We take stock of the good and bad that has happened in medicine this year

Although there is a lot of uncertainty for grapes, we always have a positive look, because under the microscope or at the foot of the bed, researchers and health workers have not stopped working throughout 2021 to improve health. These are some of the things that you have missed amid so much informational nebula (especially pandemic). There have been important developments in different fields, but we have focused on those that have bigger impact among the population of the whole world.

Spoiler: vaccines have been the main protagonists.

Vaccine against malaria

Malaria is one of the infectious diseases that more have been killed in the world over the years. In 2020, 241 million people contracted the infection, of which more than 640,000 died. Are figures Such devastating have been repeated for decades, a time in which many researchers have faced the impossibility of developing an effective vaccine.

The Spaniard after the “historic” vaccine that will prevent 40,000 annual deaths

José Pichel

But this year the situation has turned around and, after three decades, in a day classified as historical by the WHO, in October, the world health authority recommended the inoculation of the vaccine (Mosquirix) for children living in regions of high risk of transmission (two-thirds of deaths are in children under 5 years of age).

Contrary to what one might expect, the pandemic has not affected trials of the vaccine, which has been developed with the support of pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi (the global alliance for vaccines).

One of the architects of the miracle has been the Spanish physician Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Program.

HIV vaccine

This year they have been fulfilled 40 years since the appearance of AIDS, a disease that has claimed more than 40 million lives. To date, in the world there are more than 38 million infected by the VIH (almost a million people are infected each year, 3,000 are in Spain).

The lessons of 40 years against AIDS: “In that pandemic the response was not global”

Jose Rodriguez Sojo

Throughout these decades, finding a vaccine that prevents infection has been one of the most sought after goals. Have been carried out hundreds of tests, but the result has always been the same: failure. Fortunately, drug treatments are so good that it has become a chronic disease.

Among the ongoing clinical trials (some in phase III) are Imboko, involving women from five sub-Saharan African countries, and Mosaic, in which more than 3,000 volunteers from Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Peru and the United States.

Both Imboko and Mosaico involve the use of two injections, each of which contains a different type of vaccine and is administered at specific monthly intervals over a 6-month period.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine

It is virus mainly affects children under two years of age and causes bronchiolitis and pneumonia, which can evolve into chronic respiratory problems, even cause the death of the affected person. It is estimated that 2% of cases require admission to a hospital.

Photo: iStock.

The Adults with a lowered immune status can contract RSV and become seriously ill (in the United States, about 14,000 people die each year over 65 years from this infection).

As detailed by a Article published in the magazine ‘JAMA’, there is underway 20 clinical trials of RSV vaccines, of which half are for adults and the rest for children. GlaxoSmithKlines, Janssen and Pfizer are testing their models (preliminarily, the Janssen is more advanced and 80% efficient).

In parallel, they are developing monoclonal antibodies to protect children under 2 years old and labs trust they will be approved soon. Astra-Zeneca will request approval from the US FDA for its antibody in 2022 Nirsevimab, developed jointly with Sanofi.

Pacemakers connected to the mobile

For the prestigious Clínica Cleveland, one of the great advances of 2021 is the linking of implantable pacemakers and defibrillators with smartphones. The remote monitoring of these devices is an essential part of medical care and is usually done through a console next to the patient’s bed that transmits data from the device to the doctor. Although millions of patients have pacemakers and defibrillators, many lack a basic understanding of how it works and thus the usefulness of remote monitoring has lagged behind its capabilities.

Photo: iStock.

For this, the bluetooth pacemaker they can solve these problems of disconnection between patients and their cardiac treatment. Used in conjunction with a mobile app, these connected devices allow patients a better understanding of their pacemaker data and transmit the health information to their physicians.

Eight new carcinogens

The United States National Toxicology Program in its 15 Report on Carcinogens has included eight new agents, with which there are 256 substances on the list.

Forbidden foods if you have Helicobacter pylori bacteria

Angeles Gomez

In the new report, chronic infection by Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that colonizes the stomach and can cause gastritis and peptic ulcers. Most people have no symptoms, although chronic infection can cause stomach cancer and a rare type of stomach lymphoma. The infection occurs mainly by person to person contact, especially in crowded living conditions, and when drinking well water contaminated with the bacteria.

Also added to the list is the antimony trioxide, a chemical that is used primarily as a component of flame retardants in plastics, textiles, and other consumer products. The highest exposure occurs among workers who produce the substance or use it to make flame retardants. Other people are potentially exposed to low levels of antimony trioxide by breathing contaminated outdoor air or dust due to the wear and tear of consumer products (rugs or furniture).

They finally enter list six haloacetic acids (HAA) that are by-products of drinking water disinfection (They are formed from a reaction between chlorine and organic matter in the water source).

Pandemia of SARS-CoV-2

The year ends as it began: with SARS-CoV-2 installed between us. In last JanuaryDuring the third wave, the incidence was much lower than the sixth wave, the current one, although the numbers of hospitalized and deceased far exceeded that of today. On December 27, 2020, Araceli Hidalgo received the first dose of vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) in Spain and 2021 closes with more than 82 million.

The new year begins with the presence of omicron all over the world, and in many countries it is already dominant. Some see (or want to see) the beginning of the end. A good wish (almost the best) for 2022.