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 The Big Thing
100 years of bold breakthroughs — from plastic to the Pill
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What's Next
Internet-ready coffee machines, portable video players and more
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Who's Next
The next generation of sports superstars
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Forecast 2003
TIME peers into future political, economic and social trends
[12/16/2002] |
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Forecast 2002
Our predictions for the year following the 9/11 attacks [02/04/2002] |
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E-mail your letter to the editor
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| Here's to Your Health |
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New drugs and treatments for conditions ranging from toothache to liver failure to colon cancer will be coming soon to a pharmacy near you |
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By Kate Noble |
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Posted Sunday, Sept. 21, 2003; 1.15p.m. BST
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Illustration by INGO FAST |
TOOTH DECAY
Healozone
If a visit to the dentist provokes images of the torture scene from Marathon Man, help is at hand. While conventional dentistry drills away decay caused by bacteria, leaving a gaping hole to be filled, a new technique stops the bugs in their tracks. HealOzone delivers a 10-second blast of ozone to the infected tooth, killing fungi and bacteria and neutralizing the acid. Then a wash is applied to the treated area. The procedure takes less than five minutes, and, the makers are confident, prevents further tooth decay.
OSTEOARTHRITIS
Licofelone
Every year, millions of Europeans ask their doctors for help with the pain of arthritis. But prescribed painkillers often cause gastrointestinal inflammation. In trials, Merckle's new drug, which doesn't yet have a brand name, has worked on the pain without working over the stomach.
DEPRESSION
Cymbalta
Eli Lilly's new drug will be a double whammy when E.U. approval comes through, probably next year. Cymbalta is a serotonin and noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitor that's been shown in trials to be effective on depression — three times better than a placebo — and it can also reduce female stress-induced urinary incontinence.
LIVER FAILURE
Mars
Doctors believe that around 10% of patients who currently die from liver failure could survive with support from this mechanical detoxification therapy, which cleans the blood until the patient recovers or has a transplant.
OSTEOPOROSIS
Protos
In Britain osteoporosis, a disorder in which the skeleton becomes increasingly fragile as the body loses its ability to turn minerals into new bone, causes around 200,000 fractures a year, mainly in postmenopausal women. Servier's new drug has shown in trials that it significantly increases the formation of new bones and pumps up their mineral density.
IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME
Cilansetron
Up to 12% of the population suffers the cramping pain, bloating and constipation or diarrhea that comes with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Trials of Solvay's Cilansetron, for the diarrhea-predominant form of IBS, show promise. GlaxoSmithKline withdrew its treatment of diarrhea-predominant IBS, Alosetron, from the U.S. market in 2000 when several patients died. It has since been reapproved for limited use.
CANCER
Erbitux
In June ImClone reported that its drug Erbitux, in combination with chemotherapy, reduced tumor growth in the colon by up to 55%. Erbitux targets cancer cells by blocking their ability to absorb growth factors they need to develop. Trials for treating other tumors, including those in the lung, are under way.
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