Modern medicine has made tremendous strides in the past hundred years or so, especially with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th Century. Medical practice went from being fairly unsophisticated and incredibly torturous to being at the forefront of global scientific discovery. The spread of infectious diseases, chronic ailments, and other painful conditions have been successfully curtailed if not altogether obliterated, and new developments prove to be promising within the medical realm when battling other widespread maladies such as cancer.
Here are some of the latest treatments in medicine that everyone should be aware of, and would do well to get caught up on.
Stem Cell Transplantation
This procedure involves the transplantation of stem cells from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or the umbilical cord hood. Stem cell transplants became a more standardized form of therapy only in the early stages, and it has been used to help alleviate those suffering from leukemia and other afflictions of the blood or bone marrow. It has also been utilized in the treatment of various autoimmune diseases, Parkinson’s, malignant osteoporosis, and others. However, it remains a risky procedure and its usage is generally reserved for those facing truly life-threatening ailments.
Targeted Therapy
A form of molecular medicine often used in the treatment of cancer, targeted therapy blocks the growth of cancer cells by interfering with specific targeted molecules needed for tumor growth. It is sometimes considered one and the same as the traditional chemotherapy used in combating cancer, although it has been pointed out by some that chemotherapy is, in fact, a more generalized term for any treatment using chemicals. That being said, targeted therapy has proven successful in the treatment of breast cancer, lymphoma, and prostate cancer.
Immunotherapy
Another treatment primarily developed to combat cancer, immunotherapy can best be described as an attempt to bolster your immune system to ward off cancerous cells. This is accomplished through the artificial stimulation of the immune system by improving its natural ability to fight cancer and increasing the number of white blood cells and organs and tissues of the lymph system. Practically speaking, this is done by either prescribing checkpoint inhibitors, which are drugs that help the immune system respond more aggressively towards a tumor, or performing an adoptive cell transfer of the cells growing in the tumor.
Nuclear Medicine
Even more prevalent than the treatments mentioned above is nuclear medicine, which is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose and determine the severity of, or treat a variety of diseases. Some of these diseases include different types of cancer, spinal injuries or disease, heart disease, gastrointestinal issues, endocrine problems, neurological disorders, and other abnormalities within the body. This type of treatment depends on medical isotopes, which are the radioactive substances detected by cameras and imaging software to pinpoint the root of the problem. The energy the isotope produces on camera assists medical professionals in properly assessing the patient’s ailment and also provides a window into what a proper treatment plan could look like.
Hormone Therapy
Primarily used on menopausal women, hormone replacement therapy helps to balance estrogen and progesterone, which thereby relieves the discomfiting symptoms of hot flashes, sweating, anxiety, and other issues faced during menopause. While its use for this purpose has significantly reduced a bit nowadays as it seems to be risky – depending on the severity and nature of their condition – hormone therapy remains a major breakthrough treatment in modern medicine.
While placing “traditional” medicine in an antagonistic relationship to modern medicine is a bit of an old hat nowadays – most doctors will tout the benefits of drinking three glasses of green tea a day in combating everything thing from slow metabolism to more dangerous diseases – there are still those who staunchly prefer one camp to another. In any case, modern medicine has made so many advancements in curing or easing the pain of suffering patients, that it is hard to deny the power of continued scientific research and discovery in treating disease.
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