HEALTH DEVELOPMENTS
- annleo
- Jan 13, 2015
- 4 min read
By Mike Toebes, Account Manager - annLeo, Inc.
As the future of healthcare is growing with Obamacare and the fight of outbreaks such as the Ebola Virus, we have to wonder, where is health development going? What is the future of healthcare? What should we look forward to? There is one thing we can be certain of, it’s that the overall realm of health and healthcare is constantly evolving and we must constantly be looking to the future to keep up.
There are countless coming breakthroughs and predictions that are important to the future. One important thing is that stroke patients do not receive treatment during the time called the “golden hour.” This window is 60 minutes following the thrombolytic intervention. Due to the delay of onset symptoms and arriving at the hospital, many patients miss treatment in this window. The Mobile Stroke Unit is anticipated for 2015 and is now available in areas of the United States. This is an ambulance based thrombolysis (breakdown of blood clots by pharmacological ways) and these ambulances will be able to provide emergency evaluation and treatment of stroke. Stroke patients are treated quicker to hit that time where these proper drugs can be administered.
As we witnessed the Ebola scare firsthand, it’s important that scientists keep up with the ever evolving diseases. These diseases can affect very many, very quickly. Annually, there are 50-100 million infections due to Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral infection. There is an expected vaccine to be releases to groups early in 2015. As the world continues to grow and these diseases emerge or continue to run rampant, it’s important we stay informed.
Who doesn’t hate getting their blood drawn? It hurts and it can take time to get the results you would be looking to get. Now, a single drop of blood taken from a finger prick can now get your results from the basic to the advanced more quickly. Your results can be returned within a few hours and it is way cheaper than the traditional method. This will result in a cheaper and more effective way to get these tests done. You’ll save money and know sooner what actions to take, if any.
Statin medications are used to reduce cholesterol in heart disease patients. This has been the case now for over two decades. The problem is with these is that there are people who are intolerant to these and do not benefit from them. There are now injectable cholesterol lowering drugs, or PCSK9 inhibitors, in development. The first ones approved by the FDA are expected in 2015.
1 million people in the United States develop cancer annually. The only way to fight many of these cancers is through chemotherapy. Not only does chemotherapy destroy cancer cells, it unfortunately attacks surrounding healthy cells too. There is a new class of drug called antibody-drug conjugates. These antibodies bind to the cell surface of virus or bacteria to keep it from advancing. This is a great approach to eliminate that damage to the healthy cells and tissue.
Cancer is such a difficult thing to treat. Is there a way to boost the immune system to attack cancer more efficiently? Immune Checkpoint Inhibiters boost the body’s own defenses is showing great results and is now in advanced testing stages. This will be a great thing to keep an eye on through the year and see where it goes. This will be huge in the advancement of treating cancers when combined with chemotherapy and radiations treatments with metastatic melanoma. The evidence is also becoming more apparent that this works effectively in other types of malignancies.
Pacemakers haven’t changed much since the 50’s. There is a thin wire in these pacemakers that is put through the vein that keeps the heart beating at a proper pace. This wire is called a lead and unfortunately these leads can break and crack, possibly leading to an infection. There is now a leadless and wireless pacemaker that is self-contained, that’s planted directly into the heart. There are several of trials of these are going on right now around the nation and are seeking FDA approval.
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is a disease that causes scarring, thickening, and damage to lung tissue. This disease effects 80,000 American adults and unless they receive a lung transplant, are only expected to live 3-5 years. There is now two new drugs that slow down the progress of this disease. Both of these drugs, Pirfenidone and Nintedanib, have been approved by the FDA. This brings us one step closer to finding a cure.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women. Often times when breast cancer is caught in its early stages it can lead to a cure. A lumpectomy is done and then weeks of radiation to help reduce recurrence of the cancer. Intra-operative radiation may help get rid of this burden for many women with the early stage of this disease. This focuses the radiation in one dose during surgery and is proving to be effective in the whole breast.
The most common cause of heart failure is coronary artery disease (high blood pressure). There is no cure for this condition, but it can be managed through certain therapies or transplant. There is now an angiotensin-receptor neprilysin inhibitor that greatly increases the survival advantage over enalapril, the current drug for treating patients with heart failure.
These are a handful of the great things to expect this year. As the year goes on new developments will certainly arise. It’s always important to keep on top of everything happening, especially when it comes to health and healthcare. Being informed on current events and trends can truly make a difference. Whether we are approaching to advance things over time like the pacemaker or having to attack something that’s happening now like the Dengue disease, we can always be assured that there are always people looking out for our best interests and health.
Here is to a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Source Sites:
http://www.empr.com/ringing-in-the-new-year-medical-breakthroughs-anticipated-in-2015/article/387226/
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