Against the tide of what feels like a never-ending flow of bad news, as conflicts and climate change dominate the headlines, the good news is some significant recent medical breakthroughs, from groundbreaking transplants to revolutionary treatments for chronic conditions, are providing hope to many.
The transplant field has seen remarkable progress this year. In a world first, doctors successfully performed a gene-edited pig kidney transplant, using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to make the organ more compatible with human recipients. This breakthrough was followed by a similar achievement in China with a pig liver transplant, potentially opening new avenues for addressing organ shortages.
In New York, surgical innovation reached new heights with the world’s first fully robotic double lung transplant. The recipient, Cheryl Mehrkar, who had struggled with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated by COVID-19, benefited from this minimally invasive approach that promises shorter recovery times.
UK scientists achieved a significant breakthrough in prenatal medicine by creating mini organs from amniotic fluid cells. This development circumvents ethical concerns around fetal tissue research while opening new possibilities for studying fetal development and diseases.
The world’s first lab-grown blood stem cells could aid in bone marrow transplants.
The development can save the lives of children suffering from leukaemia or bone marrow failure, as the cells can be reprogrammed from any patient’s cells, offering the potential for personalised treatments. Researchers said prior to this study, developing human blood stem cells in the lab that were capable of being transplanted into an animal model of bone marrow failure to make healthy blood cells had not been achievable.
The field of neuroscience has made remarkable strides. A groundbreaking brain-computer interface has enabled a patient with ALS to communicate with up to 97% accuracy, effectively breaking through the barriers of severely impaired speech. For epilepsy patients, a pioneering neurostimulator implanted in a UK boy’s skull has shown promising results, reducing daytime seizures by 80%.
In another milestone, scientists successfully created functional human brain tissue through 3D printing, providing a valuable tool for studying neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. This development could accelerate our understanding of brain function and the development of new treatments.
Diabetes treatment saw a revolutionary advance when a 25-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes began producing her own insulin in less than three months after receiving reprogrammed stem cells from her own body, effectively reversing her diabetes. She is the first person with the disease to be treated using cells that were extracted from her own body.
The study follows results from a separate group in China who successfully transplanted insulin-producing islets into the liver of a 59-year-old man with type 2 diabetes.
This breakthrough was complemented by progress in oral insulin administration, with new delivery methods via pills or sugar-free chocolate showing promise in animal trials.
For patients with autoimmune conditions, a novel treatment using bioengineered and CRISPR-modified donor immune cells has shown remarkable success, with three patients achieving remission. This advancement suggests exciting possibilities for mass-producing advanced cell therapies.
The year has also brought significant improvements in medical diagnostics and surgical precision. An AI-powered model can detect residual cancerous brain tumours in just 10 seconds during surgery, vastly improving surgical outcomes as it can quickly determine during surgery if any part of the tumour is remaining and could be removed. Researchers say it has the potential to change the field of neurosurgery.
For dementia, a new test using MRI scans can predict onset with over 80% accuracy up to nine years before traditional diagnosis.
In regenerative medicine, researchers found that deep brain stimulation enabled a paralysed patient to walk again, with the treatment promoting the reorganisation of the “residual nerve fibres” which survive after the injury. Other research saw the successful laboratory development of blood stem cells, and marks a significant advance for treating leukemia and bone marrow failure.
Finally, in mental health, the hallucinogen from toad venom was found to have potential to treat mental disorders. The Sonoran Desert toad releases a poison through its skin that contains a psychedelic compound with therapeutic potential. Amid the growing interest in psychedelic medicine, the scientific community is investigating the hallucinogenic properties to treat depression and other mental disorders. It is already being tested in humans, in a handful of trials for treatment-resistant depression.
As social unrest and political tensions increase worldwide, the importance of peace has never been more evident. Peace is a critical driver of...
IEP Ambassador Akash Pandey harnesses art and IEP’s Positive Peace Framework to engage Nepali youth. Through innovative workshops, he connects...
Identifying and measuring the factors that drive peace
Analysing the factors that sustain peace.
