title: [Views on health, disease and human life].
abstract: We should not conceptualize health as a normal biological state. The WHO definition, equating health with physical, psychological, and social satisfaction is not adequate. Health should be defined as a life situation unaffected by pain, injuries, physical, and/or psychological dysfunctions. Most of the time we are only partially healthy, just as we are only partially free (J.J. Rousseau). Both health and illness should be comprehended as normal biological states, which are constantly interchanging. Individual variations are the consequences of a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors. These variations are the source of our individuality, talents, and specific skills. Genetic mutations, as is well known, can lead to a range of diseases, which modern molecular medicine is trying to prevent or treat with success. The sense of pain is an important defense mechanism that has evolved in many species, including ours. It is an alarm system indicating problems and pathogenic developments. The sense of pain is of huge importance in maintaining health. There is yet another important phenomenon in human life--the addiction syndrome. As well researched, addiction is related to specific brain receptors. In some individuals these receptors are extremely sensitive to psychoactive substances, such as alcohol, nicotine, and recrational drugs, leading to addiction. In contemporary societies, the symptoms of addiction can also be related to the more extreme forms of professional and sports ambitions. Contemporary medical science has succeeded in prolonging human life. The costs, however, have also risen due to the aging population. This fact is not only an economic or a social, but also a political problem. Human aging should not be viewed only as a process of wearing the biological machine off, but primarily as a gradual loss of genetic control over life functions.
authors.affiliation: Akademija medicinskih znanosti Hrvatske Subićeva 29 10000 Zagreb, Hrvatska.
authors.forename: Mladen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stulhofer
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D004194:Disease; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain