Learn more about precision health and how it might affect you from Oksana Suchowersky at the Festival of Health on May 26.
There's a lot of buzz around precision health these days, but what is it and how might it affect you?
Precision health is an approach that combines information about lifestyle, physical attributes and genetics― factors that influence someone's susceptibility to disease and responses to treatment.
Oksana Suchowersky, a University of Alberta clinician and professor of neurology and medical genetics, is using precision health to improve the detection, disease progression and treatment for neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and Huntington diseases.
"The way we measure disease progression in Huntington's and Parkinson's is clinical and not sensitive to small changes," said Suchowersky. "It's important to develop a biomarker that is easily measured so we can see if new treatments are making a difference."
By understanding, interpreting and harnessing health data and using state-of-the-art molecular diagnostics, it is possible to diagnose disorders earlier and personalize treatment. Precision health also promises to predict who will get certain diseases. This will allow physicians to improve outcomes by treating a patient sooner and avoiding ineffective treatments.
The advancement of precision health initiatives precision health would result in elimination of expensive or unnecessary tests, and reduce unnecessary stress and time to diagnosis. Health-care costs would ultimately be decreased, while our population would become healthier.
Learn more about precision health and how it might affect you at the Festival of Health on May 26.
The Festival of Health
Register here for your free ticket
Edmonton Clinic Health Academy 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
North Campus, University of Alberta
Barbecue and Entertainment
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Rapid Fire Presentations and Ask the Experts: Q & A Session
1 - 2:30 p.m.
Info sessions and Tours
3 - 5 p.m.
More information available at uab.ca/healthfest