Biomarkers, the health indicator for prevention

A simple blood sample: this is enough to identify the biological and biochemical processes underlying the diseases and indicate whether the person’s diet is correct, how the body metabolizes and, in the event of damage, to indicate where it is located. As? Thanks to the measurement of specific biological markers. The goal is to prevent. In fact, 50% of diseases can be avoided if correct lifestyles are adopted: eat healthily, do not smoke, practice moderate physical activity. “Today the omics sciences are rapidly developing, linked to molecular biology and genetics, which are based on the action of innovative biomarkers, molecules capable of allowing the identification of damage to the organism, often also caused by the environment in which we live. In particular, the biomarker TMAO, trimethylamine oxide, is a substance capable of inducing damage to the arteries and can therefore be considered to all intents and purposes a new extremely sensitive biomarker linked to cardiac risk”, said Fulvio Ferrara, Director of the Department of Medicine laboratory tests, medical genetics and pathological anatomy of the Italian Diagnostic Center speaking at the conference “ESG strategies according to the one health approach”, at the headquarters of the Order of Chartered Accountants and Accounting Experts of Milan, with the Order of Lawyers and in collaboration with SIMCRI and Assobiotec, the national association of Federchimica for the development of biotechnologies.

One health

If the analysis of the biomarker highlights a problem, it is possible to intervene to improve both the nutrients introduced and the choice of their sources: often, in fact, the causes of dysfunctions affecting the organism are also crops and intensive breeding. “The one health approach, if applied correctly, would also make it possible to intervene on the food supply chain, with a benefit for everyone, including the environment and animals”, underlined Ferrara. As part of the development of the concepts of one health, SIMCRI has promoted, with the Order of Accountants, the development of initiatives that make it possible to prevent pathologies before having to cure them. “It is essential to operate a revolution in the lifestyles of the individual, with interventions in the economic and environmental fields, in order to affect the well-being of the whole society and the ecosystem”, said Eugenio Caradonna, President of SIMCRI, the Italian Society of Medicine and Surgery Multi-specialist regenerative.

Sustainable strategies

Today, companies are required by legislators to invest in sustainability, often in the context of ESG (environment, social and governance) strategies, but often the focus on the environment does not take into account an integrated vision, capable of including the world as well of businesses. The one health approach could also be borrowed within the investment and entrepreneurial universe. “One of the most widespread initiatives is the purchase and planting of trees: an action linked to regenerative agriculture capable of bringing a concrete advantage to both the environment and people. If investments were studied at 360°, capable of placing the economic part in support of a holistic approach with an integrated strategy, the results would be quickly visible”, explained Marcella Caradonna, President of the Milan Association of Accountants.

The role of nutrition

To prevent the development of numerous pathologies, it is possible to integrate the use of nutraceuticals, the so-called ‘medicines for the healthy’, foods which contain fundamental elements to delay the onset of many ailments, in particular those linked to the aging of the organism. “It is a question of intervening before diseases appear, a real paradigm shift with respect to our habits, which see medicine arriving only to solve a problem that has already arisen”, concluded Ettore Novellino, Full Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Toxicology at the Catholic University of Rome.