Latest Medical Breakthroughs

Cholesterol is always associated with heart disease. For those who care about their health, monitoring the level of cholesterol in their body is an ordinary thing. The ideal total cholesterol level should be 240 mg/dl high cholesterol. But recent findings suggest that we should also be aware of the size of the cholesterol in our body, may it be good or bad cholesterol.

Anticipation of heart related diseases cannot be relied upon the cholesterol level alone. A high percentage of our cholesterol is carried by high-density lipoproteins (HDL). The size of the HLD may determine the efficiency of good cholesterol or the adverse effect of a bad one. If the HDL is relatively small, cholesterol can easily pass through blood vessels thus limiting the efficiency or the adverse effect of said types of cholesterol in our body. And this concern is something that can be dealt with. A healthy lifestyle, such as regular exercise and proper diet may improve the size of our cholesterol.

Scientists have figured out how mice that lose the ability to walk after a spinal-cord injury can regain it, a finding that could someday help human patients, Scientific American reports. When the long nerves that run from the brain to the base of the spine were severed, shorter nerves in the area were repurposed—not regrown, as was previously believed. 

Have you ever tried riding a rollercoaster? You just can’t stop yelling at the top of your lungs because of its challenging ups and downs. One moment you’re up there, the next minute you’ve almost kissed the ground. It may be an adrenaline-pumping experience for many, but for bipolar patients, living life on a constant rollercoaster ride is no fun at all.

People suffering from a bipolar disorder or the so-called manic depression are living life on an emotional rollercoaster. They can be extremely happy for one moment then for the next few hours they can be dreadfully depressed. There seems to be no in between.

It’s sad to know that there is no cure for bipolar disorder but good thing there is a way to treat it effectively. Doctors treating patients with bipolar disorder have been using lithium carbonate for 50 years now however, it’s found not effective for everyone. To solve this problem, doctors
started giving the patients anti-depressant and anti-psychotic drugs.

For patients with bipolar disorder, life is never easy for it is a series of extremes. But with the advancing medical technologies we can just hope that soon the rollercoaster ride for them will be completely over.

Photo credits: Maciek Sliwinski

Hospitals are turning to technology to cut down on incidents of doctors sewing up surgical patients with sponges and other items left inside, the Chicago Tribune reports. A bar-coding system to ensure what goes in comes back out is one solution; another involves tagging items with chips that allow them to be detected with a radio-frequency wand.

You can llearn more about fibriomyalgia and Lyrica here.

Fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome has long been one of the most complex medical situations that has baffled many doctors. Recent years has shown little improvement in the cure of the disease although the only way doctors dealt with the sickness was through trial and error.

In June this year however, a new medicine called Lyrica was approved by the FDA and is said to be the first drug especially made to treat fibromyalgia. Dr. Lucinda Bateman, who has been working with the condition for more than a decade now, says that nationwide there are three to six million people suffering from it. One of them is Maureen Higham, who has been suffering for almost a decade already.

“You go through a period where you start to doubt yourself and you think ‘maybe I am crazy’ Do crazy people think they are crazy?” says Maureen.

For nine years this has been her life; doctor after doctor, test after test, frustration after frustration.

“There was one doctor as we were trying so hard to find answers, he said to me well at least it is not life threatening, and I looked at him and I thought I’d rather it be life threatening. This is life stealing,” says Higham.

Unfortunately, Maureen is not one of those who are greatly benefiting from the new medicine. But other people like Richard Sloan report positive effects.

“After about 3 or 4 months I was like, ‘wow this stuff really works’,” says Sloan.

Today, thanks to Lyrica, he’s running and training for a career in law enforcement.

“I’m able to spend better quality time with my children I don’t think enough can be said for the amount of energy that I feel. I have now,” says Sloan

Photo credits: Lisa Fanucchi

There has been a recent excitement over new AIDS treatment pills. It supposed slows down the AIDS virus in such a tremendous pace that patients find themselves going past their thirties with all their body parts intact. It is uplifting to know that finally, science has caught on with one of society’s deadliest diseases. It is also concerting to know that there is continuous research to further combat the virus. At the pace the medical industry is going, it will not be a surprise to know that in the future, AIDS would have been a curable disease. Everyone knows enough has died in its name. For sure the new AIDS therapy will give hope to the many who has mourned their days to AIDS. The pills can be purchased in hospitals in sets, it cost an arm and a leg so best to have it covered by insurance.

Not everyone is a fan of needles. In fact, there are probably more people who are averse to having needles stuck into their skins. This isn’t surprising as needles are most always associated with pain, sickness, and medication.

Since it’s a part of many medical procedures however, there’s no way around getting shots until new ways of dispensing specific medicines or vaccines can be found. This might soon change though thanks to the medical researchers at Georgia Tech and Emory University who have teamed up to create a flu vaccine that is painless, convenient, and hassle-free.

“We’re developing a technology we like to call microneedles. These are needles that we make by using the technology that’s used to make integrated circuits for computers,” said Georgia Tech Professor Mark Prausnitz.

Prausnitz says microscopic needles are coated with flu vaccine that can be barely seen or felt. It allows the vaccine to get into the body.

“Without those tiny needles, if you put the flu vaccine on your skin, none would go in,” according to Prausnitz.

Emory University’s Dr. Ioanna Skountzou says the technology is promising and easy to use. “This is something we hope to put in practice in the very near future. You can apply the patch yourself like a band aid, keep it on for only a short period of time and then dispose it.”

Learn more about this breakthrough here.

Photo credits: Ruud de Jong

Just about everyone knows Dolly, the sheep clone whose “birth” into this world was received with opposing reactions. Now, scientists are saying that they have cloned the first primate. Is the world ready for this?

Just imagine what the future could be like if science fiction meets reality when humans can finally be cloned. This would surely ignite further debate on the issue as regards the morality of the matter.

When the debate ensues, on which side will you be?

Photo credits: Maurício Braz