11 Remarkable Health Advances From 2014
From groundbreaking new drugs to doctor-assisted suicide, 2o14 was full of historic moments that are bound to play on in a big way throughout 2015 and beyond. 1. 3D Mammography is proven to be effective Multiple studies in 2014 showed 3-D mammography to be a highly accurate screening tool for detecting breast cancer with fewer false positive results. It's not widely available yet, but the growing evidence suggests we'll see more adoption in 2015. Hologic, one of two U.S. companies selling 3-D mammography machines, told TIME there's growing interest, with at least one of their machines in all 50 states. 2. The number of uninsured Americans nears record low Federal data released Dec. 18 revealed that the percentage of uninsured Americans neared historic lows in 2014 at 11.3. As TIME reported, it appears certain to fall to record lows next year. 3. Brittany Maynard wins support for "death with dignity" After she discovered she had terminal brain cancer, Maynard, 29, chose to end her own life in the company of her family and friends by taking prescribed barbiturates on Nov. 1. Maynard moved from California to Oregon for the state's death with dignity law that allows doctors to prescribe lethal medications for the terminally ill. A video of Maynard explaining her choice went viral, and a recent poll showed most U.S. doctors now support death with dignity. MORE TIME's Person of the Year The Ebola Fighters, 4. CVS stops selling cigarettes In February, CVS announced it would stop sales of cigarettes and tobacco products in its 7,600 U.S. stores by Oct. 1. Tobacco products made up about 3 of the company's annual revenue. Anti-smoking advocates were pleased by the move. 5. Way more calorie counts are coming The FDA rolled out new rules in November that require chainsincluding restaurants, movie theaters, vending machines and amusement partswith 20 or more locations to list their calories for all their food and drinks. Companies have a year to comply. 6. The FDA unveils new nutrition labels In a similar move, the FDA revealed in February proposed changes to nutritional labels that will put greater emphasis on calories, added sugars and have more realistic serving sizes. Calories will be listed in bigger and bolder type, and may be listed on the front of food packaging. MORE 3D Mammograms Are Better For Dense Breasts, 7. The Sunscreen Innovation Act becomes law In December, President Obama signed into law the much-anticipated Sunscreen Innovation Act, which requires the FDA to quickly respond to pending sunscreen-ingredient applications that have been awaiting a response for over a decade. There's a good chance that in summer 2015, we could have a batch of new, up-to-date sunscreens to try. 8. New drugs show promise for heart failure Novartis is anticipating approval for its new heart failure drug, LCZ696, in the second half of 2015. The drug could replace the current treatment of care ACE inhibitors. The company's most recent human clinical trial was forced to end when it apparent LCZ696 saved more lives than standard of care. 9. PillPack offers a new kind of pharmacy For people on multiple medications, remembering what to take and when can be a medical nightmare. That's why pharmacist T.J. Parker launched PillPack in 2014. Instead of sending customers bottles, every two weeks the company sends a dispenser that has all the customers' individual pills sorted and organized by day on a ticker tape sheet of tearable pouches. TIME named it one of the best inventions of 2014. MORE New Heart Drug Saves More Lives Than Standard of Care, 10. A device literally filters Ebola from blood of a sick patient One of the most novel treatments during the Ebola outbreak is a device that can suck the Ebola virus out of the blood. Developed by Aethlon Medical, the Hemopurifier is a specially developed cartridge that can be attached to a standard dialysis machine and uses proteins that bind to the Ebola viruses and pull them out of patients' blood. It's still experimental, but appears to have worked in at least one patient with Ebola in Germany. 11. The Ebola vaccine shows promise In August, two vaccines to prevent the deadly Ebola virus went onto human clinical trials. The vaccines are being tested with the hope that it could be deemed effective, and safe enough to be distributed widely in West Africa, where the Ebola crisis rages on.