Never before has medicine made such rapid progress as it is today. In heart surgery, surgeons can avoid opening the chest. In the future, the removal of a kidney in women will be without scars. The gentle keyhole surgeries overcome hurdles that were considered insurmountable just a few years ago. It is also exciting that research is finding amazing new fields of action for old and proven medicines. Tolfioow names the 35 most important advances in medicine for the future. But also key cornerstones of the health care reform.
Table of Contents
And even more bright spots
New protection
As early as 2011, a vaccine will come onto the market that fights the most common form of meningitis caused by special strains of bacteria (meningococci B). And vaccines against glandular fever, which is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, are currently being tested in several studies. Also protective substances against liver inflammation caused by hepatitis C and E viruses.
calm heart
Viral infections can trigger cardiac arrhythmias when certain key cells (CAR receptors) in the heart muscle are not working. Drugs can solve this blockage in the future.
Real slimming pill
A research group from the University of Basel has discovered a protein (“raptor”) in adipose tissue that slows down energy metabolism. In eight to ten years there will be an effective pill against obesity.
NEW THERAPIES
BREAST CANCER
1 Pinpoint beams
First the operation, then the radiotherapy – this is the standard treatment for the 57,000 German breast cancer patients every year. But: “Up to 90 percent of all recurrences occur where a tumor has been removed. Therefore, it makes sense to irradiate this high-risk area immediately in high doses and in a targeted manner,” says Prof. Frederik Wenz from the University Hospital Mannheim. Now the doctors can precisely irradiate the wound cavity during the operation with a 5 centimeter spherical radiation head. Healthy tissue is spared.
CONCLUSION: After five years, less than 2 percent of the patients developed new tumors.
2 Ultrasonic Surgery
Breast cancer tissue can soon be targeted with ultrasound. The actually harmless rays are focused on a point like sunlight in a magnifying glass. In the focal point, the cancer cells die.
CONCLUSION: In the case of uterine proliferation, the procedure already delivers excellent results. Studies on breast cancer are still ongoing.
3 blood test
The novel blood test “BCtect (TM)” detects tumors very early and precisely, especially in women before menopause and in women with dense breast tissue. 4 Last Aid
A metabolite of myxobacteria (epothilone) also helps when the tumor cells have become resistant to other cell toxins.
5 Inhibitors
The regular intake of anti-inflammatory drugs prevents the development of breast cancer, shows the world’s most extensive review study with over 2.7 million women. The active ingredient acetylsalicylic acid reduces the probability by 13 percent, and ibuprofen by as much as 21 percent.
CONCLUSION: Useful if the risk of breast cancer is high. Not suitable for stomach ailments.
Colon Cancer & Uterine Cancer
COLON CANCER
6 New Blocker
Colon cancer patients who have metastases in their livers have hope. “A new active ingredient blocks the signaling pathways involved in cell division,” says Dr. Klaus Mross from the Clinic for Tumor Biology in Freiburg.
CONCLUSION: So far, about 50 patients have been treated in one study. The results were excellent.
7 bio chip
A bio-chip that is being developed at the University of Lübeck, among others, provides an effective supplement to the colonoscopy. It measures twelve tumor markers in the blood.
CONCLUSION: Important because, despite all preventive measures, the cancer is only discovered in an advanced stage in 70 percent of patients.
8 micro blasters
Ultrasound checks with special contrast media detect metastases of colorectal cancer more precisely than before. The doctor injects gas-filled microbubbles into the vessels. They make the blood flow in the tissue visible. In this way, the doctor can see exactly where the tumors that have spread come from.
CONCLUSION: In the future, the vesicles will also transport medicines.
UTERUS CANCER
9 earliest detection
A new diagnostic method detects the early stages of cervical cancer. In the smear, it measures the different water distribution in healthy and diseased cells.
CONCLUSION: “Surgery on the cervix and in the uterus will be gentler in the future,” says Prof. Nandita de Souza from the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.
skin cancer, heart disease and broken bones
SKIN CANCER
10 designer molecule
On the one hand, a designer molecule against melanoma pretends to be a virus and alerts the immune system . On the other hand, it drives cancer cells to self-destruction.
CONCLUSION: The dual strategy deprives the tumor of all escape routes.
11 photon light
Forms a black skin cancer in the choroid in the eye, the eyeball was previously completely removed. The “Cyberknife” method preserves the eye. High-energy light particles are fired at the tumor and cause maximum damage to the cancer cells.
CONCLUSION: The three-hour one-off treatment, e.g. B. in the European Cyberknife Center, Munich-Großhadern (ECZM), is completely painless.
HEART DISEASE
12 Umbrella OP
The insertion of a heart valve prosthesis is risky. Using a new catheter technique, the flap is now sewn into a metal mesh and folded to 6 to 7 millimeters like an umbrella. Doctors insert it into the heart via a catheter. There it opens.
CONCLUSION: “Progress for everyone for whom open surgery would mean a high risk,” says Prof. Hans-Reiner Figulla, University Heart Center Jena, z. B. for old people.
13 Magnet Diagnosis
Every year there are 800,000 cardiac catheter checks to detect circulatory disorders. The radiation-free imaging method “Magnetfield Imaging System” (MFI) saves the intervention.
CONCLUSION: About 70 percent of catheter examinations become superfluous.
BONE FRACTURES
14 Gluing instead
of nailing Joint fractures often do not heal because injured cartilage does not grow well together. A procedure in which the cartilage is glued brings better chances of recovery.
CONCLUSION: Shorter fracture healing.
Stomach cancer, kidney disease and pregnancy
STOMACH CANCER15 Gentle intervention
Until now, the diagnosis of stomach cancer usually meant the complete removal of the stomach or large parts of it. Now the tumor can be specifically removed during a gastroscopy. The stomach is preserved.
CONCLUSION: The new organ-preserving surgical technique is also successful in cancer of the esophagus.
KIDNEY DISEASE
16 No scars
Kidney surgeries on women no longer leave visible scars. The organ is now removed via the vagina. The surgeon only breaks through the thin mucous membrane at the deepest point of the abdominal cavity. In the classic operation, an abdominal incision of 15 centimeters is necessary.
CONCLUSION: Faster wound healing.
PREGNANCY
17 Without a needle
hereditary diseases such as B. Down syndrome are detected by a blood test. He examines traces of the child’s genetic material in the mother’s blood for chromosomes for hereditary diseases. There is no risky puncturing.
CONCLUSION: Clear results already from the sixth week of pregnancy instead of from the tenth as before.
18 Better planning
The later couples decide to have offspring, the more important the “biological clock”. Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered two hormones that indicate the end of fertility five years before.
CONCLUSION: Easier family planning.
NEW MEDICATIONS
ALZHEIMER
19 double use
A drug already approved to lower cholesterol could halt Alzheimer’s disease. “Among Alzheimer’s patients there are noticeably few people who have taken a cholesterol-lowering drug,” says Prof. Stefan Teipel, University of Rostock.
CONCLUSION: A large-scale study at 14 German universities is examining the effectiveness.
CONJUNCTIVITIS
20 natural substance
The new natural substance ciclosporin helps against the severe form of chronic allergic conjunctivitis. CONCLUSION: The preparation is in the final phase of clinical studies.
GENITAL WARTS
21 tea against taboo
Benign genital warts are among the most common sexually transmitted diseases worldwide. Now an ointment with an extract of green tea will help.
CONCLUSION: The approval is currently in the final phase.
Gout & Shingles
GOUT
22 Pain Free
The active ingredient febuxostat lowers the level of uric acid in the blood. It has a more targeted effect than conventional anti-gout drugs.
CONCLUSION: Approval has already taken place.
SHINGLES
23 Out of the cold
Now there is the first vaccine against shingles that no longer has to be stored frozen, but can be stored in liquid form in the refrigerator. CONCLUSION: The approval for the frozen version is already available.
INFECTION
24 germ killer
New antibiotics fight germs that have become resistant to older antibiotics. Above all, pus germs in clinics (MRSA) are destroyed in this way.
CONCLUSION: Three funds are in the approval process.
LUNG CANCER
25 hope
A new drug brings hope to lung cancer patients whose therapy has been exhausted. It only releases the active substance directly in the tumor.
CONCLUSION: The active ingredient paclitaxel is already on the market. The delivery still has to be approved.
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
26 Fewer relapses
A drug against psoriasis that has been tried and tested tens of thousands of times helps with multiple sclerosis. The active ingredient fumaric acid reduces new centers of inflammation in the brain by over 70 percent and relapses by around 30 percent, says Prof. Ralf Gold, University of Bochum.
CONCLUSION: Two clinical studies with more than 2000 patients will start soon.
Interview
“There is less pain after the operation”
Interview with Prof. Volker Schumpelick, President of the German Society for Surgery, Stuttgart.
Tolfioow: What challenges does surgery face in the near future?
PROF. SCHUMPELICK: You have to adjust to the fact that the patients are getting older and overweight. There are already increasing problems with overweight people in the operating theatre, on the beds or during transport. And older people with high-risk factors need more gentle surgery. Basically, we work to make procedures and stays in the clinic painless.
Tolfioow: Where can the greatest progress be observed at the moment?
PROF. SCHUMPELICK: Especially in cancer therapy. With a special pre-treatment, for example with chemotherapy and radiation during the procedure, organ-preserving surgery can be carried out – with the same effectiveness.
Tolfioow: Will the training of surgeons change?
PROF. SCHUMPELICK: Yes. In the future, surgeons, like pilots, will practice in the simulator before operating on patients.
