Here’s my countdown of the health stories of 2014 that fascinated us, petrified us, inspired us and gave us pause.
10. Electronic cigarettes
Cigarette smoking among teens is dropping, but vaping is booming. The marketing of sweet flavored e-cig “juices” to kids heightened the debate about the gateway aspect of smoking anything at all. Recent coverage of shoddy manufacturing practices and high levels of heavy metals in some e-cigs created even more fodder for concern.
9. Sugar, Bad
Not really a surprise, but a major CDC study on added sugar proposed that it’s not just at the bottom of many big bottoms. It can be a major contributor to heart disease, raising the risk “exponentially” according to the lead author.
8. Screen Obsession
That’s not a clinical term, but there was a lot of blowback about kids and excessive screen time. Consider the viral photo of school age children in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, fixated on their cell phones while behind them hangs one of the world’s great (and huge) paintings, Rembrandt’s “Night Watch.”
7. Immunotherapy
Hope for immunotherapy has been in the air since the ’70s, when scientists figured out how to mass-produce its key components. This year, clinical trials showed some tantalizing results for some of the deadliest cancers, including Hodgkin’s, lung cancer and melanoma.
6. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
More than one hundred million dollars was raised for research on this cruel motor neuron disease through endless videos of the famous and obscure alike. There were grumblings about proportionality since ALS is relatively rare, but it’s hard to argue considering how incredibly effective the campaign was.
5. Obamacare Hits a Milestone
The report card on the first anniversary of the Affordable Care Act was better than expected or just as bad as you’d hoped, depending on your political views. Some eight million people have enrolled and the percentage of uninsured has dropped from about 17 percent to 13 percent.
4. Advances in Hepatitis C Treatment
In October, a new treatment for hepatitis C hit the market. Some three million people could have this often-silent disease, which can lead to serious liver damage. The reputed thousand-dollar-per-pill cost had the media going berserk, but the reality is that it’s available to many people at a tiny fraction of that cost, if not for free. This could be more of a price battle between insurers and pharma than an issue for patients.
3. And Speaking of Health Care Costs
The lack of uniformity and some Defense-Department-sized pricing caused outrage that’s far from over. It’s not easy to shop around for the best deal when you’re having a stroke or bleeding profusely, so consumers, otherwise known as human beings, are at the mercy of forces beyond their control.
2. Vaccines, and Lack Thereof
Mumps and measles are among the diseases that made an unwanted comeback this year due to the growing number of parents who are worried about vaccines. The medical community is deeply concerned about preventable, highly contagious diseases spreading around the globe. Some of the anti-vaxxer fear can be traced back to a fraudulent study that came out in the late ‘90s, but it just doesn’t seem to go away—and here come the consequences.
1. Ebola
Have we already forgotten about it? Africa hasn’t. More than 7000 people died and the legacy will continue in obliterated families, orphaned children and lingering suspicion. The fear factor in this country was astonishing but the real story was the human tragedy happening a continent away.
Looking ahead, 2015 should be a fantastic year on the health news front. With amazing breakthroughs in prosthetics and paralysis already happening and even 3D organ printing moving closer to reality, we can expect a tremendous 12 months.
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