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Nanomedicine:
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Sound like rocket science?
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Allow me to explain
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“Nano” in math means “10 to the negative ninth power.”
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In plain words, that means “itsy-bitsy.”
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By using new, improved properties of materials at the nanometer scale, nanomedicine is medicine performed at an extremely small level,
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working with particles that are so tiny, you could fit 5,000 of them
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around a single human hair.
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The fact that we can now see and work with such small particles means a lot for the future of medicine – in many ways!
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It gives doctors like me the potential to detect diseases earlier
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and increase the accuracy of their diagnoses.
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Diagnostic information can be delivered more quickly and cost-efficiently,
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and advanced imagery tools can be developed,
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to see the body better.
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We can also make great advances in regenerative medicine, by using appropriate nano-structures
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to repair human cells, tissues, skins, bones, or organs and get them back into working order.
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Most nanomedicine products that are already available
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are drug delivery systems,
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where nanoparticles carry and deliver drugs
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to specific parts of the body more efficiently.
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This process is controlled so accurately that,
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compared with standard medicine, side effects are
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reduced and treatment effectiveness and patient safety are increased.
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A more revolutionary development in nanomedicine is “nanoparticles with intrinsic therapeutic efficacy.”
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These particles aren’t a vehicle for targeted drug delivery anymore,
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but instead they’re the principal active element
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that will provide completely new ways to treat patients!
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Overall, nanomedicine can be used to improve the treatments of several diseases,
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like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease, for the benefit of patients.
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As with any other drugs or medical products, nanomedicine products are thoroughly tested in the lab and in real conditions before being approved by official regulatory bodies and prescribed to patients.
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Nanomedicine means the future is of medicine is really small… and very bright!