Abstract
This paper uncovers and explores the various medical advances and new ideas brought to light by countless professors, doctors, and many other medical practitioners. Though these online sources tackle different parts of medical thinking all sources are effective and resourceful in their own way. The research provided will consist of and focus on the topics such as; Stem cell research, medical advances with cancer, treatments for alzheimer’s, technological advances, implants, robotic surgery, and future medical implications that are possible in the year 2018. The future as we know it will keep advancing and new diseases will keep rising, therefore it is the job of many in the medical field to think outside the box and diagnose these medical issues so they can become a thing in the past. Below will discuss and take you through the progress as well as medical advances.
Introduction
Present-day it is hard to believe how far our medical advancements have taken us. Previously in the past medical procedures were grotesque and inhuman, it consisted of bloodletting witch had the patient bleed as a treatment to avert or halt the progress of a disease or illness. Today we have access to medical technology and various practioniors who specializes in a specific parts of the human anatomy. With numerous medical advances sometimes disease or illness is unknown to the medical field, however medical teams jump to the issue to try to find an answer to this epidemic. Medical advancements are constantly being researched by many teams such as the Stanford Med who “are advancing the frontiers of understanding in the biological sciences and biomedicine.” (Stanford medicine, 2018)
Currently, such diseases like cancer and alzheimer’s affect a great proportion of the people living in the states. With no effective treatment to completely eradicate the condition, medical treatments are issued that slow the progression of disease spread and can temporarily stop symptoms of the disorder. Possible treatments that can be given to patients are chemotherapy for cancer patients and supplements such as “fish oil supplements, aspirin, and even diabetes drugs “ to help patients cope with the disease.(“Possible new treatments for alzheimer’s., 2018)
However there are improvements that have impacted the world greatly, such inventions and innovations have successfully put humanity in the right path for growth and progression. With the instalments of medical technology and countless variations of implants, humans are given the ability to function normally and live without an issue. Though medical procedures might need tweaks and adjustments, it is only natural for medical advances to overcome it and progress as a whole. Therefore it is important that medical advancement continues for a lifetime.
Discussion of Research
This research discussed below refers to several medical advancements that date back in the past and in the future. There is just new information gathered each day in medical institutions, that it requires extensive research and testing to get medications and possible surgeries approved by the higher authorities in-charge. However it does not stop young developed minds to gather information and discuss upon the subjects gathered through extensive investigations. Below, will mainly walk you through such topics listed: stem cells, implants, medical technology, cancer, alzheimer’s, future developments
The order of the research is not scripted in a sequenced order rather it informs the reader of the medical advancements within the topic. It will give a better thought of what problems are occuring in the medical field and how researches, other medical professionals, and scientists respond from their thought processes and conclusions conjured up through their investigations.
Medical Advances: Alzheimer’s
Classified as a disease that affects the brain and nervous system, causing confusion, memory loss, and loss of some physical functions. (“Alzheimer’s,” 2018) Research and new implication to treat such a disease are being developed continuously to improve current treatments and possibly find a cure or a much simpler method of minimizing the symptoms of alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s disease has been studied since the 19th century (“Alzheimer’s,” 2018) that began with the Nun Study (1986) that uncovered various results that stated “some people’s brains begin to deteriorate early in their lives — sometimes decades before they show symptoms of dementia.” Presently new studies have been researched as alternatives, such as some over the counter drugs or supplements and in some cases people can suggest an ultrasound waves as treatment. Such a disease like alzheimer’s is one of many problems being searched for an definite solution so that alzheimer’s can be a thing in the past.
Medical Advances: Stem Cells
The MNT Editorial Team (2017) defines stem cells as:
“Stem cells are a class of undifferentiated cells that are able to differentiate into specialized cell types.”
Stem cell research has advanced medical knowledge in potentially helping patients restore damage from the various accidents that causes tissue damaging. Additionally, stem cells help in the “learning of human development” (The MNT Editorial Team [MNT ET], 2017) With this research there is potential in discovering our probable characteristics or modifications that will be develop in the future. Stem cells that are acquired from the blastocyst phase or from an adult have regenerative abilities and since it is the most important factor for stem cells, their ability to regenerate is important for future medical advancements. (MNT ET, 2017) states, “Stem cells are either extracted from adult tissue or from a dividing zygote in a culture dish.” Though there are limitations there is a much brighter light in the researching of embryonic stem cells. Stem cells is unique for the capability to “differentiate into almost all cell types.” (MNT ET, 2017) If stem cell research was accepted, there would alteration in the ways of treating current patients. (MNT ET, 2017) states “stem cells extracted from embryos can be induced to become any desired cell type. This property makes stem cells powerful enough to regenerate damaged tissue under the right conditions.” stem cells therefore, need a boost of support in getting stem cell research accepted and tested, so that there may be medical advancement for new remedies.
Medical Advances: Implants
Interchangeable parts for implants require assembly by the medical device industries. Nowadays indicated by Amanda Holpuch (2018), medical implants are not expected to par with the requirements of a new prescribed drug including the various tests given to humans, rather it would be the complete opposite. Instead of the long difficult process of being approved by several organisations of superior status and authority, approval is simply credited to a company that demonstrates their medical implant is equivalent to a similar product on the market.Amanda Holpuch (2018) Though advancements on implants has encountered some difficulty we need to consider the positives in implants because they benefit patients for the better.
Medical Advances: Cancer
Everyone has heard of it the disease that is yet incurable. Cancer a disease in the form of a tumor that can be formed anywhere within the body. Such research targets the most common types of cancers they include: breast, lung, and prostate cancer are some of the most common types listed on Stanford Med (2018). The most interesting topic that caught my eye about cancer was not discovered within a patient but was discovered within an elephants’ genes (“Elephants”, 2018). Elephants have such genes: “TP53. This gene constantly checks cells to make sure they are not damaged by cancer or any other mutation.” and “ LIF6. This gene destroys damaged cells before they grow into tumors.” (“Elephants”, 2018) It opened up my mind to the idea that if there is a way to fight cancer in other organisms then there is a possibility to fight cancer that dwells inside humans.
Medical Advances: Medical technology
Technology has been around for years, and medical practitioners have found a breakthrough to use technology in the medical field. Such cases include: Computerized Tomography (CT scans), Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS). Technological advances of high tech treatments consist of implants and robotic arms that resulted in helping Parkinson’s disease and to help control tremors within patients. Genetic tests allow for a screen for Down syndrome, Marfan syndrome, cystic fibrosis, specific cancers, and other diseases developed within the body. In the future gene therapy is said to be used by doctors to manipulate genes to treat such cases listed above and possibly alter genes to help the body function normally.Kowalski and K. M. (2003) Medical technology just keeps on growing with a wide variety of technological machineries to assist medical practitioners through the time consuming and tedious tasks, advancements in medicine make medical procedures less complicated leaving less room for error.
Medical Advances: Future Developments
The future in other words for the medical field is a blueprint or set goals of what situations need to be confronted. For the future of 2018 written by Wilke M. will introduce several new insights gathered by various researchers such as: Drones that are able to distribute medicines to isolated areas, Gene editing to help cure disease, Technology that allows patients with a paralyzed body to be able to communicate, An artificial pancreas for patients with diabetics to regulate their insulin intake, usage of the powerful cholesterol drugs (PCSK9 inhibitors), (ERAS) or enhanced recovery after surgery will help patients recover quickly with alternative methods and medication for faster recovery, breast cancer therapies that target specific cancer cells in the body, an implant that helps peoples with sleep anopea rest with ease, next-generation vaccines where they use freeze-drying to transport vaccines to other areas across the world to treat diseases and epidemics, and the progress for a human head transplant are implications we can see in the future of 2018. (Wilke M., 2018) All that being said medical advancement progresses all whilst helping patients with an illness or provide them with viable possibilities that would promote themself well.
Personal Bias
In my opinion I side with stem cell research and the extraction of stem cells from the blastocyst phase or from an adult because it is for a good cause, restoring damage from a potential injury. Considering the possibility for reconstruction in the body’s’ tissues and other discoveries that medical researchers will do to advance knowledge through their findings will benefit future findings and supportive implications aiding the stem cell research.
Implants have produced a four-hundred billion dollar industry, and as listed previously, implants has experienced their ups and downs. However, their success comes from the effectiveness of the product and if it helped the patient one way or another. Generally the production of these implants will only be increasingly better than the previous product. As laws and regulations are created to ensure positivity in patients receiving implants advancement in the medical implants will only get better.
New medical problems will only keep reappearing, it is inevitable to deny it. However, with medical advancements, being able to condense long procedures into a quick treatment that will cure another person is largely beneficial and should aided in hopes for better results.
Implications For the Future
“Elephants,” (2018) defines the the genes TP53 and LIF6 as, “TP53. This gene constantly checks cells to make sure they are not damaged by cancer or any other mutation.” and “ LIF6. This gene destroys damaged cells before they grow into tumors.” In other words these genes are cancerous fighting genes. Implications for how this knowledge can be used for medical advancements for the future is if stem cell research was somehow approved by the board, and then funded for the replacations of the genes TP53 and LIF6.
If this implication is acted upon there is a possibility for patients of a cancerous disease to live freely of the many burdens and heartaches cancer brings. If only they had an extra replica of the gene TP53 and LIF6, cancer would officially be a thing in the past. The pair of genes inside the body will naturally be able to fight cancer on its own, there would be no need for cancer research because through reproduction of the gene. Naturally patients who request the gene and get it implanted in the body will void the growth of tumors that would have been needed to be surgically removed. Surgical procedures take countless hours to complete, Implications in stem cell research to replicate cancer-fighting genes TP53 and LIF6 seems too good to pass up.
Reflection
Accumulating all the research I did not fully go into depth about each topic written on this paper. Rather the topics were generally summarized and gave general information on the impact medical advances have had on the majority, who are in need of medical services. Instead of gathering different chunks and fragments of different advancements throughout the years, I should have chosen one advancement and focused on it, such a topic like cancer has a large horizon of information, that a small research paper that is covering several topics, does not have enough adequate information there to provide the necessary information for a reader to fully understand the concepts being interpreted.
However I can say through the conduction of my research I gained a greater understanding of severe medical problems that affect a great proportion of people, how the problem is assessed when conducting analysis, and possible treatments and supplements used to treat or suppress the illness. Technological advances surprised me the most because new inventions and technological measures are being created to ensure an easier and precise reading when doing surgeries to avoid possible faults during the uniform procedures.
The knowledge I learned gave me a boost in my understanding of the medical field. It got me to think brighter about situations for the the thought that it will get solved by a great mind. Who knows, what if I am the one who discovers the solution to replications of the genes TP53 and LIF6? Medical advancements, advance society as we know it. Therefore we should trust medical advances.
