Can
we predict the future of medicine? Although designer babies and a
disease-free world may or may not come to pass, you can get a glimpse of
the most promising and upcoming medical innovations each year, via the
Cleveland Clinic.
To be
considered, each innovation must have a good chance of being available
to the public in the upcoming year, says Dr. Michael Roizen, chief
wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic and chairman of the committee
that decides the list. The committee must also expect it to have a
significant impact on a large part of the population.
The
process starts with a panel of Cleveland Clinic physicians and
scientists who submit their ideas. These suggestions, which Roizen said
totaled about 700 for the 2015 list, are then narrowed down and voted on
by 40 physicians in a variety of health fields.
Here's what they selected for 2015:
1. Mobile stroke unit
Videoconferencing
has made its way into ambulances, specifically for treating stroke
victims on the go. Hospital stroke neurologists can interpret symptoms
via a broadband video link and instruct an onboard paramedic, critical
care nurse and CT technologist on treatment. This new technology should
improve the speed of medical care, which is important as strokes quickly damage and kill brain cells.
2. Dengue fever vaccine
The World Health Organization
reports that about half of the world's population is now at risk for
dengue fever, which up until now was preventable only by avoiding
mosquito bites. The disease is a leading cause of death and illness in
children in some countries. A new vaccine has been developed and tested,
and is expected to be available in 2015.
3. Painless blood testing
For those who hate large needles, a nearly painless way to sample blood will be a welcome relief. Plus, it will be cheaper and provide faster results than today's blood test. The new technology takes blood from your fingertip, and the Cleveland Clinic reports that over 100 tests can be performed on just one drop of blood.
4. New way to lower cholesterol
New
self-injectable drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors have shown to be very
effective in lowering cholesterol. These drugs may prove to be helpful
for people with high LDL cholesterol who don't have good results with statins. The FDA is expected to approve the first PCSK9 in 2015.
5. Cancer drug that doesn't harm healthy tissue
Although chemotherapy
can save lives, it can be hard on the body and attack healthy cells as
well as cancerous ones. A welcome breakthrough in the world of cancer
treatment, antibody-drug conjugates can deliver targeted treatment
without damaging healthy tissue.
6. Immune booster for cancer patients
Immune
checkpoint inhibitors have been shown to prevent cancer cells from
"hiding" from the immune system, allowing the body to more effectively
fight these abnormal cells. Combined with chemotherapy and radiation
treatment, the drugs have shown significant, long-term cancer remissions
for patients with metastatic melanoma, one of the most deadly forms of cancer.
7. Wireless cardiac pacemaker
Until
this point, wires have been a necessary component in pacemakers. A new
wireless pacemaker about the size of a vitamin can now be implanted in
the heart without surgery. Its lithium-ion battery is estimated to last
about seven years.
8. New medications for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
is a life-threatening disease that causes scarring in the lungs,
leading to breathing difficulties and a shortage of oxygen in the brain
and other organs. Life expectancy is only three to five years after
diagnosis, but those numbers may change now that the FDA has approved
two experimental drugs that slow the disease: pirfenidone and
nintedanib.
9. Single-dose radiation therapy for breast cancer
The National Cancer Institute
estimates that 40,000 women in the United States will die from breast
cancer in 2014. The Cleveland Clinic cites multiple chemotherapy
appointments, sometimes requiring the patient to travel long distances,
as a hindrance to successful treatment. Intraoperative radiation therapy
is a new solution. It treats a breast cancer tumor during surgery in a
single dose, reducing time and cost spent on treatment.
10. New drug for heart failure
About 5.1 million people in the United States suffer from heart failure, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
It is managed with a combination of drugs, but a new drug,
angiotensin-receptor neprilysin inhibitor, has been granted fast-track
status by the FDA because of its ability to cut the risk of dying from
heart failure more effectively than current treatments.
