The Oscars. One of our favorite nights. Not just because it celebrates filmmaking, but also because it reminds us where we are in our culture. And how far we’ve come.

Many of this year’s Oscars contenders depict characters struggling with many life-altering diseases: AIDS In Dallas Buyer’s Club; a heart condition inAmerican Hustle; and addiction in The Wolf of Wall Street, August Osage County, Nebraska, The Great Beauty and Blue Jasmine.

With these diseases front and center, we thought we’d share the latest medical research and advances in these areas.

HIV/AIDS:  Almost 30 years after Ron Woodroof was diagnosed with HIV and given 30 days to live, we’ve come a long way. Last year, specialists were thrilled when two patients in Boston appeared cured after receiving stem-cell transplants. But months later, Dr. Timothy Henrich rediscovered HIV in both subjects, finding the virus hiding in the brain, liver, and gut. Indeed, a disappointment, but leading researcher Mike McCune, believes that findingexactly where the virus is, is what will lead to the cure. And in December Obama announced The White House and the NIH’s endorsement of spending$100 million to find a cure. This week, Egypt announced their invention of a“miracle machine” that cures HIV and Hepatitis C, but most are skeptical of their claim that it cures 100% of AIDS patients tested by “breaking apart the disease in the blood stream and returning purified blood back into the body.”

HEART DISEASE:  Heart disease continues to be the leading killer— and American Hustle perpetuates the stereotypical image of men as the most vulnerable victims of heart conditions. But did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, too?  According to the American Heart Association, women develop heart disease roughly 10 years later than men — and what’s really challenging is that women don’t have the same telltale signs (stiff arm, shortness of breath, and a tight chest). Most women don’t even know this; thus, Barbra Streisand and Ronald Perelman recently came together to create an organization around the #1 killer of women in the world.

ADDICTION:  The “DSM-V,” in its first big overhaul in 20 years, changed the definition of drug and alcohol addiction, which afflicts more than 20 million Americans. The American Psychiatric Association conflated “abuse” and “dependence” under the umbrella term, “Substance Use Disorder,” signifying that abuse and dependence are symptoms of a psychological and physical illness. Our friend, Bryan Rabin and creator of the LA Nightclub Giorgio’s, told us how infuriated he was when people were talking about Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death as a result of weakness. “Addiction is a deadly disease whether you are using or not. Abstaining in drugs and alcohol is not recovery. It’s a disease in the center of your mind.”

Indeed, great movies have the power to illuminate life’s worst afflictions, but they also encourage us to make progress.

Keep Learning,

Brad Grossman
Founder, Grossman and Partners
Creator, ZEITGUIDE

Artwork by Kristofer Porter

Also – A HUGE thanks to Cool Hunting for reviewing Zeitguide 2014 “an almanac for the ever-changing zeitgeist” that “delivers unparalleled insight into the direction we’re all moving.”

Get Zeitguide 2014 here.