• UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine
U Magazine

U Magazine

U Magazine
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Centennial Campaign for UCLA Issue
  • Browse U Magazine
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine

U Magazine

Browse U Magazine

  1. Home
  2. Browse U Magazine
Share this
The Cutting Edge

A Decade in Review: 7 Exciting Health Care Breakthroughs

A Decade in Review: 7 Exciting Health Care Breakthroughs

Image: iStock

Michael A. Teitell, MD, PhD

Michael A. Teitell, MD, PhD

Judith S. Currier, MD

Judith S. Currier, MD

Gregg C. Fonarow, MD

Gregg C. Fonarow, MD

Ronald S. Brookmeyer, PhD

Ronald S. Brookmeyer, PhD

Alon Y. Avidan, MD, MPH

Alon Y. Avidan, MD, MPH

Barbara S. Giesser, MD

Barbara S. Giesser, MD

Dana Hunnes, PhD

Dana Hunnes, PhD

Over the course of the decade that just ended, a number of scientific discoveries and medical advances revolutionized disease treatment, enriched the quality of life for patients and set the stage for future innovations in research and delivery of care. From bench to bedside, these breakthroughs offered promises beyond what was thought possible decades ago. To reflect upon the progress of the last 10 years, UCLA Health experts weigh in on the decade’s most significant health care advances and posit what may be on the horizon.

Cancer

“Over the last decade, we have seen a significant rise in effective immunotherapies for cancers that were once thought of as a death sentence. Immune checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive immune-cell therapies are generating great excitement and numerous clinical trials and are becoming a new ‘fourth leg’ of cancer therapy, in addition to surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. I expect to see more effective and broadly used anticancer vaccines, new designs in cell targeting against cancer and the use of additional immune-cell types in therapy.”

— Michael Teitell, MD ’93, PhD ’91, director of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

HIV/AIDS

“A significant development on the HIV/AIDS front is the development of HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a once-a-day pill that prevents HIV infection in at-risk populations. This strategy, if deployed, could prevent millions of new HIV infections. Looking ahead, there is hope for the development of new interventions to harness the immune system, allowing more people to control HIV without antiretroviral therapy (ART), and the development of safe and scalable, long-acting options for PrEP and treatment.”

— Judith S. Currier, MD, chief of the UCLA Division of Infectious Diseases

Cardiology

“The development of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is one of most important advances in cardiovascular disease that has markedly changed clinical care. The field of TAVR continues to rapidly evolve, including the development of better devices, new approaches and new implantation strategies, TAVR has become much simpler and safer and can now reach an even broader population of patients.”

— Gregg Fonarow, MD ’87 (RES ’90, FEL ’93), Eliot Corday Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine and Science and director of the Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center

Alzheimer’s Disease

“Recent research, including work at UCLA, projects that the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s or mild cognitive impairment, meaning early symptoms of the disease, will more than double by 2060. It could affect 15 million people. The impact of this disease could be huge.”

— Ronald S. Brookmeyer, PhD, professor of biostatistics and dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

Sleep

“Over the past decade, we have uncovered that inadequate sleep may increase an individual’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, a lack of deep sleep specifically relates to the accumulation of tau in the brain, which is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. There is a potential opportunity to delay the progression of certain neurodegenerative conditions by recognizing and improving treatment for sleep disturbances. Improving how we address insomnia, for example, may be a proposed pathway to uncover and reduce the burden of dementia.”

— Alon Avidan, MD, professor of neurology and the director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center

Multiple Sclerosis

“Over the last decade, we saw more than half-a-dozen new and more effective disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS). We are looking forward in the near future to the development and implementation of biomarkers that will enable more precise tracking of disease and prognosis and improved treatments. We will see more evidence-based recommendations on lifestyle and wellness strategies that can help manage MS, such as diet and exercise.”

— Barbara S. Geisser, MD, professor of clinical neurology and clinical director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program at UCLA

Diet and Nutrition

“One of the biggest scientific revelations of the past decade in diet and nutrition is the deeper understanding of just how much lifestyle and dietary habits contribute to myriad chronic diseases around the world. The introduction of plant-based ‘meat’ options, which are close analogues in texture and flavor to the ‘traditional’ animal-based meats, is one example. We are at the starting line of a huge shift in eating patterns, and I anticipate that more people in developed countries will make a switch to a more whole-foods plant-based diet, both for their own health and for the health of the planet.“

— Dana Hunnes, PhD, senior dietitian at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and adjunct assistant professor in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

 

— Alana Prisco

 


Previous
UCLA Operation Mend Cheered on at New York City Veterans Day Parade
Next
MRI May Help Doctors Differentiate Causes of Memory Loss


YOU ARE VIEWING

Winter 2020

Winter 2020
Printable PDF
IN THIS ISSUE
  • Lessons from Sherm
  • Father’s X Chromosome May Yield Clues to Higher Rates of Autoimmune Disease in Women
  • Researchers Create Accurate Model of Organ Scarring
  • Biomarker Predicts Which Heart-failure Patients at Higher Risk of Death within One-to-three Years
  • Targeted Therapy Drug Extends Lives of Women with Aggressive Breast Cancer
  • Can a “Battery Leak” Trigger the Onset of Type 2 Diabetes?
  • Molecular Changes in Cells of Eye’s Lens Predict Future Cataracts
  • UCLA Addresses Increasing Demand with New Master’s in Genetic Counseling
  • Truth Seeker
  • Sherm
  • Repairing and Reversing Damage Caused by Huntington’s Disease
  • Cells’ Mitochondria Work Much Like Tesla Battery Packs
  • The Who and Friends Rock Private Show for UCLA Health and Teen Cancer America
  • A Confounding Case
  • Body Image Concerns Are Universal
  • “We Do Better with Diversity”
  • Annual UCLA Health System Board Meeting Turns Its Focus to Cardiac Care
  • UCLA Operation Mend Cheered on at New York City Veterans Day Parade
  • A Decade in Review: 7 Exciting Health Care Breakthroughs
  • MRI May Help Doctors Differentiate Causes of Memory Loss
  • On the Road to Health Care Equality
  • Learning To Listen
  • Photo Synthesis
  • Awards & Honors
  • In Memoriam
  • David Geffen Adds $46 Million to Landmark Medical Scholarships Program
  • Nearly 2,000 Guests Attend Party on the Pier for UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital
  • Golden Visionary Ball Raises More than $1 Million for UCLA Neurosurgery
  • Dr. Hans Gritsch Named Inaugural Chair in Kidney Transplantation
  • Nonprofit Heart of the Brain Fuels the Fight against Brain Cancer
  • UCLA Supporters Raise Money for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
  • Dancing for NED Fundraiser Fights Ovarian Cancer
  • Gifts
  • In Memoriam
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest
UCLA Health hospitals ranked best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report
  • UCLA Health
  • Find a Doctor
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • UCLA Campus
  • Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Subscribe
  • Patient Stories
  • Giving
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • International Services
  • Privacy Practices
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Billing
  • Health Plans
  • Emergency
  • Report Broken Links
  • Terms of Use
  • 1-310-825-2631
  • Maps & Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Your Feedback
  • Report Misconduct
  • Get Social
  • Sitemap
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest

Sign in to myUCLAhealth

Learn more about myUCLAhealth