These improvements result from new diagnostic advances, more effective treatment options, better ways to prevent some diseases, and ways to delay the onset or progression of other diseases and disabilities. In the past year alone, we have seen dramatic advances that are likely to have a direct, near-term effect on public health. The 33.4 million nucleotides that make up chromosome 22 comprise the longest continuous stretch of DNA ever deciphered. The magnitude of this work is amplified by the insights it will give us into many diseases. This treatment might prevent some 300,000 to 400,000 newborns per year from becoming infected and eventually developing AIDS at a cost which is affordable in developing countries.
Preeclampsia is a precursor to eclampsia, a potentially fatal complication of pregnancy.
It is characterized by high blood pressure, excessive weight gain, and severe headaches. Eclampsia leads to convulsions and causes a variety of birth complications. Months before symptoms appeared, women with preeclampsia were found to have an imbalance of two chemical compounds, prostacyclin and thromboxane, which control blood pressure. The discovery suggests new and early treatments for this condition for which there is currently no cure or treatment. An important gene that makes Salmonella a deadly bacterium was identified.