2015 could be a great year for biomedical breakthroughs in brain health, cancer, Ebola research and influenza vaccine, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) says.
The UMHS Endeavour looks at new developments in brain research that could offer hope for everything from depression to stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to cancer immunotherapy and the promise of experimental Ebola vaccines and a universal influenza vaccine. We will explore the great possibilities based on information from the NIH and media sources, shedding new light on medical issues of interest to the public and students at American and Caribbean medical schools.
Advances in Brain Research
In 2014, the NIH issued its first research awards for the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies BRAIN Initiative.
“Researchers will develop innovative technologies to capture dynamic pictures that reveal how the brain's cells and complex circuits interact at the speed of thought,” NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins wrote in the AARP Bulletin last month.
This could help how doctors diagnose and treat such conditions as depression, stroke, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Cancer Diagnosis & Treatment Improvements for 2015
Personalized, or precision, medicine could improve this year for cancer patients.
“In this approach, doctors analyze the genetic blueprint of a patient's tumor and use that information to choose the targeted therapy most likely to work for that particular patient,” writes Dr. Collins. “Already, personalized strategies are being used to treat certain types of cancer— and I fully expect the number to grow. Another area of tremendous potential is cancer immunotherapy. Researchers enlist the patient's own immune system in the fight against disease — engineering key immune cells in ways that essentially turn them into tiny tumor-fighting ‘ninja warriors.’ "
Experimental Ebola Vaccines & New Universal Flu Shot
The NIH started human testing of two vaccines to help protect people from Ebola. We should hear about the clinical trials later this year.
Finally, clinical trials are already underway for a new universal flu vaccine that would help protect against all strains of the influenza virus. “What's the big deal about that?” Dr. Collins wrote. “When we have such a vaccine, perhaps by the end of this decade, we'll be much better protected against the deadly pandemic flus that occasionally sweep the globe. And we won't have to get a flu shot every year.”
(Top photo) Image: Deposit Photos
About UMHS:
Built in the tradition of the best US universities, the University of Medicine and Health Sciencesfocuses on individual student attention, maintaining small class sizes and recruiting high-quality faculty. We call this unique approach, “personalized medical education,” and it’s what has led to our unprecedented 96% student retention rate, and outstanding residency placements across the US and Canada. UMHS is challenging everything you thought you knew about Caribbean medical schools.
Scott is Director of Digital Content & Alumni Communications Liaison at UMHS and editor of the UMHS Endeavour blog. When he's not writing about UMHS students, faculty, events, public health, alumni and UMHS research, he writes and edits Broadway theater reviews for a website he publishes in New York City, StageZine.com.
