22 health care predictions for 2025 from medical researchers
2024-12-31
Category: lifestyle

2024 was packed with health care innovations, from a new blood test detecting Alzheimer’s disease to deep brain stimulation reversing paralysis. Heading into the New Year, medical experts are predicting even more medical advances for 2025. Researchers from Mass General Brigham, a health care system in Boston, Massachusetts, shared with Fox News Digital some of the scientific developments and breakthroughs they expect to see, which are also published on the hospital’s website. 7 OF GOOGLE’S MOST-SEARCHED HEALTH QUESTIONS IN 2024, WITH EXPERT RESPONSES 5 cancer predictions 1. "I anticipate we are going to see continued breakthroughs and growth in immunotherapy for cancer, particularly with FDA approvals and commercialization of cell therapies for solid tumors. The field is also poised to make great strides in using these technologies for other conditions, like autoimmune diseases." Bryan Choi, MD, PhDInvestigator, Department of NeurosurgeryMassachusetts General Hospital  2. "I predict novel discoveries and innovative strategies for early cancer detection and prevention will dramatically impact patient care in the coming year. With the proven success of immunotherapy for cancer treatment, there is an emerging interest in utilizing the patient’s own immune system for cancer prevention, especially in high-risk populations. This area of research is expanding rapidly and will likely generate actionable targets for investigations in patients." Shawn Demehri, MD, PhDInvestigator, Mass General Cancer CenterMassachusetts General Hospital 3. "The current standard for treating patients with clinical stage 2 or 3 triple-negative breast cancer is to administer chemotherapy in addition to immunotherapy prior to surgery. This combination therapy leads to a better response than chemotherapy alone. However, immunotherapy comes with added toxicities that can lead to lifelong complications."  "In 2025, I anticipate significant progress will be made in identifying biomarkers in a patient’s peripheral immune system that will help determine which patients require the addition of immunotherapy and those who will do well with chemotherapy alone. This would be an important step in further personalizing breast cancer care and reducing long-term side effects." Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD, PhD, MHCMInvestigator, Department of SurgeryBrigham and Women’s Hospital 4. "In basic research, single-cell technologies have been advancing at an accelerated pace. In 2025, I believe we will likely see major breakthroughs in spatial transcriptomics and sub-cellular high-resolution imaging, particularly in the context of embryo development and understanding of cancer progression and resistance." Raul Mostoslavsky, PhDInvestigator, Krantz Family Center for Cancer ResearchMassachusetts General Hospital "I predict novel discoveries and innovative strategies for early cancer detection and cancer prevention will dramatically impact patient care." 5. "I believe we will see a greater focus on the long-term impact of multiple environmental factors on disease states, such as cancer development processes. There is a misconception that many non-hereditary diseases, such as non-hereditary cancer, are the result of short-term risk factor exposure. I think that research in the coming year will shift focus on the long-term impacts of multiple disease-causing factors." Shuji Ogino, MD, PhD, MSChief of Molecular Pathological Epidemiology Program, Department of PathologyBrigham and Women’s Hospital 6 neurology predictions 1. "I anticipate we’ll see an uptick in usage of artificial intelligence (AI) to support physicians while they care for patients, streamline workflows, and improve diagnostics and treatments in 2025. We’re also likely to see expanded use of robotics and AI in complex surgeries, particularly for brain and spine procedures." E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD, FAANSExecutive Director, Center for Tumors of the Nervous SystemMass General Brigham  2. "I predict that advances in non-invasive brain stimulation will change how we care for patients with brain disease, including accelerated protocols that improve symptoms in days rather than weeks, personalized protocols that target the most bothersome symptom in each patient, and at-home devices that make brain stimulation accessible to more patients." Michael Fox, MD, PhDDirector, Center for Brain Circuit TherapeuticsBrigham and Women’s Hospital THE YEAR IN CANCER: ADVANCES MADE IN 2024, PREDICTIONS FOR 2025 3. "Advances in focused ultrasound technology offer the potential for non-invasive, targeted, and temporary opening of the blood-brain barrier. This could allow therapies that were previously ineffective — due to their inability to cross the blood-brain barrier to reach their target in the central nervous system — to directly target tissues. I think we will see a breakthrough in this area of research in the next year, enabling treatments for a wide range of brain disorders, including neurological, psychiatric and neurosurgical conditions." Alexandra Golby, MDInvestigator, Neurosciences CenterBrigham and Women’s Hospital&nbsp;&nbsp; 4. "Starting in 2025, it will become possible to administer transcranial magnetic stimulation to treat depression over the course of just days instead of weeks, which, aided by pharmacological co-agents, will still lead to a very high remission rate in treatment-resistant patients." Andreas Horn, MD, PhDDirector, Center for Brain Circuit TherapeuticsBrigham and Women’s Hospital  5. "I predict that the prevention of dementia, stroke and depression will become a cornerstone of patient-directed primary care. In 2024, we saw the publication of several high-impact validation studies of the Brain Care Score (BCS), a tool designed to help people everywhere use the most robust science to guide their daily lifestyle choices and reduce their risk of dementia, stroke and depression by up to 50%. In parallel, we have laid the groundwork to empower people everywhere to use the BCS routinely, and to bring it with them to their next primary care visit with a health care provider." Jonathan Rosand, MD, MScJP Kistler Endowed Chair in NeurologyCo-Founder, McCance Center for Brain HealthMassachusetts General Hospital "I envision that in 2025, the discovery of molecular biomarkers will shift the care paradigm to a more proactive approach. " 6. "I foresee advances on several fronts of dementia care as a major theme for health care in 2025. This includes AI-assisted approaches to improve early diagnosis, novel ways of delivering personalized treatments, and advances in care delivery as the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services-developed GUIDE (Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience) Model of Care is implemented nationwide. I also predict that caregiving for persons with dementia will gain further recognition as a major element of health care, requiring more resources and attention." Ipsit V. Vahia, MDInvestigator, Division of Geriatric PsychiatryMcLean Hospital&nbsp; 5 cardiology predictions 1. "I believe in 2025 we can expect to see the completion of the first large outcomes-focused clinical trial from a group of new medications that target lipoprotein(a), a unique type of 'bad cholesterol' that increases a patient’s risk for cardiovascular disease. Up to this point, the treatment paradigm for patients with elevated lipoprotein(a) has been to aggressively modify other risk factors, but we may soon have more targeted treatment options." Michael Honigberg, MD, MPPInvestigator, Cardiology DivisionMassachusetts General Hospital STEM CELL THERAPY TO CORRECT HEART FAILURE IN CHILDREN COULD 'TRANSFORM LIVES' 2. "Cardiac critical care has transformed into its own discipline, but remains largely reactive to treating patients as they become sicker. I envision that in 2025, the discovery of molecular biomarkers will shift the care paradigm to a more proactive approach. Molecular biomarkers may help us identify patients most at risk of disease and start interventions earlier, maybe even preventively." Edy Kim, MD, PhDInvestigator, Pulmonary DivisionBrigham and Women’s Hospital 3. "I predict that in 2025, we will see significant advancements in women's health research. In particular, I hope to see major breakthroughs that improve quality of life and cardiovascular health in mid-life/menopausal women, a group that has been historically underappreciated." Emily S. Lau, MD, MPHInvestigator, Cardiometabolic Health and Hormones ClinicMassachusetts General Hospital  4. "In 2025, I anticipate we will see the introduction of two intertwined advances. First, the integration of artificial intelligence-facilitated algorithms for the early detection of cardiovascular illness, which will move us closer toward early prevention. We also envision a focus on using genetically informed treatments to reduce the risk of atherosclerotic heart disease, valvular heart disease and heart failure. Together, these important advances will usher in an era of personalized health care in cardiovascular disease." Mandeep R. Mehra, MBBS, MScExecutive Director, Center for Advanced Heart DiseaseBrigham and Women’s Hospital CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 5. "In the coming year, I anticipate a marked increase in focus on cardio-kidney-metabolic health, necessitating new patient-centered models of interdisciplinary care." Pradeep Natarajan, MD, MMScDirector, Preventive CardiologyMassachusetts General Hospital 6 general scientific predictions 1. "In 2025, I believe we will uncover the answers to remaining questions about nutrient metabolism and why a calorie is not a calorie, thereby improving our understanding of why some people gain weight." Caroline Apovian, MDCo-Director, Center for Weight Management and WellnessBrigham and Women’s Hospital  2. "In the coming year, I see artificial intelligence being integrated more into health care as a supplement to physician knowledge and intuition. With the amount of biomedical data we are generating, I predict AI tools will improve our ability to interpret and apply the most salient information to individual patients, resulting in a personalized approach to patient care. I also predict that AI will continue to greatly reduce the administrative burden on providers and enable them to spend more time with their patients." William Hwang, MD, PhDInvestigator, Center for Systems Biology, Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research, Department of Radiation OncologyMassachusetts General Hospital CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER 3. "I think in 2025, we will see the implementation of generative artificial intelligence language models (i.e., chatbots) for some aspects of routine clinical care, such as the preparation of patient communications, generation of preliminary diagnostic test reports, or summarization of patient medical records." Shaan Khurshid, MD, MPHInvestigator, Telemachus and Irene Demoulas Family Foundation Center for Cardiac ArrhythmiasMassachusetts General Hospital  4. "In 2025, I think we will recognize the power of drones and begin to use them to transform the way we deliver health care by making the home the center of care. Drone-facilitated care will impact primary care, urgent and emergency care, and even enable public health leaps by bringing care directly to patients in ways we never thought possible (or maybe thought were possible only for the Jetsons)." David Levine, MD, MPH, MAClinical Director of Research and DevelopmentMass General Brigham "I believe in 2025, we will see many more patients benefiting from genetic therapies." 5. "Increased access to emerging technologies and personalized data, combined with information specifically tailored for the individual, will drive self-care in health and wellness in more patients, initially in preventative medicine, in the next year. This phenomenon will begin to impact chronic disease management and progressively more complex conditions and will accelerate devolution of care and responsibility for many conditions to the patient — who is often best placed to understand their own health." Calum A. MacRae, MD, PhDVice Chair for Scientific InnovationBrigham and Women’s Hospital For more Health articles, visit&nbsp;www.foxnews.com/health 6. "Treatments for rare genetic diseases are rapidly being translated to clinics. With close to 40 gene and cell therapies approved and hundreds expected to come down the pipeline, I believe that in 2025, we will see many more patients benefiting from genetic therapies." Susan A. Slaugenhaupt, PhDScientific Director,&nbsp;Mass General Research InstituteMassachusetts General Hospital