These high-tech innovations just might save your life
The news that comes out of research universities and hospitals often sounds too hopeful: Here's a gene that maybe, couldpotentially end obesity. This newly discovered protein pathway might sort-of, some day cure cancer. Do any of the thousands of studies published each year really result in a meaningful change in someone's life?
Here's your answer: For the eighth consecutive year, the Cleveland Clinic has selected 10 technologies and discoveries that are alreadymaking an impact. “We look for innovations that are somewhat disruptive, so a new medication isn't just a little better, it's substantially better,” says Michael Roizen, M.D., who headed the panel of 30 medical professionals that selected this year's finalists. Check out the technology of the future that's already on our doorstep.
The Bionic Eye
The “Argus II” takes a video signal from a camera built into sunglasses and wirelessly transmits that image to implants in the retinas of people who have lost their vision. Though it’s been available in Europe since 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only approved the eye earlier this year. “This really is like Star Trek technology,” Dr. Roizen says.
The system isn't perfect. It lets a blind person regain basic functions like walking on a sidewalk without stepping off a curb, and distinguishing black from white socks, but only lets you read one giant-sized word at a time on a Kindle. Plus, as the retina itself heals over the implant, the quality of vision decreases. The Argus II is currently only approved for people who have lost their sight from retinal pigmentosis—which affects 1 in 4,000 Americans. But the technology could soon help the more than 1.75 million people who suffer from macular degeneration.
The Cancer Gene Fingerprint
Not all cancers are equally lethal—cancer in your prostate means a longer survival rate than a malignancy in your brain, for example. But even prostate cancer comes in multiple flavors ranging from manageable to very bad. By analyzing the mutated genome of a tumor, doctors can now pinpoint whether a cancer is sensitive to a certain chemotherapy, or one that doesn’t respond at all to current treatments. Knowing the subtype might mean jumping directly to a clinical trial that could save your life.
The Seizure Stopper
The Hepatitis Cure
Until recently, treatment for hepatitis C fell into the good-but-not-great category, with only around 70 percent of patients being cured. And that was after as much as 48 weeks of a strict anti-viral drug regimen, including injections of interferon—which causes a number of debilitating side effects. But the new drug Sofosbuvir is a much more potent killer of hep C, with success in as many as 95 percent of patients. Even more, the medication only has to be administered for 12 weeks, sans interferon injections.
The Anesthesiologist's iPad
The Fecal Transplant
The idea of taking someone else's poop and giving it a new home in your own colon may sound repulsive, but the treatment has proven remarkably effective in curing infections of C.difficile—a nasty bacteria that kills 15,000 people each year. Take heart: The digested food waste in feces isn't itself the cure. You're simply gaining some of the helpful bacteria living in the donor's gut—like a farmer choosing the hardiest crops to seed next year's fields.
“The bacteria produce proteins that are involved in a lot more diseases than we realized,” says Dr. Roizen. Still grossed out? Researchers in Canada have developed a method to deliver just the bacteria—no feces—via an oral pill, skipping the need for a poo enema.
The Heart-Saving Hormone
The Robot Doctor
The Better Heart-Attack Risk Test
Today you get a cholesterol test to assess your risk of heart attack, but soon you'll be more worried about your trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) levels. Why? People with the highest levels of TMAO in their blood have 2.5 times the risk of a heart attack compared to those with the lowest levels, according to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine. TMAO is a compound produced by intestine bacteria—yep, the same ones involved in fecal transplants—after you eat choline, which is found in eggs, red meat, and dairy.
Once in your bloodstream, TMAO accelerates the process of cholesterol forming into plaques in your arteries. “We're learning why red meat is hazardous, and what could be done to avoid that hazard,” Dr. Roizen says. Beyond simply avoiding red meat, preventive steps could include probiotics or medications that pinch off TMAO-producing pathways.
Contribution by Yaribeth Galvez club memberships white coat
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