UNFOLDING THE MYSTERIES OF GENETIC SCIENCES IN INCURABLE DISEASES LIKE CORONARY ARTERY DISEASES, CANCER, & RAREST OF THE RARE DISEASES LIKE MOYAMOYA, SLE, TAKAYASU ETC.

               Mysteries in genetic scienceS

Before writing, I would like to ask for an apology from genetic scientists as most of the people feel how being myself a cardiac surgeon can become an applied human genetic scientist?

But my interest in learning new things have brought me to this stage. Being a cardiac surgeon, when I saw the complications of bypass surgeries and patient’s sufferings, I decided to do something to bypass the bypass surgery and finally, I am successful by discovering a  new Baruah biological molecules isolated from north-eastern region edible medicinal plants.

I have developed biological and mechanical heart valves and number of other critical cardiac devices, which have made me a bio-engineer, for which I had even attended classes of physics and mechanical engineering. I have learnt to operate lathe machine as well while I was in Abudhabi at a roaring temperature.of 44degree celcius. My principle was not to compromise with the quality of any work. I believe when there is a problem, there is a solution.

After becoming a bioengineer, and simultaneously, practicing cardiac surgery,  I have seen  that we can replace 2-3 diseased heart valves at  a  time, which looses the total power of myocardium. Then there is no other way to save the patient’s life except transplant. I have designed and implanted total artificial heart-Baruah Heart 21in pig. But its power source was myoelectronic, which was costly. Human to human heart transplantation is very remote as human donors are unavailable and there is a long waiting list with countless complications. Hence I decided to use pig as a donor and performed clinical xenotransplantation using heart, lung and kidney from compatible pig using my own antigen suppression agent (ASA) treating donor’s organs and not the recipient, with which I could transplant successfully and kept the recipient alive for 7 days which was the first time on this planet. This made me pioneer in xenotransplant surgery.

By observing all my inventions, I thought these are not the permanent solutions to cure  incurable diseases in human race. I recall my thoughts of genetic sciences in way back of 1970 while I was just qualified as MBBS from Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh and I thought that truth lies in genes in terms of diseases and cures.  

Therefore, I chase it and eventually, I am successful in catching it, analyzing them bit by bit inside and outside. Eventually, I found there is no way that one can survive without my Baruah biological molecules which engineers the mistaken genes.

While treating various diseases, I found root cause of any disease is a gene and we have to  find out the answer for cause of the disease and its correction. I took help of Microarray which helped me to see upregulated and downregulated genes causing various diseases. I analysed  genes involved in various diseases, which led my way to study mutations of those various genes. After analyzing mutations, I decided to demutate those genes so that it will correct the biochemical pathways and ultimately the disease caused by it. By rectifying the positions of wrongly placed nucleotides, I was successful in correcting number of biochemical processes which have given me the best success in curing diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and so on.

But it was upsetting for me to see the miseries of cancer patients as I was thinking, when whole world is working for curing this dreaded disease with failing results, will it be easy for me to treat this dreaded disease successfully? I was thinking- mutations at nucleotide level ,can be corrected, but the deletions or extra additions of chromosomal regions which causes metabolic disorders- how to rectify it?  I thought of adding those absent or non-functional genes  or removing extra genes (in case of polysomy) in diseased patients. But the question was in or  from  how many individual cells, can I add or remove genes, which is practically impossible  and finally, I decided to rectify the metabolic disorders  by correcting biochemical pathways. I use my biological molecules to trigger signal transduction to stimulate correct metabolic pathways and I am becoming successful in this therapy.I use my biological molecules to rectify the mutations in diseased genes.

After treating with my molecules, I was wondering how my patients are getting younger and younger day by day? De-ageing – one of the important phenomenon, which triggered me to go for more deeper studies of genes. I have done thousands of bypass surgeries- patients survived with misery and get few days to few years of life. Patients  get chest pain, family doctors refer them to go for  angiography, sometimes it is positive or some times negative, still pain persists, patient suffer from heart attack. The answer is not known. If positive, they go for coronary artery bypass surgery. Sometimes they have high lipid profile or most of the times, not. Scientists blame  change of life style, high fatty food, modern civilization, smoking, drinking. I feel if all these factors are responsible, then what is happening at genetic level? Shall we blame only these external factors? Or fate of the person is already destined to particular disease by genes  at birth itself and phenotypically or clinically expressed in later part of life? Mutations in genes are decided by these external or environmental factors or what? These all questions are great mysteries unsolved by clinicians, scientists, geneticists. Almost all the human genes are fully sequenced by scientists. But root causes of diseases is not found out yet! I am personally of the opinion that sequencing of the genes is not the only answer, but the subsequent mutations caused within the genes brings unfavourable biochemical changes leading to metabolic disorders.

I like to site one example here if modern civilization, change of life style, change of food habits are to be blamed for coronary artery disease and cancer, then why 6-7 children of a same family grew up in same environment, but all of them are not suffering from same incurable diseases like CAD and cancer. Therefore, I believe that mystery lies in genes which I  would like to unfold.

Generally, scientists feel genes responsible for lipid synthesis are overexpressed to cause deposition of lipids to block the arteries, but patients with normal lipid levels also have deposits in arteries. Do we conclude that their lipid synthesizing genes are affected?  If it is so, at what stage? Since by birth? Or at later stage of life?  I have selected volunteers at the age of 13-16 years and studied their genes to unfold the mysteries as I thought these years are very crucial years in anyone’s  lifetime which brings number of physiological changes, which might bring number of mutations in genes.

These are all great mysteries, which I have tried to unfold it at my personal capacity. My contribution to genetic science may be small, but significant, which definitely give permanent solutions to these mysteries. This will certainly lead to cure the diseases like coronary artery and peripheral arterial blockages, diabetes, hypertension.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is commonly known as a killer disease next to cancer. Till now, no curative medical therapy or surgical procedure have been found out. Incidence of coronary artery disease is higher in case of  patients with diabetes and hypertension. It is commonly found in males between age group 30-55years and in females it occurs after menopause.

Since I have started my cardiac surgery in a way back in July 1978 in Royal  Victoria Hospital, Belfast, I have seen that many patients with bypass surgery used to come back with recurrence. International statistics reveals that 12% recurrence in first year and 100%in 13years. Many surgeons are using various grafts such as patient’s own  saphenous vein graft, internal mammary artery, gastro-epiploic artery, radial arteries. In addition, many researchers have devised number of conduits using various material. But still recurrence is unavoidable. The disease remains in situ, only it is bypassed by the new graft.

I was planning to carry out the research to cure or prevent the coronary artery disease to relieve the misery of these heart patients, but unable to carry out as since 1984, I was deeply involved in inventing Artificial Biological heart valves-Baruah heart valves, since 1994-I was involved in inventing a totally permanent implantable biological heart- Baruah Heart 21 and till 1997, I was busy in experimental and clinical xenotransplantation.

In 1995, I started Dr.Dhani Ram Baruah Heart Institute & Research Centre at Sonapur in Assam, where I have carried out first open heart surgery on 31st January, 1996, which is first time in the entire north-eastern region. 

Since my childhood, I was curious to know more about versatile medicinal plants of north-eastern region as my  parents were curing number of  diseases with some of the herbs available at nearby place.

When I established my Heart Institute in Assam after returning from  abroad, I was  further amused to see that local villagers are immune to heart diseases, but vulnerable to communicable diseases. I wondered, why? I was thinking that some factors such as their life style, diet or genetic factor might have involved with the immunity towards heart diseases.