Medicine in the 21st Century (AQA GCSE History)

How has medicine changed in the 21st century? - Summary

Medicine in the 21st century is very advanced, changing how we understand and treat illnesses. One major development is the role of genetics. Scientists can now study DNA to predict diseases and develop treatments. This has led to breakthroughs in treating conditions like cancer, where chemotherapy and radiotherapy are used to target and destroy harmful cells. These treatments, though intense, have saved countless lives and continue to improve as technology advances. People also pay more attention to the role of diet in maintaining health, recognising how a good diet can prevent many diseases like heart problems and diabetes.

Alternative treatments have also become more popular in the 21st century. While some of these methods lack scientific evidence to fully prove their effectiveness, many people find them helpful for managing pain, stress, and certain chronic conditions.

Surgery has also seen significant improvements, making it safer and more effective. 21st-century advancements, combined with other modern medical technologies, show how far medicine has come. This has extended life expectancy in Modern Britain.

Diseases in the 21st century

Genetics

• In the 1950s scientists discovered germs are not responsible for all diseases

  • People could be born with their illness

The discovery of DNA

• Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins produced an x-ray image of DNA in 1951

• Francis Crick (an English scientist) and James Watson (an American scientist) worked together at Cambridge University

  • They had a shared interest in discovering more about human biology

• In 1953, Crick and Watson published their discovery of the double helix structure of DNA

IMAGE

A diagram showing the double helix structure of DNA

Linking DNA to disease

• The discovery of DNA allowed scientists to understand how parents could pass down genes to their children

• Scientists could use DNA to understand what combinations of DNA cause hereditary disease 

  • A woman with the BRCA gene in her DNA has an increased chance of developing breast cancer

    • The actress Angelina Jolie has the BRCA gene and chose to have a mastectomy

• This has helped our understanding of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's

Lifestyle

• By the 1950s, scientists began to understand how a person's lifestyle could affect their health

• As new habits develop in the 21st century, scientists continue to research the potential impact on health

Smoking

• Studies in the late 1990s/early 2000s discovered the risk of second-hand smoking

  • Second-hand smokers do not smoke cigarettes themselves. They breathe in tobacco smoke from a person smoking in the same room

  • Second-hand smokers are more likely to develop asthma and lung cancers than those who are not around cigarette smoke

• Scientists are unsure yet of the impact of vaping on health

  • Early research states it could include addiction and lung conditions.

Diet

• People in the Medieval times recognised the importance of diet 

  • Books like Regimen Sanitatis wrote about the dangers of over-eating and the healing properties of certain food

• In the 21st century, the science behind why a healthy diet is important is now understood

  • Too much sugar may cause Type 2 diabetes

  • Food high in saturated fats may lead to heart disease

  • People may develop illnesses if their diet doesn't contain the required levels of vitamins and minerals

    • A diet which lacks iron-rich foods such as meat, beans and leafy greens may cause iron deficiency anaemia

The influence of other lifestyle factors

• Alcohol

  • Drinking too much alcohol may lead to liver and kidney problems

• Sharing bodily fluids

  • Unprotected sex or using infected needles may increase the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV

• Tanning

  • Using tanning beds or overexposure to the sun may lead to skin cancers

Treatments in the 21st century

The Human Genome Project

• Watson launched the Human Genome Project in 1990

  • Eighteen teams of scientists across the world worked together to plot the human genome

  • They did not complete their first draft until 2000

Limitations of the Human Genome Project

• Most treatments are not based on the understanding of DNA 

  • Doctors now understand the causes of disease better

  • Treatments using DNA are in the very early stages of development

• Genetic therapy is a rapidly advancing area of science which researches using DNA to create treatments

  • Scientists discovered the RPE65 gene caused severe sight loss and blindness

  • In 2017, Jean Bennett and Albert Maguire used the gene to develop an injection that restored people's vision

Radiotherapy

• The process aims radiation at a tumour to reduce its size

  • Radiation can target the tumour from outside the body or a catheter can administer radiation next to the tumour

• Radiotherapy is an effective treatment for different sizes of tumours

  • Small tumours may be destroyed without the use of surgery

  • It may slow down the growth of larger tumours 

Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy involves injecting drugs into the patient over the course of multiple treatments spanning several months

  • Some drugs kill the cancerous tumours or slow their growth

  • Other drugs will treat the symptoms of the cancer

• Chemotherapy can cause severe side effects such as:

  • Extreme sickness

  • Hair loss

  • A higher risk of catching infections

Antibiotics

• In the 21st century, some bacteria have become resistant to penicillin

  • Penicillin-resistant strains of bacteria emerged as early as 1942

• When antibiotics became readily available in the 1950s, doctors prescribed them too often

  • Antibiotics only work for bacterial infections yet they were being offered to patients with viruses

• A government report in 2018 discovered that GPs in England incorrectly prescribed 20% of patients with antibiotics 

• Scientists must continue to discover new antibiotics to combat 'superbugs' like MRSA

Alternative treatments in the 21st century

• Some people in modern times explore other treatment options to mainstream, Western medicine

  • They have taken influence from past treatments and Eastern medicine to treat their illnesses

Acupuncture

• Small needles are placed on pressure points around the body

  • This aims to relieve pain in these areas

Hypnotherapy

• A hypnotherapist places a patient into a deep, relaxed state

• In this state, the hypnotherapist uses a range of techniques to:

  • treat an illness

  • change a habit, such as smoking

Aromatherapy

• The use of natural oils to improve mental and physical wellbeing

• Patients can either:

  • inhale the smells

  • rub the oils into their skin

Herbal remedies

• Traditional herbal remedies from Medieval times remain popular today

  • For example, many people continue to use honey and lemon to treat a sore throat

Surgical methods in the 21st century

• Surgery in modern times is much safer

  • Modern surgery has methods to cope with the three major problems of surgery

    • Blood loss

    • Pain

    • Infection

Scanning

• Surgeons can use a range of techniques to look inside the body before an operation

X-rays

• This is a type of radiation called electromagnetic wave used to take pictures within the body

• X-rays are used to diagnose conditions such as broken bones

• X-rays do not provide an image with enough detail to accurately diagnose conditions such as lung cancer

CT scans

• CT stands for Computerised Tomography

• It uses X-rays and a computer to create detailed images of the inside of the body

• Dye is injected into a patient to see conditions like cancer more clearly

PET CT scans

• A different type of CT scan

• Instead of dye, a small amount of radiation is injected into the patient before the scan

  • This shows tumours more easily

MRI scan

• MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

• This scan uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images

• Patients are placed inside of an MRI scanner

  • This allows doctors to look at almost any part of the body

    • It can diagnose a large range of illnesses

Surgical technology

• 21st-century surgeons have access to a wide range of science and technology to perform more accurate surgery

• Microsurgery

  • This allows the transplant of organs

  • The first successful operation was a kidney transplant (1956)

    • This led the way to lung transplants (1963) and heart transplants (1967)

• Laparoscopic (Keyhole) surgery

  • Operations that can be completed through smaller incisions using cameras

  • This helps the body to heal from surgery more quickly

• Robotic surgery

  • Using equipment controlled by computers ensures more accurate surgery

    • This is vital for surgery that requires millimetre precision, for example, brain surgery

  • Patients can be fitted with robotics to improve their quality of life

    • An example of this is prosthetic limbs for amputees

• Mechanised organs

  • Dialysis can perform the function of the kidneys, ridding the body of waste

  • A heart bypass operation involves a machine which takes on the role of the heart