Important achievements of medicine in 2015
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Over the past year, medicine has managed to achieve significant results in the fight against a number of serious diseases.
Jer Groupman, a cancer specialist, noted that he watches more than 10 medical publications every day, describing clinical studies, discoveries of scientists, certain cases of patients. The interest of the scientist is also caused by articles on biology and medicine that do not directly or indirectly relate to cancer and the treatment of cancer patients, which, in the opinion of the professor, can change not only existing practices, but also influence the course of the doctors' thoughts, in addition, the information obtained can to ease the situation in a certain situation.
Based on the study, Dr. Grupman compiled a list of the most significant achievements for science and medicine over the past year.
Among the major breakthroughs, the specialist notes cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In Sweden, a team of specialists showed that with a large heart attack before the arrival of an ambulance, first aid should be given to the victim - indirect heart massage and artificial respiration, in which case 10% of patients survive, if the resuscitation was not timely, the survival rate is reduced to 4.
The Institute of Medicine in June last year proposed the creation of special training courses that will help everyone who wants to learn cardiopulmonary techniques. Also, the institute offered to use special applications for smartphones that will inform others about the need to provide assistance.
Another outstanding achievement in the field of medicine, according to Grupman, is the decline in the spread of HIV.
Jean-Michel Molin in one of the hospitals dared to a daring experiment, during which he and his colleagues studied the effect of antiviral drugs.
In the experiment, 4 hundred people participated, two groups had to take pills before or after intercourse without a condom. In less than a year, 14 new cases of infection were detected in the first group, who took pills-pacifiers, and only 2 in the second group.
This study is of great importance for medicine and will help in developing methods to contain the spread of HIV infection on the planet.
The field of cancer research has not become an exception. Among the common types of cancer can be identified chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is characterized by a slow development in the initial stages, but then the disease is rapidly progressing, eventually a person dies of exhaustion. Traditionally, lymphocytic leukemia is treated with the strongest chemicals that kill cancer cells, in particular chlorambucil is used, but the effect of the drug is limited and all improvements achieved usually disappear within 10-12 months.
For the past 10 years, experts have worked in this direction and studied the process of receiving signals by cells and concluded that cancer therapy will be less toxic if it affects molecules through which cells communicate.
In one of the scientific publications at the end of last year, an article appeared that described the results of clinical trials of the new drug. Researchers used Ibrutinib - a substance that affects the molecules through which cellular signals are transmitted, as a result of treatment, patients have been shown to have sustained remission. The effect of the drug was preserved even after the end of the tests.
In the treatment of cancer, the main problem in the development of effective treatment is the multichannel communication of cancer cells - even if one channel is blocked, the cells use to transmit signals to another, as a result, the disease continues to progress.
Destruction of intracellular bonds will help to significantly improve the condition of patients, as in the case of Ibrutinib.
Especially Groupman was delighted with the placebo effect, which he could personally experience. The professor for a long time was suffering from back pain due to the syndrome of the operated spine. Communication with rehabilitation specialists, prior to physical treatment, helped Grupham partly relieve the pain.
The group of Dr. Ted Kapchuk clarified the situation with dummy medications. The researchers said that people can have a genetic predisposition to a greater or lesser extent to the effects of such drugs. Placebo is prescribed for patients with incurable diseases, but, according to Kapchuk and his colleagues, the effectiveness of the "empty" pill increases several times if a trust is established between the patient and the doctor.
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