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• Medical Breakthroughs 2008

Medical Breakthroughs 2008

New hope for cancer, diabetes, dementia and more.

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Every year, Reader’s Digest wades through reams of medical research, attends conferences, picks scientists’ brains, takes doctors out to lunch and even scrubs up for the operating theatre – all to find the most amazing discoveries, devices and potential cures out there.

In the past, we watched doctors repair a heart with tiny tools inserted through three small incisions, with no chest cracking. We witnessed a big blood clot being pulled out of the brain of a stroke victim almost like a cork from a bottle of wine, followed by a complete recovery. And we saw a paralysed man draw pictures on his computer, change the channels on his TV and open his curtains – just by using his thoughts. These advances seemed mind-boggling at the time, but they’re becoming state-of-the-art treatments. This year brings more excitement. From skin cells transformed into tissue beating like a human heart to a simple urine test to diagnose ovarian cancer, it was another banner year for breakthroughs. Some are available now; some need more work before they’re ready for prime time. But all will make you say "wow".

SEEING INTO THE BRAIN
• Believe it or not, you make new brain cells all the time. It’s called neurogenesis, and for the first time, scientists have watched a living human brain growing these cells. The discovery was made by US researchers using high-tech magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Watching the process could help diagnose and treat disorders such as Par­kinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and depression, in which neurogenesis is disrupted. 
>>Now

• In Germany, researchers have developed a technique to see the entire neural network of a mouse brain in 3-D for the first time – without having to slice it apart with a scalpel and reconstruct it on a computer. The method, which uses fluorescent molecules and lasers, may help shed light on how well drugs work against degenerative nerve diseases such as Alzheimer’s. It may also provide useful information about how human brains change over time and in response to disease.
>>Now
Neena Samuel

• Forget stitches, Australian researchers have developed a thin polymer film that can be smoothed like cellophane across a wound. Tests suggest the film, called SurgiLux, will be most useful in brain and nerve surgery, where invasive stitches often result in post-surgery infections and other complications. SurgiLux, derived from crab shells and developed at the University of NSW, is gently heated, allowing it to perfectly seal the wound, avoiding many of the complications that arise from sutures.
>>5 years
Sophie McNamara