Biomedical Research Breakthroughs

What difference has biomedical research made to our human health?

• People are living longer

• Better quality of life

• Improved health care

• Better tools for diagnosing and treating disorders

Heart disease

• Until the 20th century successful Heart

Surgery was unthinkable.

After decades of work with animal

models the heart lung machine was

created. Developed in 1953.

Each year 600,000 heart bypass surgeries are performed in the US

Heart Lung Machine

Heart can be stopped and operated on while blood continues to be oxygenated by the heart lung machine and routed around the heart and lungs to perfuse the rest of the body.

Heart Disease

• From research it was discovered that although smoking is directly related to lung cancer it also contributes to heart disease and strokes.

• This knowledge has lead to a 40% decrease in heart disease and 50% reduction in strokes related to smoking.

Cancer

• Ongoing biomedical research continues to find treatments to stop cancer.

New gene therapy is being perfected that can deliver instructions in the form of DNA sequences to the diseased cells so that the cells can produce one or more proteins to turn off the cancer producing gene.

In the 1950’s what childhood cancer killed 50% of children within 6

months?

• Leukemia

• Continued research has increased the survival rate to 75%.

• Bone marrow transplants have made this possible.

Diabetes

• 3rd leading cause of death.

• Disorder of the pancreas where not enough insulin is made or the body is unable to utilize the insulin correctly.

• Insulin is essential for the body to utilize blood sugar correctly.

• In 1922 the first insulin treatment was given.

• The insulin was taken from a cow’s pancreas and injected into a 14 yr old boy.

NOW…….

• We create insulin using bacteria and genetic engineering techniques.

• We also can implant insulin pumps into patients that monitors their blood sugar levels and gives them insulin when it senses the body needs it!

What is polio?

• Polio is a virus that produces varying degrees of disabilities ranging from mild illness to paralysis and death.

• It was called the crippler.

• The medical name is Infantile

• Paralysis.

• Why don’t we see it in the US?

• Vaccines

Polio vaccine• Doctor Jones Salk created a vaccine that

provided temporary immunity in 1950.

• Doctor Albert Sabin created a vaccine from attenuated virus that is still used today.

Boy in Iron lung. There were wards full of these children due to respiratory paralysis as a result of polio.

Unfortunately

• Polio is still seen in 3rd world countries because the vaccine must be refrigerated.

• Limited electricity compounds the problem.

• There are at least a quarter of a million people suffering from polio.

Vaccines

• Are one of the most affordable and effective health interventions.

• A vaccine is a killed or weakened (attenuated) living organism that when introduced to the body creates antibodies against the pathogen.

• Goal is PREVENTION.

Eradication• This means wiped out or totally destroyed.

• The only disease that has been eradicated by vaccine is small pox and this occurred in 1976

On The Horizon in Research

• Stem Cell

• Transgenic Animals

• Cloning

• Why haven’t we seen these commonly implemented?

• Ethical Issues

STEM CELLS

• A stem cell is a "generic" cell that can make exact copies of itself indefinitely. In addition, a stem cell has the ability to produce specialized cells for various tissues in the body -- such as heart muscle, brain tissue, and liver tissue. Scientists are able to maintain stem cells forever, developing them into specialized cells as needed.

The 2 Types of Stem Cells

• Embryonic stem cells - these are obtained from either aborted fetuses or fertilized eggs that are left over from in vitro fertilization (IVF). They are useful for medical and research purposes because they can produce cells for almost every tissue in the body.

• Adult stem cells - these are not as versatile for research purposes because they are specific to certain cell types, such as blood, intestines, skin, and muscle. The term "adult stem cell" may be misleading because both children and adults have them

Controversy about stem cell research

• The use of embryonic stem cells is controversial.

• The controversy is based on the belief by opponents that a fertilized egg is fundamentally a human being with rights and interests that need to be protected.

• Those who oppose stem cell research do not want fetuses and fertilized eggs used for research purposes

Uses of Stem Cells

• There are a variety of diseases and injuries in which a patient's cells or tissues are destroyed and must be replaced by tissue or organ transplants.

• Stem cells may be able to generate brand new tissue in these cases, and even cure diseases for which currently there is no adequate therapy.

Examples of diseases include:

• Alzheimer's• Parkinson's disease• Diabetes• Spinal cord injury• Heart disease• Stroke,• Arthritis• Cancer• Burns

Genetics

• Stem cells could also be used to gain a better understanding of how genetics work in the early stages of cell development.

• This can help scientists understand why some cells develop abnormally and lead to medical problems such as birth defects and cancer.

• By understanding the genetic basis for cell development, scientists may learn how to prevent some of these diseases.

Drug development and testing

• Because stem cells can be used to create unlimited amounts of specialized tissue, such as heart tissue, it may be possible to test how drugs react on these specialized tissues before trying the drugs on animals and human subjects.

• Drugs could be tested for effectiveness and side effects more rapidly

Genetic Engineering

• The process of extracting DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid, which makes up the genes of all living things) from one organism and combining it with the DNA of another organism, thus introducing new hereditary traits into the recipient organism.

• Cloning is just one aspect of this.

• So is genetically altered food.

Transgenic animals

• Animals with a foreign gene that was introduced externally. Meaning its genome was added a gene that it was not born with. Transgenic animals are animals that are "enhanced" and are used for any field and can also be used to produce an extra desired substance.

What is a xenograft?

• It is using a different species organs in humans.

• When is this used?

• Pig valves in human hearts to replace defective valves.

• What is the risk?

• REJECTION of THE TISSUE.

Concerns/Questions

• People who are opposed to transgenic animal research believed transgenic animals threaten our environment, health and food safety.

• Most consumers do not want to purchase genetically altered food.

• Have we successfully cloned a human being?

• Can a scientist create a new human stem cell line? (We are not talking about cloning a human.)

• Yes, if private funding is available.

Research has definitely came a long way and will continue to make strides in improving our health and environment. Remember as long as technology continues to change there will also be ethical and social issues that must be investigated and questions answered.

There are no easy solutions or answers.