The two biggest health stories of year were both viral in nature, you might say. According to Google’s “Year in Search 2014” report, the Ebola virus outbreak and the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS — a story that went viral through social media — were the most searched health topics and among the top five issues overall in 2014.
But a host of other health stories and medical advances made for big headlines in 2014. Here’s a list of the Top 10 health issues that garnered major media attention (including play via social media) and marked significant progress on the medical-science front.
No. 1: Ebola. The biggest outbreak of the deadly virus in history was the biggest health story of the year, transfixing the nation’s attention for months, as Ebola ravaged West Africa. The death toll to date has surpassed 7,800 deaths, with no end in sight.
Although the virus failed to pose a major public health threat in the U.S., the death of Thomas Eric Duncan — who was treated at a Dallas hospital, after contracting Ebola in West Africa and traveling to the U.S. — and the infection of several U.S. healthcare workers raised questions about U.S. preparedness to handle such an outbreak.
The White House appointed an Ebola “czar” and called for $6 billion in new funding to step up federal response efforts. U.S. officials also moved to screen travelers flying into U.S. airports from West Africa and the CDC upgraded safety guidelines for hospitals handling Ebola patients.
In addition, a series of promising new breakthrough vaccines and experimental drugs were fast-tracked. Many health experts believe the legacy of the Ebola outbreak of 2014 will be the generation of new ways to prevent and treat the virus, so that future outbreaks are better controlled.
No. 2: Ice Bucket Challenge. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge can’t rightly be called a medical advance, but the publicity stunt raised more than $50 million in research funds for the ALS Association — an unprecedented infusion of dollars that could lead to new treatments.
Pete Frates, a former Boston College baseball player diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2011, is widely credited with drawing attention to the challenge, although he wasn’t technically the first to do it. On July 31, he challenged some friends and celebrities (including NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Matt Ryan) via social media to dump ice water on their heads or make a donation to “strike out ALS.”
Since then, tens of thousands of Americans have followed suit — including former President George W. Bush, a host of celebrities, pro athletes, and average Joes and Janes.
No. 3: Heart attack test: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a first-of-its-kind blood test that can determine a person's future odds for heart attack and other cardiovascular problems. The test is designed for people with no history of heart disease and is especially useful for women, the agency said.
The test tracks a biomarker for vascular inflammation, called Lp-PLA2, strongly associated with the buildup of artery-clogging plaques in blood vessels that can lead to heart attacks.
According to CDC, heart disease is the nation’s leading killer, claiming more than 500,000 lives annually. For many a heart attack is both their first and last symptom of cardiovascular disease.
No. 4: Dead heart transplants: Australian surgeons have developed a new technique to revive hearts that have stopped beating for transplants. The novel approach is likely to revolutionize transplant surgeries, change the way organs are donated, and could save thousands of American lives every year.
The breakthrough advance allows “dead” hearts — those that have been still for 20 minutes — to be resuscitated and transplanted into patients. In these first three cases, the donor hearts came from different hospitals and were kept beating during transport times of between five and eight hours.
Until now, transplant doctors have relied on using the still-beating hearts of donors who have been declared brain dead — often placing the recovered organs on ice and rushing them to their recipients — which severely limits the number of procedures that can be done.
No. 5: Stem cell breakthroughs: This past year brought a flurry of stem cell breakthroughs – with advances in treatments for Lou Gehrig’s disease, paralysis, and cardiovascular disease. Scientists used stem cells to convert human skin cells directly into brain cells and human lungs were successfully grown in a lab for the first time, using stem cells.
In a huge step forward, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, in collaboration with researchers from Japan, discovered a way of changing adult stem cells back to their original embryonic state. The findings may lead to the creation of embryonic stem cells specific to each individual without the use of embryonic stem cells — which is controversial — or the need for genetic manipulation.
No. 5: Blood test for Alzheimer's. Researchers Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington devised a novel blood test that can predict with 90 percent accuracy whether a healthy person will develop Alzheimer's or cognitive decline within 3 years. The test tracks 10 biomarkers.
In addition, a team of scientists led by King's College London in the UK and the British company Proteome Sciences identified a group of 10 proteins in the blood that they believe can predict the onset of Alzheimer's. The test could help doctors provide treatments to those at risk at earlier stages of the disease, when they can have the biggest impact in slowing or halting its progress.
New research out of the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in Jülich, Germany, also identified a promising drug candidate for Alzheimer's that was found in a turmeric compound — a curry spice — that could promote the proliferation of brain stem cells.
No. 6: Changing fat advice. 2014 marked a major change in scientific thinking, when it comes to dietary fat and nutrition. For decades, nutritionists advised choosing low-fat items — such as margarine, skim milk, and meat alternatives — suggesting the best way to avoid being fat is to avoid eating fat.
But new nutritional research published this year found that cutting back on all fats in your diet may do harm than good. In fact, avoiding such fats — in favor of low-fat, high-carb alternatives — can promote weight gain. Healthy fats found in fish, olive oil, nuts, and even certain cuts of meat are essential for good health. And the real culprits in the nation's obesity epidemic are sugary, high-carb, refined processed foods, many of which carry reduced-fat labels, experts say.
Newly published research by the University of Arizona College of Medicine found that people who follow a Mediterranean diet fare better than those on low-fat diets, when it comes to heart health.
No. 8: E-cigarettes. It was a watershed year for electronic cigarettes, with more Americans — particularly younger folks — choosing the nicotine-delivering devices over tobacco than ever before. But health research offered mixed reviews on whether this is a good or bad trend.
A sweeping new analysis of the health risks of electronic cigarettes by Virginia Commonwealth University concluded, for instance, that the benefits of “vaping” nicotine far outweigh the risks of conventional smoking and that e-cigarettes are much less dangerous than inhaling tobacco smoke.
But the study has done little to put the debate over e-cigarettes to rest, with many health advocates calling for increased regulation by the FDA and other regulators worldwide.
No. 9: Innovative medical technologies. A number of med-tech advances were made in 2014, allowing people paralyzed below the waist to walk again using remote-controlled “exoskeletons” rolled out during the World Cup of Soccer and publicized by Amy Van Dyken-Rouen.
Also, bioengineers developed a new line of computer chips that can be implanted in the brains of quadriplegics, allowing them to regain the use of their hands and arms by simply using their thoughts.
In addition, a Google Glass-LIKE device debuted this year that allows the blind to regain partial sight. The “smart glasses” were developed at Oxford University and help people with poor vision boost their awareness of what is around them.
No. 10: Obamacare 2.0. The Affordable Care Act continued to be a major health story in 2014, with second year of enrollment in the Obamacare exchanges, the Supreme Court announcing it will review the legality of a key component of the law next year, and Republicans posting major gains in the midterm elections — retaking control of the House and Senate.
The enrollment period for millions of Americans who signed up for health insurance through the Obamacare exchanges was marked by fewer problems than last year. But the Supreme Court has said it plans to take up a legal challenge to the federal subsidies the law provides to millions of Americans who buy insurance through federally run Obamacare exchanges in 36 states.
If the court rules that the subsidies are illegal, it would sink a key component of the new healthcare law, which many health experts believe might doom Obamacare. At the same time, the new GOP-led Congress is likely to target aspects of the law for major changes.
As in past five years, Obamacare was not only one of the biggest health stories of 2014, but is also surely to dominate health headlines in 2015, as well.
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