The year 2023 has been monumental in the realm of health and medical science. As we continually strive to overcome health challenges, the relentless pursuit of medical advancements has yielded significant breakthroughs. These innovations not only promise enhanced healthcare but also showcase the power of science in improving lives globally. In this article, we delve into the top eight medical breakthroughs of 2023, each a testament to the ingenuity and dedication of the scientific community. The Biggest Medical Breakthroughs of 2023 A Leap Forward in Alzheimer’s Disease Management In a ground-breaking development, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Leqembi, a monoclonal antibody, in July 2023. This medical breakthrough targets the core cause of Alzheimer's disease – the build-up of amyloid plaques in the brain. These plaques, formed by abnormally proliferating proteins, disrupt neural synapses and cause memory loss. Leqembi intervenes by inhibiting plaque formation, thus preserving cognitive function. A pivotal study revealed that administering Leqembi early could delay severe Alzheimer’s progression by up to 30 years, marking a significant stride in medical science. Read more: Daily Strategies for Neuroplasticity: Enhancing Focus and Alleviating Anxiety Advancing Brain Science with Comprehensive Mapping In a collaborative effort, an international team of over 20 scientists achieved a significant medical breakthrough by mapping the brain of a fruit fly, a process that spanned five years. This achievement surpasses previous efforts which were limited to simpler organisms with fewer synapses. The complexity of the fruit fly’s brain, comprising around 3000 neurons and half a million synapses, parallels aspects of machine learning mapping, hinting at broader applications in understanding complex brains and advancing AI technologies.

The 10-member medical board, formed to ensure the treatment of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, sat in a meeting on  Saturday at Evercare Hospital to review her health condition. “The meeting of the medical board began around 11:10am to review the medical reports and health condition of Khaleda Zia,” said her media wing member Sayrul Kabir Khan. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will brief on Khaleda’s health condition at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office at 3 pm. Earlier talking to UNB, Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, a member of the medical board, said they will review the medical test reports and decide the next course of treatment of the BNP chief. On 28 April 2021, a 10-member medical board, headed by Prof Shahabuddin Talukder, was formed for the treatment of Khaleda at the Evercare Hospital.  The same medical board will now oversee Khaleda’s treatment. Asked about Khaleda’s condition in the morning, he said nothing can be said about it now as her condition can take any turn at any time. “She will kept in observation at CCU for 72 hours.” Zahid said Khaleda Zia has long been suffering from various critical diseases, including heart, liver and kidney complications. “She needs to receive advanced treatment abroad, but the government has long been denying her permission to go there.” He believes Khaleda will be able to recover completely if she is allowed to go abroad for treatment. Earlier, Khaleda Zia was admitted to Evercare Hospital in the capital in the early hours of Saturday as she suddenly fell ill. "Madam (Khaleda) suddenly fell ill at her Gulshan home. We rushed her to Evercare Hospital," Khaleda's physician Professor AZM Zahid Hossain told UNB. The BNP chief was taken to the coronary care unit (CCU) of the hospital at 3:20am, he added. The BNP chief left her Gulshan residence for the hospital at 2:55amand was admitted there at 3:15am, said her media wing member Sayrul Kabir Khan. Hearing the news of Khaleda's illness, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir rushed to her Gulshan residence and later went to the hospital. Coming out of the hospital around 4:30am, Fakhrul said after some primary tests, the doctors found that she has cardiac problems. "Madam's condition is stable now. How complicated her problem is can be confirmed after she undergoes different tests, especially an angiogram," he said. READ: Khaleda hospitalised with heart problems A medical board will analyse Khaleda's condition and her medical reports at 10:30am Saturday and decide the next course of treatment, Fakhrul added. He hoped that Khaleda would recover as she did in the past. The BNP leader urged the country’s people to pray for her speedy recovery. It is for the fifth time the BNP was admitted to the hospital since she was infected with Covid-19 in April 2021. The BNP chairperson last went to Evercare on April 6 for health check-ups Khaleda, a former prime minister, has been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, kidney, lung and eye problems. The 76-year-old was last admitted to Evercare on November 13 last year where she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. On February 1, Khaleda returned home after an 81-day stay at the hospital as she was suffering from internal bleeding caused by liver cirrhosis. The former prime minister was sent to the Old Dhaka Central Jail as a lower court sentenced her to five years' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. Later, she was found guilty in another corruption case the same year. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the government temporarily freed Khaleda from jail through an executive order suspending her sentence on March 25, 2020, with conditions that she will stay at her Gulshan home and not leave the country.

The High Court has issued a rule asking why the admission test for medical and dental courses in public universities/institutions for the 2021-22 academic year should not be based on an abbreviated syllabus. At the same time, the High Court has directed the Ministry and Department concerned to dispose of the application of students within three days to take the admission test pn a shortened syllabus. A bench of Justices Mamnoon Rahman and Khandaker Diliruzzaman passed the order Tuesday after hearing the writ petition filed by a student's guardian. READ: HC to hear writ seeking directions to rein in edible oil prices Monday The student, Sufia Khatun Hasi, passed her HSC examination from Tulsipur College, Jamalpur in the academic year 2020-2021. On 28 February,  she wrote an application to the Ministry of Health and the Department of Health Education where she requested a shortened syllabus in coordination with the HSC exam board. Sufia's father Shakhawat Hossain filed a writ petition in the High Court. Lawyer Bibhuti was in favor of the writ petition in the court. On February 24,  the Department of Health Education published the notification of the medical admission test for 2021-22 academic year. According to the notification,  the application for medical admission will start from 10 am on February 26 and the admission test will be held simultaneously across the country from 10 am to 11 am on April 1. The admission test will be held on the full syllabus, it added. READ: Drug case against Pori Moni: HC stays trial proceedings for 3 months Merit list will be prepared by deducting 5 marks from the total marks for HSC pass candidates as in the previous year and 7.5 marks from the total marks for the students admitted in the previous year's Government Medical, Dental College Dental Unit.

Britain’s chief medical officers said Monday that children aged 12 to 15 should be vaccinated against coronavirus, despite a ruling by the government’s vaccine advisors that the step would have only marginal health benefits. England Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and his counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said Monday that the age group should be given a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. They have yet to decide on whether to give the students a second dose. The government has said it’s highly likely to follow the recommendation. Expanded vaccinations are expected to be part of a “tool kit” to control COVID-19 infections this fall and winter that Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to announce Tuesday at a news conference. Johnson’s Conservative government is hoping that widespread vaccinations, rather than restrictions, will keep COVID-19 infections in check. Other countries — including the United States, Canada, France and Italy — already offer coronavirus vaccines to children 12 and up, but Britain has held off. It is currently inoculating people 16 and up, and almost 90% of those eligible have had at least one vaccine dose. Earlier this month, Britain’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization said vaccines should be given to 12- to 15-year-olds with underlying health conditions. But it did not back a rollout to healthy children, who are at low risk of serious illness from the virus, saying the direct health benefits were marginal. However, it said there might be wider societal factors to consider, such as on education or children acting as sources of transmission to more vulnerable groups. READ: UK commits £3.1 mn aid to minimise impact of disasters in Bangladesh, other countries The chief medical officers said it was “likely vaccination will help reduce transmission of COVID-19 in schools” and they were recommending the vaccines on public health grounds. In his road map speech, Johnson is likely to announce that the government will relinquish some of the emergency powers Parliament gave it after the pandemic began last year, including the authority to shut down businesses and schools, restrict gatherings and detain infectious people. The announcement of a new virus road map comes a year after Johnson resisted scientific advice to put the country into lockdown — only to perform a U-turn within weeks as coronavirus cases soared. Virus cases now are 10 times the rate of a year ago, but vaccines are protecting many Britons from serious illness. Still, the U.K. is recording more than 100 coronavirus deaths a day, and about 8,000 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. That is less than a quarter of the wintertime peak, but the number is climbing. Johnson is expected to say that mask-wearing, work-from-home advice and social distancing rules that were lifted in July could return if cases climb further. But his Conservative government is resisting tougher measures, unexpectedly shelving a plan to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and other crowded venues. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Sunday that the vaccine passes, which have been introduced in many European countries and were due to start in England at the end of September, were a “huge intrusion into people’s lives.” He said the government would keep the plan “in reserve” but would not proceed with it right now. Johnson’s spokesman, Max Blain, said nightclubs hadn’t been linked to “significant cases or hospitalizations” since they reopened in July after more than a year of closure. “We are not seeing the exponential increases that some had expected,” he said. Some experts have argued for vaccine passports as a way to encourage young people to get vaccinated, though others say compelling vaccination, rather than encouraging it, could increase hesitancy. The measure was opposed as a burdensome imposition by many in the entertainment industry, and met political resistance on civil liberties grounds from some Conservative lawmakers and the opposition Liberal Democrats. READ: Indo-Pacific: UK sees Bangladesh as "critical stability provider" The government’s decision applies in England. Scotland, which sets its own health policy, plans to introduce vaccine passports for crowded venues next month.

Since the beginning of the week, Dr. Siddharth Tara, a postgraduate medical student at New Delhi’s government-run Hindu Rao Hospital, has had a fever and persistent headache. He took a COVID-19 test, but the results have been delayed as the country’s health system implodes. His hospital, overburdened and understaffed, wants him to keep working until the testing laboratory confirms he has COVID-19. On Tuesday, India reported 323,144 new infections for a total of more than 17.6 million cases, behind only the United States. India’s Health Ministry also reported another 2,771 deaths in the past 24 hours, with 115 Indians succumbing to the disease every hour. Experts say those figures are likely an undercount. “I am not able to breathe. In fact, I’m more symptomatic than my patients. So how can they make me work?” asked Tara. The challenges facing India today, as cases rise faster than anywhere else in the world, are being compounded by the fragility of its health system and its doctors. There are 541 medical colleges in India with 36,000 post-graduate medical students, and according to doctors’ unions constitute the majority at any government hospitals — they are the bulwark of the India’s COVID-19 response. But for over a year, they have been subjected to mammoth workloads, lack of pay, rampant exposure to the virus and complete academic neglect. “We’re cannon fodder, that’s all,” said Tara. Also read: India bans all electoral victory rallies In five states that are being hit hardest by the surge, postgraduate doctors have held protests against what they view as administrators’ callous attitude toward students like them, who urged authorities to prepare for a second wave but were ignored. Jignesh Gengadiya, a 26-year-old postgraduate medical student, knew he’d be working 24 hours a day, seven days a week when he signed up for a residency at the Government Medical College in the city of Surat in Gujarat state. What he didn’t expect was to be the only doctor taking care of 60 patients in normal circumstances, and 20 patients on duty in the intensive care unit. “ICU patients require constant attention. If more than one patient starts collapsing, who do I attend to?” asked Gengadiya. Hindu Rao Hospital, where Tara works, provides a snapshot of the country’s dire situation. It has increased beds for virus patients, but hasn’t hired any additional doctors, quadrupling the workload, Tara said. To make matters worse, senior doctors are refusing to treat virus patients. “I get that senior doctors are older and more susceptible to the virus. But as we have seen in this wave, the virus affects old and young alike,” said Tara, who suffers from asthma but has been doing regular COVID-19 duty. The hospital has gone from zero to 200 beds for virus patients amid the surge. Two doctors used to take care of 15 beds – now they’re handling 60. Staff numbers are also falling, as students test positive at an alarming rate. Nearly 75% of postgraduate medical students in the surgery department tested positive for the virus in the last month, said a student from the department who spoke anonymously out of fear of retribution. Tara, who’s part of the postgraduate doctors association at Hindu Rao, said students receive each month’s wages two months late. Last year, students were given four months’ pending wages only after going on hunger strike in the midst of the pandemic. Dr. Rakesh Dogra, senior specialist at Hindu Rao, said the brunt of coronavirus care inevitably falls on postgraduate students. But he stressed they have different roles, with postgraduate students treating patients and senior doctors supervising. Although Hindu Rao hasn’t hired any additional doctors during the second wave, Dogra said doctors from nearby municipal hospitals were temporarily posted there to help with the increased workload. India — which spends 1.3% of its GDP on healthcare, less than all major economies — was initially seen as a success story in weathering the pandemic. However, in the succeeding months, few arrangements were made. A year later, Dr. Subarna Sarkar says she feels betrayed by how her hospital in the city of Pune was caught completely off guard. “Why weren’t more people hired? Why wasn’t infrastructure ramped up? It’s like we learnt nothing from the first wave,” she said. Belatedly, the administration at Sassoon Hospital said last Wednesday it would hire 66 doctors to bolster capacity, and this month increased COVID-19 beds from 525 to 700. But only 11 new doctors have been hired so far, according to Dr. Murlidhar Tambe, the hospital’s dean. “We’re just not getting more doctors,” Tambe said, adding that they’re struggling to find new technicians and nurses too. In response to last year’s surge, the hospital hired 200 nurses on a contractual basis but fired them in October after cases receded. Tambe said the contract allowed the hospital to terminate their services as it saw fit. Also read: India records 320K cases as foreign help arrives “Our primary responsibility is towards patients, not staff,” the dean said. Cases in Pune city have nearly doubled in the last month, from 5,741 to 10,193. To deal with the surge, authorities are promising more beds. Sarkar, the medical student at Sassoon Hospital, says that’s not enough. “Increased beds without manpower are just beds. It’s a smokescreen,” she said. To handle the deluge, students at Sassoon said authorities had weakened rules meant to keep them and patients safe. For instance, students work with COVID-19 patients one week and then go straight to working with patients in the general ward. This increases the risk of spreading infections, said Dr. T. Sundararaman of the University of Pennsylvania’s National Health Systems Resource Center. Students want Sassoon’s administration to institute a mandatory quarantine period between duty in the COVID-19 and general wards. Over the last month, 80 of the hospital’s 450 postgraduate students have tested positive, but they only get a maximum of seven days of convalescence leave. “COVID ruins your immunity, so there are people who are testing positive two, three times because their immunity is just so shot, and they’re not being allowed to recover,” said Sarkar. And after a year of processing COVID-19 tests, she says she knows everything there is to know about the virus, but little else. Nationwide, diverting postgraduate students to take care of virus patients has come at a cost. At a government medical college in the city of Surat, students said they haven’t had a single academic lecture. The hospital has been admitting virus patients since March of last year, and postgraduate medical students spend almost all their time taking care of them. The city is now reporting more than 2,000 cases and 22 deaths a day. Having to focus so heavily on the pandemic has left many medical students anxious about their future. Students studying to be surgeons don’t know how to remove an appendix, lung specialists haven’t learned the first thing about lung cancer and biochemists are spending all their time doing PCR tests. “What kind of doctors is this one year going to produce?” said Dr. Shraddha Subramanian, a resident doctor in the department of surgery at Sassoon Hospital.

In this current COVID-19 pandemic, getting out has become completely unsafe. Therefore, it has become more difficult to seek medical care in a hospital or doctor's chamber. However, even in this condition, other diseases besides corona have not stopped. To address this situation, different health apps come forward to provide doctor consultation services online based on digital technology so that everyone can get the necessary health care in a safe and easy way at home. Now, anyone from all over the country can take the advice of an experienced doctor from any part of the country at any convenient time for their health-related needs through the mobile app. Following are the top health apps for online doctor consultation services in Bangladesh. Best Bangladeshi health apps in 2021 Tonic Tonic is a top-notch healthcare information and service in Bangladesh from Grameenphone that offers its service via website and mobile app. Tonic service is available 24/7 and you can get the service through the app or by calling at 20000 from any number. Besides, you can also get the live video consultation service if required. Furthermore, you can even chat with the doctors via the Tonic mobile app. It is a kind of insurance service and comes with different packages starting from Tk. 50/month to Tk. 310/month. With the tonic service, you can get up to 50% discount at more than 250 hospitals in Bangladesh. The tonic mobile app is available for both Android and iOS devices. Praava Health Praava aims to provide an excellent patient experience online and offline. Further, they work as a one-stop solution for healthcare, doctors and quality diagnostics, and more. They offer doctors from almost all the medical fields. Which you can access through the website and apps from your android or iOS devices. Praava offers Bangladesh’s first Molecular Cancer Diagnostics laboratory. However, all the offerings are available for the members which start from around Tk. 3,300/ year. However, they have different plans for the video consultation service that starts from Tk. 1,600/ 3 months for 4 family members. Furthermore, Praava offers a corporate plan which can be cheaper depending on the deals. Read Online Pharmacy: Where to Buy Medicine in Dhaka during Coronavirus Home Quarantine QuickMed QuickMed came out as a telemedicine platform, which also provides service online through their fast website and mobile apps available on Android and iOS. QuickMed offers a variety of services such as online appointments, video consultations, electronic health records, and E-prescription. Apart from the doctor's booking, you can get priority in the nearest diagnostic center if you have their membership. QuickMed has a wide range of specialists including, Gynecology, Psychiatry, Skin & VD, Cardiology, Neurology, Urology, and Medicine. However, all the test details and prescription information is accessible by the patients online. Doctor Dekhao Doctor Dekhao offers health care in a single tap via their Android and iOS apps. The process is simple, you need to download the app on your phone and then create an account within few taps. After that, you can make an appointment from the list of doctors and specialists and get the consultation via video calling. Besides, if you need to consult a doctor urgently, you may apply for an instant appointment. As soon as you are done with the video consultancy, you will get the e-prescription right into your app. On top of that Doctor, Dekhao offers medicine reminders as well as store your medical reports. It comes with ten different packages starting from Tk. 100. Another best feature of Doctor Dekhao is having the service 24/7.  Shebaghar Through the Shebaghar online doctor consultation app, you will get to access 316 doctors in different categories. You can book a doctor via the Shebaghar website or even from their Android and iOS apps. The doctor’s consultancy fees may vary according to the department and their experience. You will get to see the price on the list. The good thing about Shebaghar is that you will find a doctor for all kinds of diseases. However, the doctor complies with a permanent slot to attend to the patients via video call. Read How to Use Ridesharing Vehicles Safely during COVID19 Pandemic Bdcare Unlike other online consultation services, Bdcare offers its service via Android apps as well as via the website. Whether you want to access the doctor via website or apps, patient registration is required. However, the doctor’s consultation fee may vary in certain factors, but you will get access at a reasonable price which starts from Tk. 300. The online appointment at Bdcare will cost you less money than the physical appointment. Besides, the patients will have the opportunity to ask follow-up questions for free for two days after the consultancy. Bdcare also offers health checkups to its clients from Tk. 4,480 to Tk. 7,520. However, the price may vary depending on their offers and promotions. TeleMedi TeleMedi has a diverse service for their clients which includes online doctor consultation and doctors are available from different districts. Like all the online doctor consultancy services, TeliMedi also requires registering prior to taking the service. Besides, the service is available via iOS and Android devices. TeliMedi follows the three simple steps to provide the service. You will need to find a doctor then check the doctor’s profile to know if it fits with your problems. Next, make the payment and book a visit with your desired doctor Apart from the doctor booking service, TeleMedi also offers ambulance, pathological tests, and pharmacy services. Read Best Ride-Sharing Apps in Bangladesh MedicsBD It is just another online doctor consultation service provider that connects you with a doctor from a different background. Currently, they are offering services via website only. However, MedicsBD will bring out the mobile apps soon. But their website is accessible through the phone’s briers. On top of this, they also provide service for the students and nurses. Bottom Line With the increasing accessibility of the internet and smartphones, doctors have become available at our fingertips. You may check any of these 8 websites and apps to get your desired doctor. However, you should also do some research on the doctors before setting up an appointment. Read Best Food Delivery Apps in Bangladesh in 2021

 A study presented by the Bertelsmann Stiftung (Foundation) on Tuesday showed that diagnoses often lead to unnecessary surgeries and medical therapies in Germany.