What new medical device fits within a contact lens?
What does Pokemon Go have to do with surgery?
Find out as we take a look at Recent Medical Breakthroughs That Will Make You Feel Better
About The World.
#13 Migraine Shot Migraines are a widespread problem with more
than twelve percent of American households suffering from the affliction.
This pain goes beyond the standard headache with throbbing, intense pain often paired
with bouts of nausea and even a sensitivity to sound and light.
Luckily, a new treatment called Aimovig was recently approved by the FDA.
It can be administered as a shot and was shown to lower the frequency of migraines in subjects
during clinical trials.
#12 Smart Contacts The debate between wearing glasses or contact
lenses typically comes down to personal fashion preference.
But a new development in contacts technology may lead some poor-sighted patients to opt
for lenses...especially if they have diabetes.
Researchers with South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology have crafted
a special lens capable of detecting glucose levels in the wearers blood.
This breakthrough was announced first in an early 2018 edition of the Science Advances
journal and is now bound for human testing as scientists hope to perfect the process.
Alphabet Inc., the corporation behind Google, halted their Verily organization’s research
into a similar project due to difficulty.
At this time, some scientists don’t believe the process to ever be accurate enough because
of a discrepancy in tear and blood sugar levels, though only time will tell how this technology
evolves.
#11 Liquid Biopsies Testing for cancerous tumors is classically
not an easy task and the biopsies employed often use uncomfortable, invasive techniques
to take solid DNA samples.
A recent discovery from the US National Centre of Biotechnology Information found that many
of these tests can be circumvented entirely thanks to what they refer to as liquid biopsies,
or blood tests to be blunt.
By examining the blood, researchers can detect cell-less tumor DNA that circulates in the
bloodstream at a frequency of 100 to 1 for every tumor cell in a patient’s body.
In addition to being a more physically accommodating testing method, these liquid biopsies will
also ideally cost a fraction of other types of biopsies.
This would make them much easier to get done, and on a regular basis as well, giving doctors
a greater chance of catching cancer early on.
#10 Heart in the Box Transporting organs can be a tricky process
and in the past, organs meant for transplantation would be packed in saline and ice to keep
them fresh for surgery.
But this process risked injury too often and as a result, a new process was necessary.
And the University of Minnesota might have the answer.
The TransMedics Organ Care System, or OCS, is a device that connects to a donor’s heart
and keeps the donor’s blood pumping until operation.
This allows the blood to stay warm, oxygenated and filled with nutrients while keeping the
heart fresh.
Injury is greatly reduced with the delivery of oxygen from the healthily pumped heart.
With this device, surgeons hope to be able to complete many more heart transplants without
incident.
#9 Fishy Burn Treatment Finding cures and procedures to treat previously
irreparable conditions are certainly important breakthroughs, but for many countries, the
true societal improvement comes in the form of finding a cheaper means to perform existing
treatments.
Researchers in Brazil have done just that by finding alternative means for covering
the skin of burn victims for proper recovery.
Without a proper sheath, scorched skin can become infected and patients may not survive
the experience.
Human skin, pig skin, and synthetic, lab-grown skin are common coverings used in countries
like the US.
But these Brazilian researchers stumbled across a game-changing option in sterilized tilapia
scales!
The fish scales contain a type of collagen protein that promotes healing, reduces scarring,
retains moisture, sticks to the skin, reduces pain, and even increases healing time.
In addition to being a cost-effective option for developing countries, the effectiveness
of this natural burn treatment is truly a miraculous discovery!
#8 Male Birth Control The role of contraception in society is about
to be flipped on its head as researchers at the University of Washington recently announced
the completion of a successful trial for male birth control pills.
This new medication works much like birth control for women in that it combines testosterone
or another male hormone to progestin, a pregnancy hormone.
The result is a halt in sperm production and a reduction in testosterone.
But also like the female equivalent, male birth control pills come with some side effects.
In addition to the changes to the reproductive system, the patient in question experienced
a sudden weight gain and a negative drop in his cholesterol.
Clinical trials are still being executed and other alternative methods, including a topical
gel that uses similar components, show potential for further progress.
#7 Unlikely Treatment Known for its psychedelic effects and popular
abuse in the 1970s, ketamine has long endured a bad rap.
Thanks to new findings in relation to two common ailments, however, it may be time for
its heroic comeback.
With modular doses, researchers have found that ketamine can be an effective treatment
for both depression and Parkinson’s disease!
Ketamine acts as an anaesthetic and can be dangerous if taken in high volume, but when
regulated, it combats one of the main side effects of the top Parkinson’s medication.
Levodopa causes involuntary movements in patients while combating the disease, but ketamine’s
effects limit uncontrollable jerking and tremors.
For depression, ketamine offers a swift answer with faster-acting effects than the majority
of antidepressants, sometimes shifting moods for the better within minutes!
And for those dealing with treatment-resistant depression, that quick efficiency can be the
difference between a short breakdown and an unfortunate fatality.
#6 A Fix For The Blind A process that allows geneticists to reverse
the effects of inherited sight degradation was approved by the FDA at the tailend of
2017.
Called Luxturna, this gene therapy requires the direct application of genes to a patient’s
eye.
These genes are not naturally produced by people suffering from retinal dystrophy or
Leber congenital amaurosis, two conditions progressively cause blindness.
Thanks to a harmless, repurposed virus, the DNA enters the eye cells and re-programs them
by way of infection.
The strange process doesn’t completely reverse blindness, yet, but it does allow for some
improvements.
Patients utilizing this treatment are able to discern light and shapes, which is a major
advancement from nothing at all!
The earlier they treat afflicted patients, the better.
One patient, America’s Got Talent contestant Christian Guardino, received the gene therapy
at age 13 and told reporters that prior to the treatment he was unable to even see a
full moon, but now he can clearly see the stars above.
#5 Quadriplegic Implants The spinal cord is a vital instrument in communicating
commands from the brain to the rest of the body and damage to it has been known to cause
partial or total paralysis.
The ability to perform such simple tasks as reach and grasp a cup or spoon is taken for
granted by most, but these actions actually rely on complex messages that require some
sort of means to transmit them.
Those unable to move from the neck down due to paralysis are medically referred to as
quadriplegic, and for decades this condition was considered irreversible.
Progress in neural research has recently reversed this belief, though, as one patient was able
to move their arms after eight years of paralysis!
Thanks to electrode implants, called BrainGate2, embedded in his brain and arm muscles, the
patient was able to think about doing something and actually succeeded in performing it.
#4 DNA Modification Since the release of Jurassic Park to the
silver screen in 1993, the public at large has long wondered what kinds of devastating
effects would arise from the ability to rewrite DNA.
Rather than recreate monstrous extinct species, modern scientists have fortunately chosen
to use this power to tackle health issues instead.
One recent procedure proved the potential benefit of modifying DNA in patients when
the Children’s Hospital at Germany’s Ruhr University decided to attempt a new treatment
for a young Syrian boy with a genetic disease.
Junctional epidermolysis bullosa left the boy with paper-thin skin, an affliction caused
by a hiccup in his genetic code.
Scientists and surgeons removed a sample of the boys skin and genetically altered it before
grafting it back onto his skin.
After several processes and two years, the doctors had succeeded in providing the boy
with all new, healthy skin!
#3 3D Visuals and Augmented Reality With the advent of applications like the popular
Pokemon Go using Augmented Reality and recent advancements in 3D technology in gaming, it
was only a matter of time until we saw these innovations make their way into the medical
industry.
And thanks to researchers at Duke University, that time is getting closer.
A pair of neurosurgery residents at the university have developed a pair of goggles they call
HoloLens meant for assisting in surgery.
The goggles augment the reality for users to place 3D images on the patients they operate
on, giving sight to surgeons of the regions of the body hidden beneath the skin.
Rather than relying on organic indicators and static scans for determining the precision
of their operations, surgeons will now be able to visualize the depth of a needle or
the proximity of a tool to vital organs.
#2 Cancer Vaccine In early 2018, Stanford University revealed
an all new vaccine that had showed incredible progress in eliminating tumors from mice.
This apparent cancer vaccine was injected directly into solid tumors in mice and the
immune-stimulating agents were able to eradicate any traces of cancer in the animals.
Of the 90 mice tested, 87 mice were cured outright.
The remaining three would see the cancer recur, but further injections were able to regress
the illness.
While the treatment is referred to as a vaccine, one important detail of note is the fact that
cancer vaccines are meant to prevent the return of cancerous cells and destroy existing ones.
This is different than introducing cancer into the system to build an immunity — the
process by which most vaccines work.
#1 Face Transplants The 1997 film Face/Off is no longer the stuff
of fiction as just last year, France’s Jerome Hamon was the first person in history to receive
two successful face transplants.
The patient suffers from a genetic disorder that caused disfiguring tumors to cover his
face.
Originally receiving a face transplant in 2010, Hamon’s body began rejecting the foreign
face six years later.
By the time he received his second successful face transplant, he had reached a stage where
he lived two months without any face at all!
Which of these medical breakthroughs are you most excited to see made available to the
public?
Let us know in the comments below!