Transcript Knowledge and quality of life

World Science Forum
Budapest 2003
Knowledge and Quality of Life
Hans Wigzell
President, Karolinska Institutet
Quality of Life defined
- at micro and individual levels
- at pheno and group levels
- at social levels
- at national, regional, global levels
challenges,
gives rise to measurement
communication and understanding
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
Knowledge in some form drives Quality of Life
Evolutionary knowledge implies self-organization
Managed knowledge implies power
- implying opportunism, technology, innovation
- implying forms and distribution of Quality of Life
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
Knowledge defined as “coded information in the brain”
- but 100 billion neurons, synapses in the brain
- and the working of the brain only partially known
- and we have evolutionary learning and hidden knowledge
(interaction brain and environment over time)
- hence always limited knowledge
- hence behaviour is always systematic and random
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
Knowledge in Quality of Life-Contexts:
• Evolutionary
knowledge (learning, tacit knowledge, experience)
Very broad scope – the winner in the end?
• Knowledge by intuition and power
Middle range scope
• Knowledge produced by scientific methods
Limited scope?
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
Knowledge and science create value and reduce cost
Uncured diseases ranked by cost to society:
• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Alzheimer´s
• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Depression
• Stroke
• Osteoporosis
The expected benefits from investment in medical
science are enormous and will remain so
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
Quality of Life: Cancer Survival Rates
- Acute Lymphatic Leukaemia
1964-66:
4%
1994-96
89%
-BBreast Cancer
1964-66
65%
1994-96
84%
-PProstate Cancer
1964-66
45%
1994-96
72%
-TTesticle Cancer
1964-66
49%
1994-96
95%
Lung Cancer
1964-66
1994-96
women
men
11%
10%
8%
10%
(Source: The National Board of Health and Welfare)
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
Knowledge allows control of one´s destiny?
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
” A PREVENTATIVE LIFESTYLE IS BETTER THAN ANY CURE ”
DO: Educate yourself
DON'T: Smoke
Eat balanced food
Have sex without protection
Sleep
Stress
Be physically active
Vaccinate yourself
Strengthen your social life
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
Knowledge about brain function
Better insight into the processes of brain function

New strategies for improving and restoring brain function

Therapy for children with ADHD
Therapy for patents with stroke

Improved Quality of Life
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
Living in the Information Society
• The knowledgeable and demanding patient
• Easy access to information/knowledge
• Rapidly information turnover/transfer
• Patient wants involvement in treatment
• Interest in self care/home care
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
Accessibility to useful information is a bottleneck
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
Artificial self-assembling information
systems are badly needed
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
Scientific knowledge is built on logic
Seemingly logical assumptions can create major errors in “knowledge”
Example: Allergies are increasing all over the world
Earlier considered reasons: Allergy is caused by bad indoor milieu etc
= Increasing hygiene is “good” advice!
New facts: Early contact with micro organisms and allergens give
protection!
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet
Will increased knowledge always improve quality of life?
Hans Wigzell
Karolinska Institutet