Medical devices and drugs have long accelerated diagnoses, improved lifespans, and helped people with disabilities to thrive.
This year was no different. In 2024, the FDA approved quite a few treatments and devices designed for patients living with everything from schizophrenia to osteoporosis.
Were you too busy to follow along? Honestly, we don’t blame you.
To help you out, we compiled a few interesting and potentially transformative healthcare developments. At the very least, it’ll help you bank some office holiday party conversation topics!
Schizophrenia
The FDA approved an antipsychotic drug in September that takes a new approach to treating schizophrenia—one of the 15 leading causes of disability worldwide, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
For decades, drugs for schizophrenia have targeted dopamine receptors. But Bristol Myers Squibb’s twice-daily capsule Cobenfy (xanomeline and trospium chloride) is the first-ever schizophrenia drug that targets cholinergic receptors, which are activated by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
This follows decades of smaller studies connecting schizophrenia to issues with cholinergic receptors (these help regulate many important cognitive functions, including conscious awareness, attention, and working memory).
This new drug offers another option for patients who haven’t found symptom relief from traditional meds. What’s more, Yale Medicine noted that the drug isn’t expected to cause many of the same side effects—like weight gain and drowsiness—that can lead some patients to stop taking their medications.
Cobenfy has its own potential side effects though, like stomach and digestional issues, hypertension, tachycardia, and dizziness, according to a 256-person clinical trial, the FDA reported.
Over-the-counter addition
Let’s move now to an upgrade on a staple medical device: Continuous glucose monitors—previously only available with a prescription—are now offered over the counter across the US.
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The FDA approved Dexcom’s Stelo Glucose Biosensor System as the first over-the-counter device in March.
These wearable monitors are an alternative to test strips (which require daily finger pricks) for adult patients who don’t take insulin but want to monitor their glucose, like those with prediabetes.
Prior to this over-the-counter version, the device could be pricey for patients without insurance. GoodRx estimated that prescription monitors can cost anywhere from under $2,000 to $7,000 annually, depending on the brand.
Stelo sensors are on the lower end of that spectrum. Patients can try out two sensors for $99 or subscribe to receive sensors for one ($89) or three ($252) months. Each sensor lasts up to 15 days, so if a person used two a month, they'd spend a little north of $1,000 a year.
Shaking things up
We’re closing out this list with an invention that’s pretty straightforward: a vibrating belt.
The FDA gave breakthrough device marketing authorization in January to Bone Health Technologies’s Osteoboost Belt.
The company says that the belt creates vibrations that target the lumbar spine and hips to help rebuild bone density and strength in postmenopausal women with low bone mass, a precursor to osteoporosis. More than 43 million patients in the US have low bone mass, according to the CDC.
The idea of this belt, according to the company, is to mimic the effects of high-intensity exercise—which, along with a balanced diet, is a leading go-to treatment for rebuilding bone and muscle strength.
A randomized controlled clinical trial found that postmenopausal women who wore the device at least three times a week for a year lost less spine bone strength and density compared to women who didn’t.