Top Healthcare Conference 2019: 5 MAJOR ADVANCEMENTS IN THE FIELD OF HEALTHCARE AND MEDICINE

In the modern world of medicine, things move fast, and experts from all over the world have proven that in a quicker speed before anyone could have anticipated. We can clearly see how technology is changing the healthcare as well as pharmaceutical world. Breakthroughs in everything from sleep to artificial organs are dramatically shifting the current paradigm.

Ø Gene therapy for inherited retinal diseases

The approval from FDA for gene therapy of inherited retinal diseases signals a new era for gene therapy, which suffered huge setbacks for years but is now seen pressing forward.

Patients having have a defective gene called RPE65 —responsible for production of a protein making light receptors in the eye — suffer from leber congenital amaurosis and retinitis pigmentosa, which now has an emerging hope. The treatment is made by Spark Therapeutics known as Luxturna which is injected into the eye and uses a benign virus in order to deliver healthy copies of the gene to the retina. Completely not a cure but it can substantially improve eyesight as per the researchers. But per onetime treatment it comes along with a whopping price tag of $850,000.

Ø Big reductions in LDL cholesterol

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) also known as bad cholestrol is a major cause of heart disease. And certain new drugs with combinations can lower its level by 75%. PCSK9 inhibitors, along with statins, have proven to be powerful at reducing bad cholesterol numbers. Roizen says that it could also help people to truly change their lifestyles and focus more towards healthy living. A number of trials are being tested on this theory just to see how low LDL levels should go. Doctors are now having tools and research to help reduce cardiovascular death caused due to LDL.

Ø A new kind of patient monitoring

A large amount of hospital care units alarms are deemed unnecessarily and in order to monitor those alarms at the time of intervention a turning point is setup “mission control” which can spot trends and using AI it can even predict which patients will get in trouble and allows doctors and nurses to intervene ideally before it becomes critical. And due to this strategy hospitals are able to discharge patients quicker.

Ø A better night’s sleep

Sleep apnea is a disorder affecting 22 million people and leading to high blood pressure, heart diseases and strokes. Popular treatments are also available like a CPAP machine, might be effective, but seem to be ineffective for people with sleep apnea. Neuromodulation is a new way to treat sleep apnea which acts as a pacemaker for poor sleepers. The implant is controlled by a patch worn during sleep that stimulates the patient’s sleep and ensures that key airwaves are kept open during sleep. Clinical tests have shown that they are certainly more comfortable for patients than a CPAP device.

Ø An artificial pancreas

Diabetes kills more people every year than AIDS and breast cancer combined, says report. Now the people suffering from Type 1 Diabetes have a ray of hope: A hybrid close-loop insulin delivery system. The technology is essentially an artificial pancreas, is expected to become more widespread as more patients are demanding the technology and insurers reimbursing the system. It uses computer algorithms and automatically delivers an adequate supply of insulin to the body. Approved by the FDA, it enables direct link between a glucose monitoring device and an insulin pump stabilizing a person’s blood glucose level.