Wow…that was fast. Here we are in December again preparing for a new year. But first let’s see what 2024 brought us in medical discoveries. Here are the top 10 health breakthroughs…
10. Cancer Prevention: AI Assisted Colonoscopies. GI Genius from Medtronic is the first AI-assisted colonoscopy system available in the U.S. This computer-aided system analyzes in real time the high definition video images from doctor’s endoscope. It has made colonoscopies more accurate in detecting early growths.
9. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T) cell treatment – engineering T cells has made a significant impact in treating multiple medical conditions such as leukemia that are not responsive to conventional therapies. Specifically modifying T-cells so they can recognize a protein on the surface of a persons cells can dial up or down their immune response. There are over 500 clinical trials ongoing.
8. Blood Test for Alzheimer’s disease- this fast, accurate (90% accuracy) affordable blood test could help with early diagnoses and treatments that would be most effective in the early stages of the disease.
7. Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) treatment. Microbiota enemas may not be something that new to treat chronic diarrheal infections like C.diff, but an FDA approved version is. Besides the enema, there is now a capsule taken by mouth that is available to treat C.diff.
6. Insulin Patch Pump for Type 2 Diabetes. It attaches to your skin with adhesive and contains a days worth of insulin delivered continuously through a tiny needle into the skin. These patches are small, easy to use and waterproof. Much easier alternative for some people who need to use insulin shots several times per day.
5. Epigenetic Clocks- protein organ clocks are cellular profiles that can show a person’s biological age (the health of tissues and organs) relative to their chronological age. This may allow for treatments targeted to areas of the body that are aging faster.
4. Long haul COVID treatments: Long COVID is not considered 1 disease as much as it is multiple diseases. Persistent viral infection, triggering autoimmune disease and re-activated dormant viruses are just a few of the drivers of the disease. Newer treatments are becoming available to help in treating the more than 200 symptoms that can be involved.
3. Minimally Invasive Parafascicular Surgery (MIPS)- to treat hemorrhagic stroke. Some clots can be the size of a tennis ball which causes significant pressure of surrounding tissues. Guided by live magnified imaging, a threaded thin device is used to suction out the clot in the brain. Survival and recovery rates were higher using this device vs medications alone.
2. Anti-aging Drugs on the Horizon- Some drugs such as Metformin (used to treat diabetes), the immunosuppressant Rapamycin, and ACE inhibitors (for high blood pressure) are just a few older medications being studied in clinical trials to be re-purposed as anti-aging drugs.
1. GLP-1 Agonists- These drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, and Mounjaro have made breakthroughs well beyond weight loss and diabetes prevention. It has reduced hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, lowered lipids and cardiovascular risk, neuropathy, steatohepatitis, reduced pain and help treat alcohol abuse.
Wishing you a healthy, resilient and joyful New Year!