Pioneers
-Anthony Atala was the first to build a functioning organ from scratch—a bladder made cell by cell—and put it into a patient, a child whose own bladder was congenitally deformed. Since that breakthrough a decade ago, the 50-year-old pediatric urologist, director of Wake Forest University's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, has moved on to cobbling up bones, heart valves, muscles, and some 20 other body parts
-Jean Bennett and Albert Maguire, a collaboration that has yielded one of the first successful demonstrations of gene therapy in humans. The partners have restored much of the vision in patients who have a rare genetic form of severely impaired eyesight called Leber's congenital amaurosis, in which a mutated gene prevents the retina from manufacturing a nutrient vital to eye health. The technique eventually could be tried to treat macular degeneration.
-Wayne Marasco was discovered a human antibody that attacks a newfound vulnerability in flu viruses. His finding could be the key to a single, perennial vaccine against all forms of influenza, including swine flu. http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2009/06/30/14-medical-pioneers-who-arent-holding-back Important advances
-Human Genome Project In April 2003, scientists annouced they completed a draft sequencing of the human genome. This establihed the order of the more than 3 billion letters in what's called "The book of life" Gene sequencing has helped researchers identify single genes that cause diseases and helped to creating better treatments.
-Stem cell research Stem cells can essentially be programmed to become any type of cell in the body. In 2006, scientists showed that adult cells can be 'turned back' into stem cells,which are called induced pluripotent stem cells. Scientists have also cloned human stem cells and have made promissing developments in stem cell therapies for heart repair and eye disease.
-Targeted cancer therapies are drugs that usually work in one of two ways: they either interfere with the spread of cancer by blocking cells involved in tumor growth, or they identify the deadly cancer cells. These therapies are much more direct that treatments like chemotherapy or radiation, which also attack healthy cells. http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/05/health/lifeswork-medical-advances/ -Artificial liver/kidney grown in Laboratories In 2013, Japanese researchers succeeded in creating a functional human liver from stem cells.The induced iPS cells (pluripotent stem) were grown into working human liver in the body of a mouse. On 14 April 2013, BBC carried a report about a kidney grown in a laboratory in USA, which was successfully producing urine.
-HIV treatment is the latest combination therapy which involves multiple antiretroviral active drugs. The Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy maintains the function of immune system and prevents opportunistic infections that cause death in a patient. http://topyaps.com/top-10-medical-breakthroughs-of-the-21st-century Inventions
-Camera Pill It can detect early signs of esophageal cancer, which is the fastest growing type of cancer in the United States.
-iLIMB Bionic Hand Invented by David Gow in 2007, the device became the world's first artificial hand to boast 5 individually powered fingers.
-Robots Helping Perform Surgeries that could autonomously carry out different operations on patients.
-AbioCor Artificial Heart In July 2001, a group of surgeons from Louisville, Kentucky managed to implant a new-generation artificial heart in a patient. Dubbed AbioCor, the device was implanted in a man who suffered from heart failure.
Quality of life
-life span : to age 71
-Infant mortality : 36 Deaths per 1,000 Live Births
http://www.who.int/gho/mortality_burden_disease/life_tables/situation_trends/en/
