From the laboratory and state capital to the courtroom and the newsroom, 2006 turned out to be a pretty good year for medicine. Here are the top 10 reasons why the last 12 months should make you feel hopeful today about a healthful tomorrow.
10. Be Nice to Me, Be Nice to My Arteries
The story: A University of Utah study found that women with hostile spouses were more likely to experience hardening of the coronary arteries. The same goes for men with controlling wives.
The upside: Women now have serious leverage for convincing their partners to be nicer.
The caveat: Hostile spouses may relish their partners' hardening arteries.
Factoid: The scientists believe hostility vs. friendliness is more important to women, hence their physical reaction to hostility. Men, on the other hand, are more concerned with having control over their lives.
9. Diabetes Cured -- in Mice.
The story: Canadian researchers reported that they've cured mice with diabetes by using spleen cells to spur the pancreas into regrowing itself into a healthy organ.
The upside: There's no cure for diabetes, but scientists are excited about the new findings.
The caveat: Mice aren't people, and similar proclamations -- like this 2000 declaration of a diabetes cure in rodents -- haven't translated to humans.
Factoid: The spleen is a mightily mysterious organ.
8. Generic Drugs for $4 a Month
The story: Walmart and Target (.pdf) began selling hundreds of generic drugs for $4 for a month's supply.
The upside: Your drugs are cheaper, especially if you don't have insurance. If you do, no more $15 co-pays.
The caveat: If your drug's still under copyright, it's probably still expensive.
Factoid: While not a scientific breakthrough, the move will benefit more peoples' health than many of the other items on this list.
7. Heart Transplants Keep Pumping
The story: In the U.K., surgeons transplanted the first "beating heart" into a British patient. Instead of being frozen for several hours, a new machine kept the heart pumping during transfer from donor to patient.
The upside: A "living heart" could survive longer before being transplanted.
The caveat: Heart transplants remain rare: Only about 2,016 were performed in the United States in 2004, a slight decrease from 2003.
Factoid: Cornea, kidney and liver transplants are more common in the United States than heart transplants.
6. Artificial Heart Makes Man Pulseless
The story: Surgeons in Canada implanted a heart device into a man that provides a steady flow of blood to his body, making him the only man in the world without a pulse.
The upside: The device could be an alternative to a heart transplant.
The caveat: It might be difficult to determine the patient's status during a medical emergency.
Factoid: It cost $86,000 to install the no-pulse mechanical heart.
5. Targeted Cancer Treatments Advance
The story: Pharmaceutical companies are churning out more drugs that target the molecules involved in converting normal cells into tumor cells. One of these drugs, called sunitinib, was approved by the FDA in 2006 to treat stomach and kidney cancer, the first time the agency simultaneously approved a drug for two types of cancer.
The upside: Targeted drugs may improve cancer therapy -- and reduce side effects -- by limiting damage to healthy cells.
The caveat: Many targeted drugs are still being tested and aren't ready for prime time.
Factoid: In 2006, statistics showed that deaths from cancer actually dropped in the United States from 2002 to 2003 for the first time in decades.
4. Researchers Reach New Human Genome Milestone
The story: Three years after finishing a "rough draft" of the human genome, scientists announced that they've completed a detailed analysis of all 24 chromosomes. Chromosome 1 was the last to be analyzed.
The upside: Researchers expect the decoding of Chromosome 1 to help them develop treatments for cancer, autism, high cholesterol and other conditions. An estimated 350 diseases are linked to Chromosome 1.
The caveat: Scientists are still trying to detect errors in their genome analysis.
Factoid: There are 2.85 billion nucleotides -- structural units -- in the human genome.
3. Cell Phones Deemed Safe
The story: Danish researchers tracked 420,000 cell-phone users and found no sign that the devices cause cancer.
The upside: Talk your heart out. You should be OK.
The caveat: Cell phones could potentially cause slow-growing tumors that don't become noticeable for decades and would be missed by the current research.
Factoid: Danish researchers use a national database to track every citizen with cancer.
2. Circumcision Confirmed as AIDS Fighter
The story: Researchers found that circumcision decreases rates of HIV infection in African men by about half.
The new research confirms previous findings and could be the final word on the matter.
The upside: Circumcision appears to work, even in a large study, and other research suggests it's cost-effective. Widespread circumcision could save millions of lives.
The caveat: If at-risk adult men don't bother to wear condoms, what will make them bother with circumcision, which is quite a bit more of a hassle?
Meanwhile, it's not clear whether circumcision in men reduces risks for female sex partners.
Factoid: An estimated one million American male babies are circumcised each year.
1. First-Ever Cancer Vaccine Enters Market
The story: The FDA surprised critics of the Bush administration by approving a vaccine that prevents women from being infected by the virus that causes cervical cancer.
The upside: The vaccine seems to be effective and safe cancer prevention.
The caveat: While the vaccine is rightly touted as a major breakthrough, cervical cancer isn't a major killer in the United States thanks to the prevalence of preventive Pap smears. It also seems likely that many parents won't bother to get their daughters vaccinated because to do so would acknowledge that little Madison or Chloe might have sex someday.
Factoid: The manufacturer is reportedly testing the vaccine in men and boys because the medicine also prevents genital warts. If it is widely used, genital warts could become less common among both sexes.
