Although the fruits of advances in medical sciences of the 21st Century are unlikely to be incorporated into healthcare delivery in our country, it is nevertheless exciting to keep abreast with these advances and keep our minds open for such times as when they come within our reach.
Advances in medical sciences had been translated from research bench to the patients’ bedside in the form of discoveries like insulin. The discovery of H.Pylori changed treatment regimes and pyloric stenosis is now a thing of the past. The introduction of the concept of upgrading and downgrading of hormone receptors gave insight into our successes in hormone control and the emergence of the concepts of developing disease like insulin resistance and the prediabetic state.
Today’ s approach to healthcare extends beyond the horizons of preventive, promotive, therapeutic and rehabilitative care. New approaches like gene- targeted therapy, immunotherapy have been around for decades, with limited success but scientists have recently reported considerable success.
CRISPR has enabled the health professions to splice or edit genes, resulting in cures for conditions usually considered uncurable.
An exciting approach to using stem cells to divert them into whatever cells we want them to turn into, began with bone marrow transplants. These transplants were used to treat myeloproliferative disorders like leukaemia and multiple myeloma, with some success.
Stem cells are undifferentiated, totipotential cells, so mechanisms which can direct them into desired types of cells could replace damaged cells with healthy ones. Thus, embryonic cells were used initially albeit having to overcome ethical issues despite obtaining donor consent. In recent years, adult stem cells have been used.
Recent reports about stem cell injections into damaged spinal cords that resulted in re- established connections between the brain and spinal cord, with paralyzed patients walking again is a real breakthrough that brings hope to thousands who are paralyzed.
Other areas where stem cells have been grown in laboratories include heart muscle, human teeth, retina, pancreatic tissue, and even brain tissue.
We may be closer than we think, that we can replace any worn- out or damaged tissue with new “spare parts”. This is no longer scientific fiction but today’ s reality.
