Every year it amazes me how much more America becomes advanced in technology and medical breakthroughs. I cannot wait until the day where a cancer cure makes the list! Below I have listed the top 10 medical breakthroughs with a brief synopsis of each one. You can read the entire article by clicking here. Here is the top 10 list from Time for medical breakthroughs:
1. Circumcision Can Prevent HIV
The NIH stopped two clinical trials of male circumcision after an early data review showed that the procedure dramatically reduced transmission of HIV.
2. Test for Metastatic Breast Cancer
Surgeons now have a faster way to assess whether breast cancer has spread, thanks to the FDA’s approval of the first molecular test to detect metastatic breast cancer.
3. First Human Vaccine Against Bird Flu
In 2007, the FDA approved the first human vaccine against the bird flu.
4. Alli for Weight Loss
Alli is the first FDA approved weight loss drug to be sold over-the-counter. Alli (a.k.a. orlistat) works by monkeying with lipase, an enzyme the body uses to break down and digest the fat in food.
5. New Diabetes Genes
Research teams from the United States and Finland uncovered four new genetic variants linked to an increased risk of diabetes.
6. End To Menstruation
Women wanting to dodge the nuisance of their monthly menses can now turn to Lybrel, the first continuous use birth control drug approved by the FDA.
7. Fibromyalgia Relief
This year the FDA approved the antiseizure drug Lyrica (pregabalin), made by Pfizer, as a treatment for fibromyalgia.
8. Early-Stage Test for Lung Cancer
A new blood test may improve the odds of catching the disease earlier, at a more curable stage. Called LC Detect, the test measures blood levels of a protein present in all stages of lung cancer, but rarely seen in healthy people.
9. New Source of Stem Cells
One advancement that may not have had its due was the discovery of stem cells in amniotic fluid. Researchers believe that amniotic fluidderived stem cells, AFS for short, have the potential to give rise to many, but perhaps not all, of the 220 specialized cell types found in the human body placing the potential usefulness of AFS cells somewhere between embryonic and adult stem cells.
10. Benefits of Vitamin D
A slew of new studies published in 2007 suggest that the vitamin has a lot of other benefits: Diets high in D may ward off diabetes, gum disease and multiple sclerosis and maybe even cancer.
Circumcision reducing HIV transmission can hardly be called a medical breakthrough when you consider that it does not “prevent” transmission (some circumcised men in the trials still got HIV anyway) and latex condoms work far better.
The logical interpretation of those studies should be “Latex Condoms are still the best method to prevent sexual HIV transmission”.