Medicinal breakthrough to look forward to this year

We live in a fast paced tumultuous world where discoveries and breakthroughs in every walk of life are to a thing to be expected and nothing out of the norm. Perhaps no walk of life has benefited more from this pace of advancement than the medicinal field. We now have access to medication and surgical procedures which were inconceivable mere decades ago and diseases which used to wipe out whole populations have been rendered obsolete. It’s expected that the year 2014 is going to herald the arrival of some major breakthroughs that will forever change the landscape of modern medicine. Here are some of the most anticipated and major breakthrough expected and some that have already occurred this year.

1) The days of cancer are numbered!

The mere mention of the deadly disease can stir fear and uneasiness! Cancer has been the scourge of humanity from time unmemorable but all that stands to change with the development of two new approaches:

Blood Cancer now treatable

Blood cancer might be rendered obsolete because of a new drug called “B-cell receptor pathway inhibitors”. The drug has yielded very promising results during clinical trials for treating lymphomas and leukemia. The positive response ratio of this drug stands at an incredible 71% in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia which is a very encourage able sign.  

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy entails endowing the immune system with extra power and vitality to battle cancerous cell directly. Cancerous tumor cells have the ability to fortify themselves by building a protective shield. The new drugs that will empower the immune system will play a crucial role in helping the immune cells to break these barriers down and reach the tumors directly. The clinical trials for immunotherapy haven’t been conducted on a large scale yet but even on a moderate scale the results are very positive.

2) Sedation machine

Anesthesiologist beware! Your jobs might be in jeopardy with the emergence of new personal sedation station. This new device would allow personnel other than anesthesiologist to administer sedatives for procedures like colonoscopies. It is estimated that this device would drastically cut down the over medical expenditure by $ 1 billion per annum.

3) Fecal transplant

Yes you read that right! Fecal transplant is what the name entails. There are certain degenerative diseases associated with the colon that render it useless by disturbing the bacterial balance. This in turn leaves the colon prone to infections and diseases. Fecal transplant would allow doctors to introduce liquid suspension made from a healthy person’s fecal matter into a sick person’s colon to restore bacterial balance. This could also open up new doors for treating inflammatory bowel disease.