Staff Writer

For patients, Monday's announcement that scientists have nearly deciphered the human genetic code raises the likelihood of better drug treatments as well as new concerns about privacy and discrimination.

Joseph S. Bertino Jr., co-director of the clinical pharmacology research center at Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown, said physicians and researchers will be able to tailor drug therapies to patients' needs.

"If you know an individual's genetic code, then you will probably be able to design drug therapy regimes" for that individual, Bertino said. That means selecting a drug with the fewest side effects and choosing the most effective dose, he said.

The Human Genome Project, as the mapping effort is known, also will benefit those receiving routine vaccinations, Bertino said. For example, he said, about 5 percent of individuals are not protected by the measles vaccine.

"We know there's a genetic basis for the failure to respond to the vaccine," he said. Now, he said, physicians and researchers will be able to develop alternative ways to protect those patients.

While the genetic map's ability to guide the development of new drug therapies has been widely touted, the map also promises to assist biologists who are working to understand basic human functions, such as metabolism.

"I'm very excited about it," said Nancy Bachman, an assistant professor of biology at the State University College at Oneonta.

By providing new information, the Human Genome Project will offer a "shortcut," making her research easier and fostering better results, said Bachman, who studies the role of genetics in carbohydrate use.

Meanwhile, she said, the new genetic data and its many applications will make the subject of genetics "a lot more relevant" to students.

"They'll see how important it is to learn about genetics because they'll see the impact it's having," she said, adding that the project is "already one of the big discoveries of the 21st century."

For insurers, though, the data about an individual's genetic make-up is a little stickier, raising questions about privacy and discrimination.

Jeff Flood, spokesman for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Utica-Watertown, said patients in New York who buy insurance through their employers are already protected by state laws prohibiting discrimination. Patients purchasing insurance on their own also have some protections, he said, noting, "I'm sure that additional regulations will be written to protect those people."

At Schenectady-based MVP Health Plan, Chief Marketing Officer Amy Ertel Bellcourt agreed, saying the state already provides protections against discrimination.

Meanwhile, both state and federal lawmakers are developing new legislation that, she said, should address some remaining concerns.

"They're going to be telling us how to deal with this data," Bellcourt said of federal legislators.

As far as privacy is concerned, Bellcourt said, genetic data present new "challenges and opportunities" for protecting medical records.

But both Bellcourt and Flood said their organizations have policies in place to maintain the confidentiality of those records.

Still, Flood noted, the implications of the new genetic information are not yet clear.

"This whole process is so new," he said, "that I'm not sure anyone can clearly define what it might mean for their business."