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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.
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
