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What has been biggest medical breakthrough in past 5 years?

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  • 12-11-2009 9:47am
    #1
    chanste
    Registered Users Posts: 201 ✭✭


    Just thought it would be interesting to see what people think has been the greatest medical improvement to come about in the last 5 years. But by all means say what you think has been the biggest breakthroughs in the last 10 or 20 or 100 to if you wish. Hopefully it'll give some idea as to just how fast things are moving in certain areas.


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    #2
    neil_purdy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 108 ✭✭neil_purdy


    Growing a penis on a mouse...
    1205_stop_penis.jpg


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    #3
    chanste
    Registered Users Posts: 201 ✭✭chanste


    neil_purdy wrote: »
    Growing a penis on a mouse...

    Vital as I'm sure it was to Mr/Mrs Garrison, I was hoping more so to discuss developments in the real world :)


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    #4
    tallaght01
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,778 ✭✭✭tallaght01


    Great question.

    In my biased world (HIV epidemiology and paediatrics) the biggest breakthrough in the last 20 years clinically has been the use of surfactant. Premature babies struggle to produce natural surfactant, and end up with hypoxia/pneumothoraces/chronic neonatal lung disease. It has made huge difference to mortality of premmies.

    IN terms of the last few years, I think finding out circumcision has a 60% risk reduction in terms of HIV acquisition has the potential to be huge, if it can be rolled out to any great extent.


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    #5
    DrIndy
    Registered Users Posts: 3,461 ✭✭✭DrIndy


    In general - our understanding of molecular biology is very significant with targetted therapy.

    The caveat to this is the huge cost of these new wonder drugs.


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    #6
    locum-motion
    Registered Users Posts: 5,143 ✭✭✭locum-motion


    tallaght01 wrote: »
    IN terms of the last few years, I think finding out circumcision has a 60% risk reduction in terms of HIV acquisition has the potential to be huge, if it can be rolled out to any great extent.

    {Sorry, can't resist...}
    Surely circumcision pretty much precludes any extent of 'roll out'...






    I'll get me coat!


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    #7
    tallaght01
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,778 ✭✭✭tallaght01


    locum-motion wrote: »
    {Sorry, can't resist...}
    Surely circumcision pretty much precludes any extent of 'roll out'...






    I'll get me coat!

    You should look up "ring-pull circumcisions".

    A thing of great beauty, and very roll-outable :P


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    #8
    Fragglefur
    Registered Users Posts: 102 ✭✭Fragglefur


    think I'm going to vomit :eek:


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    #9
    seraphimvc
    Registered Users Posts: 3,356 ✭✭✭seraphimvc


    :P very few doctors go into the science research of 'finding new medical breakthrough' path just so OP should know.biomed/biochem/medchem/biotech/pharmacology etc people who work in medical research areas are those people you should ask.

    *sigh*if i can get a job in R&D department in pharm. companies then i will probably doing these 'medical breakthrough' stuffs :P


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