YOUR HEALTH

“It’s alive!” – almost

The above quote -- from the story of Frankenstein, when the scientist sees life in the creature he created from body parts –has not yet become a reality but major breakthroughs in early 2012 show scientists and medical researchers are getting closer to understanding and overcoming the mysteries of life.

Disease diagnosis is progressing on various fronts. Alzheimer’s research in particular is making great strides as the ‘process’ is becoming better understood – allowing for better intervention treatments.  (See “New clues unearthed on how Alzheimer’s spreads through the brain” G&M Feb 3/12 L6)

And reviving an old medical trick – smelling a patient’s breath – has gained attention using new, breath machines.  Like a breathalyser for alcohol, the new devices scan breath for telltale traces of various illnesses. In particular, researchers in Israel, U.S.A. and Canada are testing such machines for tracing different cancers – lung, bowel, breast and prostrate. (See “One breath away from diagnosing disease” G&M Feb 4/12 A17)

Replacing/restoring flesh and bones is also now possible. Face transplants have been carried out successfully in Spain, Britain, Turkey and U.S.A. in the last few years -- using skin and muscle tissue from deceased donors.

Now, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, hands and forearms have been successfully transplanted (from a deceased donor) to someone whose limbs were amputated a decade ago! (See “Helping hands – that come from a donor” G&M Feb 3/12  L2)

Finally, among the burst of medical breakthroughs published this February, researchers are working on a computer that, when linked to brain electrodes, can reproduce sounds and words -- based on a person’s thoughts.  (See “Science offers hope for the voiceless.” G&M Feb 3/12  L6)

In brief, then, scientific and medical progress is moving forward at an ever faster, almost exponential pace in a variety of areas.  What was unthinkable 10 years ago is now close at hand, or already reality.

So, Mary Shelley and Dr. Frankenstein, “It’s alive!” – is almost here.