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The Top 10 Medical Stories of 2008

 

1. Birth From a Whole Ovary Transplant

 

On Dec. 10, a baby girl was born from the first-ever full ovary transplant. The baby's mother had lost her fertility when she went into early menopause at age 15 because of another medical problem. Later in life her twin sister (the baby's aunt) donated a working ovary so that she may conceive. At age 38, she gave birth for the first time.

 

2. The JUPITER trial

 

Drug maker AstraZeneca sponsored the huge 18,000-participant JUPITER trial of Crestor, its cholesterol-lowering drug (called a statin). The trial was supposed to last five years, but the drug company cut it short after two years claiming Crestor was so effective that it was unethical to withhold the drug from those on placebo.

 

3. The ENHANCE Trial

 

The ENHANCE trial pitted the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin against the popular combo-drug Vytorin, which had both simvastatin and ezetimibe (Zetia). But instead of proving the power of the combo, early data showed that Vytorin was no better at reducing the thickness of blood vessel walls than simvastatin alone.

 

4. Malaria Vaccine

 

Finally, Dec. 8, the first results of a malaria vaccine that shows promise hit international news. Early reports showed the vaccine was more than 50 percent effective in preventing malaria among infants and toddlers, according to reporting by The Associated Press.

 

5. Continuous Glucose Monitoring

 

This September, researchers in Florida unveiled the first glucose monitor that measures blood sugar around the clock -- literally 24/7 every five minutes. Doctors told ABCNews.com that the invention had dramatic implications for managing the most difficult Type 1 (or juvenile) diabetes cases and that it may one day be used for severe cases of Type 2 diabetes.

 

6. Stem Cell Genes and Alzheimer's

 

In January, scientists at the University of California, Irvine, announced they had discovered an early step that could one day lead to a stem cell therapy for Alzheimer's disease, not to mention other neurodegenerative diseases or brain injuries.

 

7. Progress on Parasites

 

This year marked a great achievement at eradicating a painful, systemic parasitic disease called Guinea worm. By 2009, public health officials hope to officially eradicate the disease, making the Guinea worm one of a few diseases (such as small pox) to officially be eliminated from the world.

 

8. Early Blood Test for Down Syndrome

 

One in every 733 babies -- or around 5,500 each year -- is born with Down syndrome, the most common genetic condition in the United States, causing an array of physical and mental challenges for both child and parents. A controversial and emotional medical advance this year may one day allow parents to test for signs of Down syndrome as early as 12 to 13 weeks into the first trimester. The noninvasive blood test called SEQureDX, developed by the San Diego-based company Sequenom, can be administered as early as 12 to 13 weeks into the first trimester.

 

9. Stem Cell Trachea Transplant

 

Claudia Castillo, a 30-year-old woman living in Barcelona, was the first person in the world to receive a full trachea (or wind pipe) organ transplant grown entirely from her own stem cells. The technique regrew Castillo's windpipe over the frame of a donor windpipe using bone marrow stem cells collected from her hip.

 

10. Face Transplant Breakthroughs

 

In early December, surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic embarked on a marathon, 22-hour procedure in which they transferred 80 percent of a face -- including eyelids, bone, teeth and a nose -- from a cadaver to a living female patient.