Top 10 medical breakthroughs in 2010

Anti-AIDS drugs reduce the risk of HIV infection, new-style artificial respiration without suffocation, successfully create artificial ovaries, . among the most impressive medical breakthroughs in 2010 by voters of Time magazine.

1. Antiviral drugs reduce the risk of HIV infection

Antiretroviral antiretroviral drugs have prevented the progress of AIDS by interfering with virus development in HIV-positive patients. However, a new study shows that this powerful treatment can bring another benefit: a weapon against infection of century diseases in healthy people.

In one trial involving nearly 2,500 HIV-negative but high-risk volunteers, gay men in six countries around the world, the researchers found, a combined antiviral tablet called Truvada was reduces the risk of HIV infection by 44% compared to placebo. When scientists looked more closely at volunteers who took the drug most seriously every day, they found that the risk of HIV was even 73% lower than the placebo group.

Experts judged that more research is needed to confirm the effects of ARV drugs. In addition, public health experts warn that, even if better results are obtained, ARV drugs will not replace the best preventive methods: safe sex and proper use of condoms. su. This is because, the way in which pre-exposure prophylaxis works is for people at high risk to adequately load ARVs to disable HIV before exposure to the virus, allowing the drug to attack. HIV as soon as possible. However, the drug does not work to prepare the immune system to actually prevent infection like the vaccine.

2. Artificial cells

Dr. J. Craig Venter, fellow scientist who draws up the diagram of the human genome, this year has achieved a new step in creating life in the laboratory. Derived from a marvelous process of attaching DNA to the chemical, Mr. Venter synthesized the entire genome of a bacterium, which is implanted in cells and capable of replicating.

Assuming Mr. Venter's " artificial cell " hardly possessed the characteristics of the monster that caused the world to frighten, as in the story of the female writer Mary Shelley, it is still an artificial life. Mr. Venter hopes his discovery is the first of a series of organisms created in the laboratory using synthetic biology.

By mixing and combining genetic material into possible combinations, Mr. Venter has been creating organisms that can act as new biofuels, or even speed up production. The flu vaccine allows researchers to store samples of different influenza viruses in the lab.

3. Blood tests for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Despite the increasingly sophisticated measures used to diagnose the disease, doctors are still unable to detect Alzheimer's early through the most advanced imaging and molecular tests. This degenerative disease can only be diagnosed accurately by dissection, when pathologists can confirm the presence of specific patches and tangles in the brain.

However, a new, promising blood test can help early diagnosis of progressive disease. This is opening up the possibility of preventing dementia and mental impairment even before the earliest symptoms start. The new test analyzed more than 20 proteins in the blood and achieved an 80% accuracy in identifying Alzheimer's patients.

This is the latest in a series of new methods, including spinal fluid testing, to detect and identify Alzheimer's disease earlier for patients. A faster diagnosis can help patients take advantage of behavioral interventions, such as keeping the brain active by maintaining social relationships and learning new things. , to help slow the mental decline of Alzheimer's patients.

4. US approval of Botox for migraine

After some patients had been given Botox injections to prevent forehead wrinkles, announcing that their migraines also seemed to ease, scientists, especially experts working for the firm. Botox production called Allergan, decided to find out.

Based on data from two large trials involving more than 1,000 patients, Allergan successfully convinced the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that patients were given Botox injections. In the face area experience fewer migraine days per month than those who do not receive such treatment.

FDA approval means insurance companies can start paying Botox-related costs, which can cost thousands of dollars over several months, to treat migraines. However, experts say it is still difficult to predict which type of headache patients will benefit the most, but at least those with migraine will not have to visit a plastic surgeon to reduce pain or pain to pay for treatment.

5. New type of artificial respiration does not need to breathe

For 50 years, since the CPR procedure was first described in 1960, rescue teams have saved countless lives when combined artificial respiration with suffocation and cardiac compression. outside the chest of unconscious victims. However, after the new data showed that cardiopulmonary resection has also been as effective as the traditional CPR method of saving victims of cardiac arrest, the American Heart Association (AHA) has decided to update the existing CPR method. New regulations on CPR focus more on compressing the heart out of the chest, and in some cases, without breathing.

In recent years, many studies have found that outsiders, uneducated feel more comfortable when conducting heart compressions outside the chest without needing breath inhalation and survivors' chances of survival Only receiving this artificial respiration procedure is equivalent to those of traditional full CPR.

These results, along with the fact that only 30% of people needing CPR actually receive it (just because the outsiders, untrained are not willing to implement the traditional CPR method). which they consider complicated), has forced AHA to modify the artificial respiration guidelines. The AHA recommends that all rescuers, including well-trained emergency personnel, reverse the current way of performing CPR, starting with 30 chest compressions, then to Breathe in breaths to minimize damage to people with cardiac arrest.

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6. FDA limits diabetes medication Avandia

Eleven years after being marketed and becoming a worldwide selling drug, Avandia diabetes medication (rosiglitazone) has been imposed the most restrictive regulations by FDA. Currently, only certified doctors who understand the increased risk of heart attack associated with Avandia can prescribe medications to help control blood sugar in these type 2 diabetics. These doctors can deliver Avandia only when their patients are hopeless for all other treatment options and accept the risks involved.

According to some experts, FDA's decision should have been made long ago, since researchers first reported an increase in the risk of heart attack among Avandia users since 2007. At that time, FDA issued their first warning on the drug label. A US government safety review revealed that GlaxoSmithKline , the maker of Avandia, knew about the increased risks associated with their products after it was launched in 1999.

The good news for patients who respond well to Avandia but are afraid of the risk is that there is a drug with a similar feature that does not pose a risk of heart attack by being called Actos (pioglitazone).

7. Blood test for early detection of heart attack

A heart attack begins with a series of blockages in blood vessels, so what better place to find a diagnosis of cardiovascular problems better in the blood? Currently, the most reliable way to check the condition of the heart's vessels is to use angiography, an intervention procedure that involves inserting a small tube into the blood vessels from an artery in the leg.

However, the researchers have now identified a preliminary table of 23 genes encoding blood proteins, reaching 83% accuracy in detecting typical vascular obstruction of heart disease. When doctors added this blood test to measures of existing heart attack risk, including symptoms of chest pain and a family history of health problems, it increased the ability to classify patients. Their high or low risk is 16% more than just using traditional methods.

Too much when I hope that my blood tests can predict heart attack, at least in the present, but this measure can act as an early warning call for at risk patients. high. Promoting changes in diet and lifestyle habits in these patients can help them prevent the risk of a heart attack.

8. Successfully predict in-vitro fertilization

For couples who choose in vitro fertilization (IVF), rates do not always support them. This process, even in the best conditions, averages only 30% of the chance of a child's birth. So when Stanford University researchers announced a new way to select the most powerful embryos, bringing the most possibilities to successful pregnancy and childbirth, public opinion was extremely welcome. .

By filming the first few hours of embryo activity after fertilization, scientists were able to provide information about the characteristics of embryos that are most likely to continue to grow and survive in a few days, instead of dying. The evaluation criteria include the time it takes for the embryos to first divide from one cell into two, as well as the time it takes for the result of this division to continue to flourish. The next step will be to include this video-based assessment in an IVF center and determine if the analysis can really improve the pregnancy and survival rate of the fetus.

9. Artificial ovaries

More good news for those who struggle with infertility: scientists claim to have succeeded in creating an artificial ovary that could someday nourish immature eggs of humans. body. Researchers led by a team at Brown University have found a way to lure three patients' main oocytes into a 3-D structure similar to an ovary. In the laboratory, these types of cells interact with each other and perform all functions as a real chamber, even succeeding in nurturing an adult human egg from the earliest stage in the capsule to a Full development form.

Immediately, this structure was able to help IVF technicians improve the success rate. Now, when women donate eggs for an IVF cycle, they provide a range of both mature and immature eggs. Less developed eggs are less likely to be fertilized to become embryos. However, by allowing technicians to nourish these mature eggs in the laboratory, researchers can help each IVF cycle become more effective. In addition, artificial ovaries can help women with ovarian disease, who cannot produce mature eggs, taking advantage of IVF to have their own babies.

10. Create iPS cells safer and faster

While the prospect of stem cell therapy to cure the disease is still far away, scientists continue to make great strides in bringing that potential from the laboratory to the infirmary. Working with breakthrough stem cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) and can be made from a skin cell, completely ignore the presence of embryos), Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have overcome an important barrier in creating safe technology for patients.

So far, to create iPS cells from skin cells, the team needs to expose skin cells to both viruses and cancer-causing genes to reprogram them into an embryonic-like state. . Now scientists from Boston Children's Hospital have reported success in using a different form of added genes (RNA), which eliminates the dangers posed by inserting viruses and cancer-promoting genes. letter. And as an extraordinary bonus, this technique is about 100 times more effective than the old method of producing iPS cells. The new discovery marks an important step forward, opening up the prospect of using stem cells as a new and healthy supply of cells to replace future-damaged cells.