Important medical discoveries

1.

important medical
discoveries

2.

Brain transplantation
It may seem impossible, but a part of a human brain has indeed been
transplanted into rats, and it has taken root. Specialists from Stanford
University extracted special stem cells from the human brain, turned them
into immature cells, and injected them into the rat's brain. The implanted
tissue has taken root and even 8 months after the experiment, it feels great
in the new body. Interestingly, the neurons of the implanted cells did not
reformat, but remained human.Why it's important: The discovery will allow
scientists not only to predict the behavior of rodents, but also to literally
control them, based on the psychology of human behavior.

3.

Treatment of Pompe disease
Glycogenosis, or Pompe disease, is a rare inherited disorder that
disrupts the functioning of an enzyme that breaks down
glycogen in cells. Glycogen, accumulating in large quantities,
damages cells, disrupts the central nervous system, heart, and
muscles. As a result, patients with Pompe disease, who are mostly
children, live no more than a year.However, American doctors
have managed to defeat the disease, moreover, at the stage of
prenatal treatment. In adulthood, it is difficult to treat
glycogenosis, because each use of drugs means the introduction
of a foreign protein into the bloodstream, to which the immune
system reacts very sharply.However, if you start intrauterine
therapy before the formation of the humoral immune system
(before the 2nd trimester of pregnancy), the body begins to
perceive the foreign protein as its own. This is what the US
specialists managed to do.Why it's important: The development
will help treat children with a deadly disease.

4.

Cloning
The problem of extinction of many animal species is acute on
Earth. Cloning is perhaps the only way out of the situation so far,
but it is not easy. Scientists from Yamanashi University in Japan
have taken another step toward successful cloning, this time from
dried skin cells.
They took the outer covering of a mouse tail, dried it, and froze it
for a year. The drying killed the cells, but the specialists managed
to implant the dead cells into rodent eggs and produce cloned
embryos. Despite the success, the probability of obtaining
healthy mice in this way is only 0.2%, which is half that of the
classical cloning method.
Why it's important: the experiment will help scientists preserve
specimens of endangered species in the future

5.

Medicines to stop aging
Medicines that stop the aging process and rejuvenate the
body may be available in five to ten years. Japanese
scientists have discovered a mechanism to get rid of aging
cells.According to Makoto Nakanishi, a professor at the
Research Institute of Medicine at the University of Tokyo, agerelated weakening of body functions is caused by the
accumulation of "senescent" cells in the organs that trigger
inflammatory processes.They were discovered 60 years ago
by American Leonard Hayflick. He discovered that cells can
divide only a certain number of times. Recent studies have
shown that division can stop due to DNA damage or
oxidative stress."If you remove the 'senescent' cells, you can
stop the inflammatory processes, and therefore achieve a
significant inhibition of aging," Nakanishi said.Why it's
important: Accumulations of senescent cells cause
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. One drug can improve
many types of age-related diseases and achieve
rejuvenation.

6.

DNA sequencing
In 1953, a group of British researchers managed to understand
the structure of DNA, a molecule that contains all the
information about how the body of any living being, including
humans, is organized and works. Without this discovery, it is
hard to imagine almost any of the medical advances
described in this project.Just as all other modern medicine and
biology is unthinkable without it. The technologies of the 21st
century make it possible to "read" the DNA of any particular
person, which serves as a key to many doors. Thanks to this, we
know why certain genetic diseases occur and are already
finding ways to treat them. We can assess the risk that a person
will get a disease in the future and, in some cases, prevent the
disease or at least be prepared for it. We understand the
genetic characteristics of the tumor and choose the treatment
strategy that is most likely to help this particular patient.

7.

Bionic limb prostheses
Human hand prostheses have been created for hundreds of years,
but only in the 21st century did they begin to approach the
capabilities of real human hands. Due to the fact that such
prostheses "read" muscle impulses of the human body, they can be
used to perform common operations, such as using a smartphone,
turning on the light, carrying a bag, holding cutlery, and much
more.There are models of different sizes, both for adults and
children. The technology is developing rapidly, and there are
already developments that allow bionic arms to not only
manipulate objects but also literally feel them.Bionic leg prostheses
adapt to the way a person moves as much as possible and allow
them to walk and run almost as well as their own legs.

8.

Treatment of hepatitis C
According to the WHO, more than 70 million people
worldwide are living with chronic hepatitis C. Many of
them may not be aware of their diagnosis, as the
disease is asymptomatic for years. However, a large
proportion of patients later develop liver cancer or
cirrhosis.In 2013, sofosbuvir was introduced to the global
market, followed by several other drugs that can cure
hepatitis C of different genotypes in most patients in just
a few months and with minimal side effects. This is,
without exaggeration, a revolution in the treatment of
hepatitis C, against which, by the way, there is still no
vaccine.

9.

Artificial Heart
Heart transplantation is not the most technically challenging operation
today. But the problem is that there is a shortage of donor organs
around the world, and many patients have to wait a long time for their
turn. If the native heart can no longer perform its functions, it can be
temporarily replaced by an artificial heart. Research into the
development of such devices began in the middle of the last century.
The first successful attempts to use it in humans were made at the end
of the twentieth century.In 2004, the FDA approved the Total Artificial
Heart (TAH) by the American company SynCardia as a temporary
"bridge" for patients waiting for a donor heart transplant. According to
the company, today it is the only manufacturer of commercially
available artificial hearts. TAHs have been used in more than 1,700
patients in different countries, which has helped to extend their lives
by more than 600 years.Various other models of artificial hearts in
different countries are at different stages of development or testing.