Hyderabad: Technology and medicine have gone hand and hand for many years. Consistent advances in pharmaceuticals and the medical field have saved millions of lives and improved many others. Medical advances of great importance in improving diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease are often called 'breakthroughs'. A medical breakthrough significantly enhances the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of human disease. The discovery of antibiotics stands as one of the most critical advances in medical history. Among modern medicines, antibiotics probably hold the most importance.
Alexander Fleming, one of the pioneers, who invented medicine, was the one to introduce this miracle drug to the world. Immunologists and virologists at Rockefeller University with the support from Griffin Catalyst advanced the development of effective convalescent plasma therapies in just five months.
The plasma therapy has saved the lives of more than one hundred thousand COVID-19 patients. mRNA technology has been put under the spotlight recently as the new vaccines for Covid-19 use this science. With their high effectiveness, capacity for rapid development, and potential for low production costs, mRNA vaccines offer an alternative to the traditional vaccine approach. Neurotechnology helps to understand the brain, call to mind and its control, repair its functions.
Artificial Intelligence is one of the most exciting technologies changing healthcare. 3D printers have become one of the hottest technologies on the market. Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) is the most advanced gene-editing technology. Telehealth and telemedicine have become increasingly in demand since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020.
1. A new drug called Leave was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used to help lower cholesterol levels. The RNA therapy is said to block translation of the PCSK9 gene.
2. The mRNA Vaccine technology is one of the greatest breakthroughs in the medical history.
3. This technology elicited potent immunity against infectious disease targets in animal models of influenza virus, Zika virus, rabies virus and others.
4. A new diabetic drug called Tirzipatide is a once-weekly injectable dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide receptor agonist (GLP-1) that aims to control blood sugar.
5. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) are said to be the biggest breakthrough of the decade. It is said to alter human DNA so as to correct any defective genetic coding.
6. Researchers at Reddy, have discovered a new treatment based on neurosteroids that helps to treat postpartum depression.
7. China rolled out the first needle-free Covid-19 vaccine, developed by biotechnology firm CanSino biologists. The inhalable Covid vaccine targets the virus present in the mucus membrane.
8. 3-D printing organs is also called bioprinting, which helps to recreate artificial organs that are not rejected by the body's immune system.
9. A new technology uses implanted electrodes to collect movement signals from the brain, which helps restore voluntary motor impulses in patients with severe paralysis.
10. Mavacampten is a very new drug that is used to treat obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). HCM is a heart disease in which the heart muscle thickens.
11. A recent study in scientific reports introduces the sperm damage test that offers hope for improved fertility. The rapid Sperm Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Fragmentation Releasing Assay (SDFR) as a diagnostic method for double-strand breaks (DSBs).
12. Researchers developed a prosthetic device that can decode signals from the brain's speech centre and predict a person's intended speech. This groundbreaking technology, featured in Nature Communications, offers hope to individuals unable to communicate due to neurological disorders, potentially restoring their ability to convey thoughts through a brain-computer interface.
13. Scientists at Rutgers University have devised a highly accurate method for creating coatings of biologically active materials for a variety of medical products. This 'New Spray Technique' developed by scientists could usher in new era of transdermal medication.
14. The next big advance in cancer treatment could be a vaccine. After decades of limited success, scientists say research has reached a turning point, with many predicting more vaccines will be out in five years. These aren't traditional vaccines that prevent disease, but shots to shrink tumors and stop cancer from coming back.
15. Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine made the remarkable and unexpected discovery that inflammation in the stomach (gastritis) as well as ulceration of the stomach or duodenum (peptic ulcer disease) is the result of an infection of the stomach caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori.
16. Sydney Brenner, H. Robert Horvitz and John E. Sulston have identified key genes regulating organ development and programmed cell death and have shown that corresponding genes exist in higher species, including man. The discoveries are important for medical research and have shed new light on the pathogenesis of many diseases.
17. Researchers discovered new NIPD (Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis) and NIPT (Noninvasive prenatal testing) tests work by analysing DNA profiles for specific cell markers to see is the child's DNA profile matches the mother and alleged fathers (NIPT) along with samples to see if the baby might be at risk of over 100 X-linked genetic disorders including down syndrome, beta-thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy, Duchene muscular dystrophy, and hemophilia.
18. A blood clot in the brain must be pulled out in 4-7 hours to put a stop to brain vandalism, impairment or even death. In a new technology known as neurovascular stent retrievers, a microcatheter is inserted through an incision in the patient's leg and then threaded through the bloodstream. The microscopic devices are guided through the body until they reach the blood clot and quickly remove the blockage to restore normal blood flow.
19. For cancer screening, a new biomarker was discovered. It is known as PLA or proximity ligation assays. The new biomarkers will help clinicians to detect, diagnose and treat patients using a special class of pharmaceuticals known as 'Tyrosine Kinase Receptor'. The early 'Protein Biomarker Analysis primarily focuses on any structure of specific proteins circulating in the blood circulatory system.
20. Scientists discovered ZOLGEN SMA world’s costliest drug ever $2,125,000 (Indian Rs.18 Crores/dose) of Novartis is a gene therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a sporadic inherited genetic disorder caused by survival motor neuron-1 gene that is missing or not working properly in the affected person where the patient suffers inability in using his/her arms, legs throat and many other areas in the body. The gene is placed inside a delivery vehicle called a vector. The vector helps deliver the SMN gene to motor neuron cells throughout the body. The vector that delivers the SMN gene is made from a virus called adeno-associated virus 9, or AAV91.
21. Artificial intelligence (AI) has come into view as a promising and transformative tool in the field of clinical chemistry, offering substantial potential for advancement in disease diagnosis. AI tools have also been applied to interpret test results and establish personalised reference ranges — a development with profound implications for disease diagnosis and interpretation in clinical chemistry. Machine learning (ML) techniques have proven valuable for result validation, quality control, and laboratory information systems.
22. Bio engineers discovered smartphone-based analytical biosensors, microfabrication, mathematical algorithms, microfluidics, and 3-D printing used as point-of-care testing tools which are delivering satisfactory results with zero pain and minimal sample volume. For instance, smartphone-based diagnostic applications include endocrinology molecular-based analysis like quantification of nucleic acids by using paper-based sensors, digital droplet assay, and microfluidic chips, usually used for viral detection.
23. To provide quality diagnostic test results in modern clinical chemistry labs, different companies have developed different types of commercially available TLA systems, such as CobasR (Roche Diagnostics), Accelerator (Abbott), the Power Express Clinical Automation system (Beckman), TCAutomationTM (Thermo Fisher), AptioR Automation (Siemens Healthineers), and VITROS Automation Solutions (Ortho Biomedical).
24. Health ATM (Automated Teller Machine) is a one-stop digital touch-point integrated machine designed in the healthcare system to diagnose all chronic disease conditions, aimed to deliver primary care and diagnostics. Health ATMs consist of touch-screen kiosk hardware, designed to manage health-related information through any internet-connected web browser. Smart Health Kiosk monitors vital signs for the following- Blood glucose, Blood pressure, Lipid Profile, Fat per cent and Blood Oxygen Saturation.
