\doc\web\99\12\evmed.txt Send reply to: "Ian Pitchford" From: "Ian Pitchford" To: Date sent: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 10:06:48 +0100 Organization: http://www.human-nature.com/ Subject: [h-bd] Medical procedures stemming from evolutionary theory >From the evolutionary-psychology list: ----- Original Message ----- From: William C. Wimsatt To: Sent: 15 August 1999 01:11 Subject: [evol-psych] Re: Kansas vote Ludwig Krippahl wrote: >Can anyone give some examples of medical procedures stemming from >evolutionary theory? >I can only think of the restraint in antibiotic use to reduce the >proliferation or resistant strains (but I'm a biochemist, with little >knowledge of medicine...) Here are three-only the first of which is a procedure, but the latter two of which have manifest medical implications: (1) The simultaneous use of multiple anti-HIV agents rather than their sequential use. The former is far more effective. [Read more on the life history of the HIV virus through the course of the infection. There have been multiple articles in recent years in Scientific American--going back maybe as many as 6-8 years to an article by Robert May.] (2) the May article also elaborated a now widely recognized but formerly unknown fact, that host-parasite relations do not necessarily evolve over time to a benign relation, but may evolve to greater virulence-depending on whether the host has to remain relatively healthy to transmit the parasite. If the host doesn't (e.g., if the parasite is transferred by others--insects or people),there can be trouble. Which way this gores can be highly sensitive to public health measures. This means for example that allowing epidenmics to run their course may increase not only the incidence but the seriousness of the disease for individuals. Ewald (below) argues that hospital strains of different bacteria (even our old friend E. Coli), have become increasingly dangerous not only because of antibiotic resistance, but also because they are being selected for increased virulence via easy transmission [and poor handwashing and sterilization discipline, even in many otherwise good hospitals.] (3) genetic diversity may be more driven by selection for avoiding parasite infection than by anything else. [parasites (by the way this term is used more generally by evolutionary biologists than by physicians, to include bacteria and viruses) adapt through selection to the more common genotypes, so it is selectively advantageous to be rare.] It is now increasingly widely believed that parasitism has been a very important driving force in evolution. This is a growing area of research, and is called "Darwinian Medicine". There are even beginning to be courses taught on it. Williams and Ewald both teach one, and we have had one here now for the last 3 years--by Bob Perlman who first co-directed a summer program on it with Roger Masters (small world) 4 summers ago. I don't have the references in front of me but there have been books in the last 4 years by George Williams and a co-author, an excellent book by Paul Ewald (1994) Evolution of Infectous Disease, Oxford U.P., and a semi-popular (but excellent) book by Christopher Wills, Yellow Fever, Black Goddess. Williams and Ewald have both had articles recently in Scientific American, and the Atlantic Monthly--both within the last year. Williams work should be taken seriously, but Ewald is more sympathetic to group selection than Williams, and one cannot properly understand many (probably most) cases of host parasite-coevolution without it. Bill Wimsatt >Roger D. Masters wrote: > >[...] > >>We live in a scientific era, in which the American public benefits from >>complex medical advances based on evolutionary biology. > >[...] > >Dear list, > >Can anyone give some examples of medical procedures stemming from >evolutionary theory? >I can only think of the restraint in antibiotic use to reduce the >proliferation or resistant strains (but I'm a biochemist, with little >knowledge of medicine...) > >Thank you all in advance. > >Regards, >Ludi >-------------------------------------------------------------- > Ludwig Krippahl F.C.T/U.N.L-Dep. Informatica > > "Truth is something we can attempt to doubt, > and then perhaps, after much exertion, discover > that part of the doubt is unjustified." > Niels Bohr >-------------------------------------------------------------- William C. Wimsatt Department of Philosophy Committees on Evolutionary Biology, and Conceptual Foundations of Science 1050 E. 59th St. University of Chicago Chicago, Ill., 60637 tel: 773+702-8598 dept.: 2-8513; FAX: 2-9861 E-mail: wwim@midway.uchicago.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Click here for 4 FREE TRIAL ISSUES of Sports Illustrated! If you're satisfied, your subscription will continue at the guaranteed lowest rate of $.75 an issue for 52 issues! http://clickhere.egroups.com/click/678 To subscribe/unsubscribe/select DIGEST go to: http://www.egroups.com/group/evolutionary-psychology/info.html Human Nature http://www.human-nature.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ How to contribute to H-Bd: 1. To reply privately to just the sender of this message, click the "Reply" button on your email package. 2. 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