«I wanted to be a priest, like many boys who grew up in the oratory. Then I also thought about becoming a psychiatrist. Ultimately I wanted to help people.” At 97 years old, Silvio Garattini, one of the most authoritative pharmacologists at an international level and founder of the Mario Negri Pharmacological Research Institute, retraces the roots of his vocation with clarity and gratitude, guest of the program Soul hosted by Monica Mondo, on air Sunday 15 February at 9.05pm on TV2000 and Monday 16 February at 9pm on Radio InBlu2000.
Raised in a Catholic environment, Garattini recognizes how much that training also affected his way of doing science: «It gave me a lot. He taught me how to communicate. Teaching catechism, speaking to young people, explaining complex concepts in a simple way: communication is a discipline that does not coincide with knowledge. You can have great skills but not know how to convey them.”
A reflection that is intertwined with the central theme of the dialogue: the relationship between science and faith: «They have nothing in common on the level of knowledge», he observes, «but they can work together on the level of activity. Their object is man.” A synergy that finds its foundation in the heart of the Christian message: “You will love your neighbor as yourself”. For the pharmacologist, this is the compass that should guide both scientific research and religious commitment, recognizing in every person a member of the same human family.
Always attentive to the independence of research from economic interests, Garattini does not fail to denounce the distortions of a healthcare system increasingly exposed to market logic: «We have made great progress in treatments, we have better drugs than in the past. But this inevitably created a large market. Industries produce drugs, and industries must make a profit. There are no markets that want to decline».
The risk, he warns, is to fuel the idea that diseases are inevitable, almost as if they “rain from the sky”, while science shows that many are preventable. «We have four and a half million type 2 diabetics in Italy, and type 2 diabetes is a preventable disease. With good lifestyle habits, correct nutrition, regular movement, avoiding obesity, you will not become diabetic.”
The most impressive data concerns tumors: «40% of cancers are preventable. In Italy 180 thousand people die of cancer every year. This is what we need to do».
Prevention, lifestyles, personal and collective responsibility: for Garattini the real healthcare revolution lies not only in new therapies, but in a cultural change that puts the person back at the centre. A vision in which science and faith, albeit on distinct levels, can collaborate to safeguard and promote life.
