine
relieves people's discomfort by blocking defenses like fever, pain, nausea
and diarrhea.' (4)
'Genes that cause disease usually turn out not to be simple mistakes. Many
offer a benefit, like the sickle cell gene that protects against malaria,
or a tendency to gout that may delay aging. The gene that causes cystic fibrosis
may protect against death from dehydration.' (4).
Organism anticipates diseases
Hitherto such statements were made only by ‘alternative medicine’.
Now this 'heresy' makes its way into academic medicine. Long ignored
ideas, like Healing force of Nature
(5), or that the organism has a wisdom, are interpreted from the perspective
of Darwin's theory of natural selection. And since Darwin is respected
by academia, the refurbished concepts threaten to be incorporated into the
medical dogma. Throughout evolution human kind encountered a variety of diseases,
and learned how to handle them. Today’s organism is
better equipped to deal with disease than previous generations, otherwise
it would not have survived. Organism anticipates diseases. This is the medical
interpretation of Darwin's 'Survival of the Fittest.' However, long before
Darwinism caught the attention of medicine, doctors realized that our organism
is 'the best among physicians'
(6). It has a wisdom,
called here Wisdom
of the Body
(WOB) (7). It seems as if Darwinian Medicine has hardly any new ideas
to offer.
Darwinian Medicine proposes that descriptions of disease in current medical
textbooks omit a crucial section - an evolutionary explanation for why humans
are vulnerable to this disease. Yet it fails to explain why did the
natural selection process fail to select genes that improve our capacity to
resist cancer and arteriosclerosis . Questions like 'What is the utility of
cough, fever and anxiety?' bring back Aristotelian teleology
(8). Medicine does mot accepts such suggestions.
Since the ideas introduced by
Darwinian Medicine have been with us for ages, it seems as if Darwin’s
theory has very little to offer to our understanding of disease. Evolutionary
biology is a historical science. A guessing game about how we think evolution
worked in the past on humans (9).
Medicine does not need Darwin
in order to realize that our organism is 'the best among physicians'.
1. Nesse R., and Williams G. “Why We Get Sick”: The
New Science of Darwinian Medicine, Vintage Books. 1996
2. Nesse R.. Sickness can be good for you
http://psych.lmu.edu/hbes/medicine.htm
3. Zajicek G. What is a disease? The Cancer J. 4: 5: 296,1991
http:// www.what-is-cancer/papers/WhatisDisease.html
4. Nesse R. What is Darwinian Medicine ?
http://www.chester.ac.uk/~sjlewis/DM/TEXTS/TEXT1.HTM
5. Zajicek G. Healing force of nature The Cancer J. 8, 1,1995
http:// www.what-is-cancer/papers/HealingForceOfNature.html
6. Zajicek G. The Normal and the Pathological The
Cancer J. 7: 2:48-49,1994.
http: // www.what-is-cancer/papers/NormalPathological.html
7. Zajicek G. Medical significance of WOB
http:// www.what-is-cancer/papers/medicalsignificance/medicalsignificance.htm
8. Zajicek G. Four Causes of Disease
http: //www.what-is-cancer/papers/fourcauses.html
9. Zajicek
G. Decline of Darwinism The Cancer J. 10, 1
http: // www.what-is-cancer/papers/DarwinismDecline.html