2.  Newly-developed drugs called “B-cell
receptor pathway inhibitors” have been
highly effective in treating low-grade B-
cell lymphomas and leukemia in clinical
trials. These drugs kill malignant B cells
while having little effect on healthy cells,
thus producing fewer side effects than
chemotherapy and allowing the patient
to remain healthier during treatment.

3.  Scientists have now discovered what
may be an important new biomarker,
called trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO),
which could be a useful screening tool
for people who don’t have traditional
risk factors.

4.  Colonoscopies are the most expensive
screening test that Americans receive,
and costs are increased when anesthesia
services are provided. The solution may
be a new computer-assisted personalized
sedation device, which is expected to be
introduced on a limited basis in 2014.

5.  More than 55,000 people die of heart
failure in the U.S. each year, while over
500,000 new cases are diagnosed.
Serelaxin—a synthetic version of a
natural human hormone—may be
the first breakthrough in two decades in
the treatment of this debilitating
condition.

6.  To this point, treating Clostridium
difficile, or C. diff., has focused on one of
two antibiotics—vancomycin or
metronidazole. The process involves the
transfer of healthy fecal matter into a sick
person’s colon, which restores bacterial
balance.

7.  In an effort to meet the demands and
improve outcomes, a new electronic
anesthesia management system has been
developed which creates, in real time, a
full anesthesia record of events, drugs,
and procedures.

8.  Though treatment for hepatitis C has
greatly improved since the 1990s, many
patients endure regimens that are both
lengthy (up to 48 weeks) and require
difficult-to-tolerate drugs. A new drug,
Sofosbuvir, might be the answer.

9.  A new treatment option earned the
unanimous support of an FDA
neurological device advisory panel. It’s a
surgically-implanted neurological device
that can considerably reduce the
occurrence of epileptic seizures.

10.  Aggressive treatments for cancerous
tumors are often pursued (by both
doctors and patients) even when they are
not required, using a “just in case”
approach. But now, genomic-based tests
can help avoid unnecessary (and
unpleasant) treatments like
chemotherapy and radiation when they
are not warranted.

11.  Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of
inherited eye diseases.
 It’s a new FDA-approved technology that
consists of a surgically-implanted 60-
electrode retinal prosthesis which
decodes wireless transmissions from a
pair of glasses equipped with a video
camera.