In Scientific Investigation, obtaining an answer to fight a persistent or terminal ailment does not usually come along unwaveringly. The medical research team is constantly working on those unfixable or incurable conditions, in order to find a treatment to cure it or perhaps reduce its effects. This, being the future, such progressions are inevitable, and it comes along at a far greater clip than decades.
10. Baldness
In the recent years, the use of stem cells has made regenerative medicine a promising field. Methods have been introduced at RIKEN, which is Japan’s largest research organisation, to regenerate teeth and specific glands in laboratory mice by taking advantage of stem cells’ capacity to transform into virtually any type of cell. Apart from that, this method can also restore hair follicles and could essentially cure hair loss when made accessible to the public. The traditional follicle transplants only move active follicles to new places where hair has been shed. However, the stem cell–based treatment does not only stop hair loss but also promotes new growth by actually regenerating new follicles. Electronics maker Kyocera initiates manufacturing of the equipment for the process.Around 50 million people, which includes one-third of women, are affected by hair loss in the US.
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9. Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C, which is a chronic infection that affects the liver, is hard to manage and is quite fatal. Regarding the cost, the treatment for this disease is quite expensive too. As per survey reports, around 350,000 people are being affected by this disease every year. The treatment which was available before helped only 25-75 percent of the people that too depending on the virus type. However, they came with a jumble of side effects too.
Hepatitis C was included in the list of incurable diseases. But, not anymore. In 2014, pharmaceutical company Gilead secured FDA endorsement for a 12-week tablet-based course of therapy. It helped in eradicating the disease in a huge majority of patients. Pharmaceutical giant Merck and AbbVie consequently approved similar medications. Despite this being good news, the drugs can be very expensive, ranging over $80,000 for a course of treatment.
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8. Parkinson’s Disease
In order to treat leukaemia, Tyrosine kinase inhibitors were used for some time. These drugs helped in inducing a process called autophagy, which is the disposal of unwanted substance within the body’s cells. Georgetown University researchers, during a small clinical examination, determined that the drug’s effects could also benefit those with Parkinson’s disease. A slight dosage (lower than the dosage for leukaemia patients), of the drug nilotinib, was given to the patients, so as to check the if it could be tolerated. Fortunately, there was an incredible development in coordination and motor skills among all patients. When the blood and spinal cord fluid was examined, it revealed a tremendous drop in Parkinson’s-related signs. At follow-up appointments after the therapy had been stopped, the advantageous effects were reversed. But researchers are positive that this likely depicts the most significant breakthrough in Parkinson’s treatment in over 50 years.
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7. Blindness
A controversial, stem cell–based therapy to reverse blindness, was introduced by a Florida doctor. The controversy was that the Florida doctor, Dr Jeffrey Weiss, was not affiliated with any of the research institutions. His method has not undergone any clinical tests too. The method he used was to extract the stem cells from the bone marrow and inject it into the patient’s eye, to restore vision. A related procedure is presently undergoing clinical trials at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. Their technique involves an ultrathin layer of polyester to diffuse the stem cells behind the patient’s retina.
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6. Herpes
Herpes is a remarkably common virus with over 100 strains, among which only eight ordinarily infect humans. In some of the cases, it will essentially be asymptomatic, which means that the patient will be affected by the disease, but will not know about it. However, there is no remedy for the disease. Although a new treatment, which is quite promising, has all but exterminated the disease in the lab, by altering the DNA of the virus. The gene editing technology CRISPR was used by the researchers to target double-stranded DNA in three herpes strains which include Epstein-Barr (which can also cause cancer). CRISPR substantially cut the viral DNA to bits. The process was also shown to inhibit virus replication severely, particularly with Epstein-Barr. Although the researchers admit that further research is needed, none of the other treatment has shown such assurance in eradicating the herpes virus.
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5. Type 1 Diabetes
Diabetes is the seventh-leading reason of death in the United States, according to the American Diabetes Association. When the body does not produce insulin in sufficient amounts or use insulin properly, it is called aType 2 diabetes. When there is a complete absence of insulin in the body, it is called as a Type 1 diabetes. It is also genetic and is much harder to manage. The immune systems of type 1 diabetics attack the beta cells which secrete the insulin. Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers have discovered a highly complicated and reliable procedure for turning stem cells into massive quantities of pancreatic beta cells in the lab. The method is half the solution to the type 1 diabetes problem. However, various alternatives for dealing with this, which also includes the immunosuppressants, are being considered.
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4. Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is said to be Incurable and irreversible. Alzheimer’s slowly strips the sufferer of their mental abilities and cherished memories. Nevertheless, there are scientists from Australia and the United States working for it, and they intend to produce a pair of new vaccines. It has shown unbelievable potential to kill the toxic proteins in the brain linked to the Alzheimer’s disease. The vaccines not only prevents dementia, but it can also reverse its results when administered together. THC, which is the active ingredient in marijuana, appears to excel at removing the accumulation of these toxic proteins, is what is found out by the researchers at Salk Institute.During the lab tests, the THC decreased the levels of toxic proteins, and it also eliminated the linked inflammatory response. The team also noticed that endocannabinoids, which are compounds related to marijuana that is produced by the body, trigger these beneficial responses naturally.
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3. AIDS
A clinal trial was conducted on RV144 using rhesus monkeys, which is a potential HIV Vaccine, in the year 2012. It was the first clinical trial in which an HIV vaccine reduced the rate of acquisition. Case Western Reserve University scientists were able to duplicate these results successfully using macaques later on in July 2016. A pre-vaccination RNA screening of the subjects proved highly beneficial, even though a pinch of formula did not work. However, the researchers were able to predict accurately the response to the vaccine in two-thirds of their subjects, which may give way for “personalised and predictive vaccinology” that prevents diseases more efficiently in the future. They assume their HIV vaccine formula is available for clinical trials in humans.
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2. Cancer
According to most of the researchers, a cure is quite next to impossible for cancer, which is a group of related but different conditions. However, a team at Johannes Gutenberg University did not get the notice. They say that they have taken a giant leap toward a universal cancer vaccine. Their results were announced after their experimentation on lab animals and early human clinical trials. Even if it is called a vaccine, it will be offered to the patients with cancer. It works by killing small pieces of RNA from the patient’s cancer cells at the immune system so as to fix a lethal response against any cancer cells of this nature. Several types of cancer can be marked by modifying the RNA used in the process. This treatment has proved to kill massive tumors in Mice. As of now, it has only been tested in human patients for safety, which produced good results. No previous therapy has shown such guarantee upon multiple varieties of cancer.
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1. Aging
It has been decades since the researchers have been studying the different methods to slow down or rather stop the ageing process.In the year 2005, a Stanford University scientist first illustrated a process for rejuvenating the restorative powers of an ageing rodent. He surgically linked its nervous system to that of a younger mouse. Other methods involved the detailed study of remedies and nutritional supplements to extend life and support the body’s normal regenerative powers. Nevertheless, a team from the University of Tsukuba focussed on the mitochondria, which is basically the battery of a cell. They theorised that mitochondrial DNA accumulates proteins over a lifetime and does not mutate naturally. This ultimately adds to defects which cause the results of ageing. By utilising stem cells to reset these old cell lines, the team found the expected effect. The “old” cells morphed back into “young” ones. Combined with the amino acid glycine, which has been shown to reverse age-related defects in mitochondria partly, this process has made researchers practically unsteady that they may soon produce an actual age-reversing pill.
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