History Of Medical Research Research Articles

The Next Era of Biomedical Research

The Next Era of Biomedical Research

Chips Hold the Key to Reproductive Health.

Female reproductive medicine may not have been entirely overlooked in the history of medical research, but it has never been given the attention that it deserves. There are signs, however, that the spotlight is turning toward the most essential of human processes.

A Research Enclave in 1940s Nigeria: The Rockefeller Foundation Yellow Fever Research Institute at Yaba, Lagos, 1943-49.

This article examines the history of yellow fever research carried out in West Africa in the 1940s by Rockefeller Foundation scientists. It engages with a number of debates in the history of medical research in colonial Africa, including experimentation, the construction of the "field," and biosecurity.

Gendered Innovations in Orthopaedic Science: Standing on the Shoulders of iGIANTs

Gendered Innovations in Orthopaedic Science: Standing on the Shoulders of iGIANTs

Importancia de la incorporación del “Instrumento de Evaluación La Salle” en Comités de Ética en Investigación.

La investigación es una actividad necesaria y fundamental para fomentar el desarrollo en cualquier ámbito. Una de las líneas fundamentales de la investigación biomédica va dirigida hacia la generación o elaboración de nuevos conocimientos sobre el funcionamiento fisiológico y patológico de los órganos y sistemas del ser humano en búsqueda de obtener modos eficientes de prevención, diagnóstico oportuno y tratamientos adecuados.La historia de la investigación médica se ha basado en la curiosidad y buena intención del investigador, confiados en su buen juicio ético y moral, sin embargo no siempre ha sido así. Se han llevado a cabo experimentos sin ningún sustento ético que han obedecido al desconocimiento o intereses personales del investigador en donde el sujeto de investigación ha sido utilizado sin considerar su bienestar y el respeto a sus derechos humanos. La investigación en sujetos humanos requiere de una metodología rigurosa, pero también la observación absoluta de los aspectos éticos, situación que deben seguir tanto el investigador como los evaluadores del proyecto. Por ello, la Facultad Mexicana de Medicina de la Universidad La Salle construyó y validó un instrumento que evalúa los aspectos éticos de la investigación biomédica en seres humanos, llamado “Instrumento de Evaluación La Salle”, instrumento que ha sido utilizado desde hace un año y que permite apreciar e identificar cada una de las áreas y variables que deben ser consideradas desde el punto de vista ético en un proyecto de investigación, que sumada a la evaluación escrupulosa de la metodología permitirá a los Comités regulatorios facilitar el dictamen del proyecto de investigación biomédica en seres humanos.

Antithrombotic therapy for acute coronary syndrome: Past, present and future.

Plaque erosions and ruptures are the histopathological hallmarks of arterial thrombus formation in the coronary arteries. The clinical condition associated with this process is usually referred to as acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Importantly, both blood platelets and the coagulation cascade are key players for initiation, amplification and perpetuation of ACS. There has been great progress in ACS treatment in recent decades, both at the technical level of (percutaneous) revascularisation and at the level of antithrombotic treatment. Numerous trials have led to significant advancements in the development of effective anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs. The large number of randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs) and the huge number of patients enrolled in these RCTs, with mega trials including >10,000 patients, is unique in the history of medical research and also reflects the exceptional efforts associated with these huge research activities. The crucial issue, however, with respect to optimising treatment, relates to finding the delicate balance between the reduction of thrombotic events by effective drug treatment and the induction of bleeding that is linked to the use of potent or multiple antithrombotic agents. Interestingly, there is a gap in modern days between current guideline recommendations favouring potent platelet inhibition in ACS and the utilization of the respective drugs in clinical practice. In this review, we will summarise and discuss the past, present and future antithrombotic treatment for ACS patients with a focus on the development of optimised antiplatelet treatment strategies and their utilisation in the real world.

GLOBAL HEALTH, MEDICINE, AND MEDICAL RESEARCH IN AFRICA - P. Wenzel Geissler and Catherine Molyneux, eds. Evidence, Ethos and Experiment: The Anthropology and History of Medical Research in Africa. New York: Berghahn Books, 2011. x + 498 pp. Photographs. Index. $99.00. Cloth. $95.00. EBook. - Hansjorg Dilger, Abdoulaye Kanye, and Stacey A. Langwick, eds. Medicine, Mobility, and Power in Global

P. Wenzel Geissler and Catherine Molyneux, eds. Evidence, Ethos and Experiment: The Anthropology and History of Medical Research in Africa. New York: Berghahn Books, 201 1. x + 498 pp. Photographs. Index. $99.00. Cloth. $95.00. EBook.Hansjorg Dilger, Abdoulaye Kanye, and Stacey A. Langwick, eds. Medicine, Mobility, and Power in Global Africa: Transnational Health and Healing. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2012. vi + 348 pp. Acknowledgments. Contributors. Index. $80.00. Cloth $27.95. Paper. EBook. $22.99.Tamara Giles-Vernick and James L. A. Webb, Jr., eds. Global Health in Africa: Historical Perspectives on Disease Control. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2013. viii + 246 pp. Contributors. Index. $80.00. Cloth. $32.95. Paper.I can usually gauge my enthusiasm for a book by how dog-eared, spinebroken, and scrawled upon it is. An entirely unscientific measure, no doubt, but reliable all the same. It follows that the more beat-up and gutter-dragged a book looks, the more inspired or useful I found it. Three new edited volumes broadly revolving around issues of global health, medicine, history, and anthropology in Africa satisfied me in very different ways. And I can report that all of the books reviewed in this essay have been defaced with multiple colors of pen ink as I've read and noted (sometimes arguing in the margins); I've also flagged many new citations to look up, and made notes to go back and reread some older works. Although each of these books has a particular target audience, there is still a great mass of readers-medical historians or anthropologists of Africa, global health practitioners, those who teach classes in global health or African studies-who will find selected chapters in each of these books valuable.Despite some general thematic overlaps, the books vary substantially in their regional foci, their theoretical orientation, and their intended audience. The most explicitly anthropological book is Dilger, Kanye, and Langwick's Medicine, Mobility, and Power in Global Africa. Not only are a majority of the contributors anthropologists, but the chapters also speak to one another through a common language of shared references and overlapping questions. For anyone looking for a book to assign to undergraduates, or to recommend to students who are interested in the field of global health, the collection edited by Giles-Vernick and Webb, Global Health in Africa, is the obvious choice. It is clearly written and the brief chapters cover a range of topics both historical and current; students will have a sense of the field without being put off by too much theory or technical language. For anyone with an interest in medical research in Africa-be it historical or modern, doing it or studying it-the volume by Geissler and Molyneux is particularly worthwhile. Evidence, Ethos, and Experiment is the longest of the three books and its value is in the diversity of topics, locations, and disciplines represented. (Be warned, though, that this book is most likely to leave you with a pile of citations to look up.)Medicine, Mobility, and Power in Global Africa is organized into thematic parts and twelve chapters (part 1, Scale as an Effect of Power; part 2, Alternative Forms of Globality; and part 3, Moving Through the Gaps). The volume includes chapters on Tanzania, Senegal, Nigeria, Mali, Togo, Niger, Ghana, Somaliland, and Kenya, in addition to a few chapters addressing themes that crisscross the continent. This is a good spread of countries, and it is especially useful to have English sources on countries such as Mali, Togo, and Niger. The emphasis on mobilities allows for a focus on diasporic communities and transnational case studies.Chapters near the end of the book were particularly interesting for a nonanthropologist, and exposed me to both new empirical information and new authors. Adeline Masquelier's Health or Public Threat? presents a nuanced explanation for why polio eradication efforts have been stalled in Niger. …

Experiment und Exzess

Besides the context of l’affaire, which is imbedded in the history of medical research, the author also engages with de Sade’s key writings for a comprehensive analysis. It becomes apparent that the discourse indeed anticipates central, rhetorical elements of the debate on vivisection in the 19th century. Yet these elements merely function as a discursive medium: For it is not the ethics of medicine but those of the Marquis that are negotiated.

Evidence, Ethos and Experiment: The Anthropology and History of Medical Research in Africa. P. WenzelGeissler and CatherineMolyneux, eds. New York: Berghahn Books 2011; 498 pp.

This article was downloaded by: [Vincanne Adams] On: 20 March 2015, At: 17:04 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Global Public Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rgph20 Alternative accounting in maternal and infant global health a b c Vincanne Adams , Sienna R. Craig & Arlene Samen a Department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA b Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA c Click for updates One Heart World-Wide, San Francisco, CA, USA Published online: 18 Mar 2015. To cite this article: Vincanne Adams, Sienna R. Craig & Arlene Samen (2015): Alternative accounting in maternal and infant global health, Global Public Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice, DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2015.1021364 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2015.1021364 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &

Evidence, ethos and experiment: anthropology and history of medical research in Africa, edited by Geissler, P. Wenzel and Catherine Molyneux

Evidence, ethos and experiment: anthropology and history of medical research in Africa, edited by Geissler, P. Wenzel and Catherine Molyneux

Letter from the Editor

The term extracellular matrix (ECM) has generated various associations throughout the history of medical research. While the spontaneously organizing fibers of connective tissue were originally thought to be the basis of life, the advent of the cellular concept by Rudolf Virchow put the ECM into the second line reducing their function to a mere scaffold and glue (“collagen”). Over the past decades our knowledge of the composition of the physiologic ECM has increased steadily and many possible interactions of several ECM components with cytokines and cell receptors have been discovered, making the ECM a promising target for improving the performance of biomaterials. The reviews in this Special Issue of Biomatter reflect the work of a Collaborative Research Center (TRR 67) of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) based in Leipzig and Dresden, Germany, dedicated to matrix engineering in soft and hard tissues.

The Early-Stage Patient-Oriented Researcher in 2012: Challenges and Strategies

The Early-Stage Patient-Oriented Researcher in 2012: Challenges and Strategies

Erika Dyck, Psychedelic psychiatry: LSD from clinic to campus, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, pp. xiii, 199, £19.00 (hardback 978-0-8018-8994-3).

This book explores the history of early LSD experimentation in Saskatchewan, the unlikely birthplace of psychedelic psychiatry. In 1944, the small, primarily rural, province of Saskatchewan became the first province in Canada to elect a socialist government. The promise of health-care reform, including significant support for research, lured many medical researchers to the province. Dyck argues that the combination of progressive doctors, a high degree of professional autonomy and a supportive research environment allowed psychiatrists in Saskatchewan to innovate and take risks. One of the people who came to Saskatchewan was Humphry Osmond, a British-trained psychiatrist, who had been working on the links between mescaline and hallucinations. Along with several colleagues, Osmond had theorized that schizophrenia might be the result of an error in the metabolization of adrenalin, which led the body to produce a substance similar to mescaline. In Saskatchewan, Osmond met a number of sympathetic researchers including Abram Hoffer, a Saskatchewan-born psychiatrist with a background in agricultural chemistry, who shared Osmond's belief that much mental illness was caused by biochemical imbalances. Osmond, Hoffer and others began their research with mescaline but quickly changed to the more readily available and potent LSD. They began by using the drug themselves and cataloguing their reactions. Eventually, they tested it on friends, family members, health-care workers, students and members of a Mental Health committee at the Regina Chamber of Commerce. Their studies showed that LSD produced intense, but usually pleasurable hallucinations, a profound feeling of spiritual connection, even among non-believers, as well as difficulties with time perception and problems organizing and communicating thoughts. They compared these experiences with autobiographical experiences of mental illness and were struck by the similarities. Eventually, they gave LSD to recovered schizophrenics and asked them to compare the experience of LSD and their illness. By the late 1950s, Osmond and Hoffer began presenting the results of their work, arguing their studies showed that schizophrenia was the result of a biochemical imbalance. Dyck concludes that their work achieved little recognition outside Saskatchewan, in part because of their opposition to controlled clinical trials, which were then becoming the gold standard in psychopharmacology. Their failure to get their research more widely noticed made me wonder if their relative isolation made it difficult for them to keep up with a rapidly developing field, and if their research was the weaker for it, but Dyck focuses her attention on Osmond and Hoffer's belief that research which took into account subjective (and often spiritual) experiences could produce better results for patients. Much of Osmond and Hoffer's therapeutic work with LSD focused on alcoholism. They believed that LSD's power to effect personal transformation, especially spiritual growth, made it an excellent treatment tool. Supported by the local Alcoholics Anonymous, which also stressed the importance of spiritual growth, they treated hundreds of patients. But by the late 1960s, the growing black market in LSD, widespread use of the drug by young people, and gruesome media tales of the dangers of LSD made it difficult to continue their research. This book will be of interest to anyone in the history of psychiatry, the history of psychotropic drugs, and the history of medical research. The focus on Saskatchewan provides a valuable case study of how national and provincial politics affects research. That said, I wish that Dyck had more often broadened her focus beyond Osmond and Hoffer to explain what other researchers were doing with LSD at the same time. Hopefully, future scholars will take Dyck's careful and insightful attention to the local and apply it to LSD research in other places.

Dark Medicine: Rationalizing Unethical Medical Research

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book ReviewFull AccessDark Medicine: Rationalizing Unethical Medical ResearchCharles W. Lidz Ph.D.Charles W. Lidz Ph.D.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:13 Jan 2015https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2009.60.8.1146AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail For those interested in medical research ethics, this is an important book. With so much of the day-to-day discussions in bioethics focused on the wording of consent forms and other details, this volume raises some of the most profound issues in the history of medical research. It also raises some difficult issues in today's medical research.The historical material in this volume is divided into three parts: Germany and the Nazis, World War II Japanese experiments, and Cold War American experiments. The primary focus of the five essays on Nazi medical experiments is the way in which mainstream German medicine was complicit with the abusive medical research. Psychiatrists, in particular, played important roles in developing genocidal methods in the killing of large numbers of people with serious mental illnesses and cognitive disabilities. Psychiatrists were not alone, however. Some prominent scientists played a role in justifying and even planning the mass killings by the SS. It is also important to recognize that much of the research done in these medical experiments, gruesome and awful as it was, was directed at real scientific questions.Although most of us know something about the Nazi medical experiments, the Japanese abuse of human subjects is less discussed. Although the history is complex, many of the abuses were part of the Japanese military's attempt to develop effective biological warfare agents. Part of the reason that they are not better known is that American occupation forces decided to keep the experiments secret as part of our own use of the information collected. Frederick R. Dickinson's interesting essay shows that, despite claims that the Japanese have downplayed World War II crimes, there has been much public discussion and media coverage of these unethical experiments in Japan.Although one must wonder why it is in a book about medical research, a startling chapter concerns the possible use of biological warfare by the American army during the Korean War. Although the evidence is not conclusive, it is worthy of more serious investigation. That essay and two others make clear that, in the name of national security, the United States has not been ethically pure.Perhaps the most interesting essay in this volume, however, is not historical. Renée C. Fox's essay about iatrogenesis and the ways in which it is woven into conventional medicine is eye opening. Her thesis is that the practice of medicine routinely involves doing harm, as well as benefit, to patients. Think of the damage that chemotherapy does to healthy cells as well as to cancer cells or the side effects of antipsychotic medication. This is not to say that our approach to medical care is wrong but that negative effects are not incidental, but built in, to our approaches to treatment.Although the quality of the essays in this volume is uneven, important issues are raised that should be considered by everyone who is interested in the history and ethics of medicine and medical research.The reviewer reports no competing interests.Dr. Lidz is research professor of psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester. FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited byNone Volume 60Issue 8 August, 2009Pages 1146-1146PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES August 2009 Volume 60 Number 8 Metrics PDF download History Published online 13 January 2015 Published in print 1 August 2009

Dark Medicine: Rationalizing Unethical Medical Research

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book ReviewFull AccessDark Medicine: Rationalizing Unethical Medical ResearchCharles W. Lidz Ph.D.Charles W. Lidz Ph.D.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:13 Jan 2015https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2009.60.8.1146AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail For those interested in medical research ethics, this is an important book. With so much of the day-to-day discussions in bioethics focused on the wording of consent forms and other details, this volume raises some of the most profound issues in the history of medical research. It also raises some difficult issues in today's medical research.The historical material in this volume is divided into three parts: Germany and the Nazis, World War II Japanese experiments, and Cold War American experiments. The primary focus of the five essays on Nazi medical experiments is the way in which mainstream German medicine was complicit with the abusive medical research. Psychiatrists, in particular, played important roles in developing genocidal methods in the killing of large numbers of people with serious mental illnesses and cognitive disabilities. Psychiatrists were not alone, however. Some prominent scientists played a role in justifying and even planning the mass killings by the SS. It is also important to recognize that much of the research done in these medical experiments, gruesome and awful as it was, was directed at real scientific questions.Although most of us know something about the Nazi medical experiments, the Japanese abuse of human subjects is less discussed. Although the history is complex, many of the abuses were part of the Japanese military's attempt to develop effective biological warfare agents. Part of the reason that they are not better known is that American occupation forces decided to keep the experiments secret as part of our own use of the information collected. Frederick R. Dickinson's interesting essay shows that, despite claims that the Japanese have downplayed World War II crimes, there has been much public discussion and media coverage of these unethical experiments in Japan.Although one must wonder why it is in a book about medical research, a startling chapter concerns the possible use of biological warfare by the American army during the Korean War. Although the evidence is not conclusive, it is worthy of more serious investigation. That essay and two others make clear that, in the name of national security, the United States has not been ethically pure.Perhaps the most interesting essay in this volume, however, is not historical. Renée C. Fox's essay about iatrogenesis and the ways in which it is woven into conventional medicine is eye opening. Her thesis is that the practice of medicine routinely involves doing harm, as well as benefit, to patients. Think of the damage that chemotherapy does to healthy cells as well as to cancer cells or the side effects of antipsychotic medication. This is not to say that our approach to medical care is wrong but that negative effects are not incidental, but built in, to our approaches to treatment.Although the quality of the essays in this volume is uneven, important issues are raised that should be considered by everyone who is interested in the history and ethics of medicine and medical research.The reviewer reports no competing interests.Dr. Lidz is research professor of psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester. FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited ByNone Volume 60Issue 8 August, 2009Pages 1146-1146PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES August 2009 Volume 60 Number 8 Metrics PDF download History Published online 13 January 2015 Published in print 1 August 2009

Tuberculosis and leprosy in perspective

Two of humankind's most socially and psychologically devastating diseases, tuberculosis and leprosy, have been the subject of intensive paleopathological research due to their antiquity, a presumed association with human settlement and subsistence patterns, and their propensity to leave characteristic lesions on skeletal and mummified remains. Despite a long history of medical research and the development of effective chemotherapy, these diseases remain global health threats even in the 21st century, and as such, their causative agents Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. leprae, respectively, have recently been the subject of molecular genetics research. The new genome-level data for several mycobacterial species have informed extensive phylogenetic analyses that call into question previously accepted theories concerning the origins and antiquity of these diseases. Of special note is the fact that all new models are in broad agreement that human TB predated that in other animals, including cattle and other domesticates, and that this disease originated at least 35,000 years ago and probably closer to 2.6 million years ago. In this work, we review current phylogenetic and biogeographic models derived from molecular biology and explore their implications for the global development of TB and leprosy, past and present. In so doing, we also briefly review the skeletal evidence for TB and leprosy, explore the current status of these pathogens, critically consider current methods for identifying ancient mycobacterial DNA, and evaluate coevolutionary models.

Improving the Performance of the Education Sector: The Valuable, Challenging, and Limited Role of Random Assignment Evaluations

In an attempt to improve the quality of educational research, the US Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences has provided funding for 65 randomized controlled trials of educational interventions. We argue that this research methodology is more effective in providing guidance to extremely troubled schools about how to make some progress than guidance to schools trying to move from making some progress to becoming high-performance organizations. We also argue that the conventional view of medical research—discoveries made in specialized laboratories that are then tested using randomized control trials—is an inaccurate description of the sources of advances in medical practice. Moreover, this conventional view of the sources of advances in medical practice leads to incorrect inferences about how to improve educational research. We illustrate this argument using evidence from the history of medical research on the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

Cognitive Regeneration or Enhancement: the Ethical Issues

The neurological and physiological basis of brain function and disease has been a significant focus of investigation throughout the history of medical research. Recent advances in understanding have led to the development of new treatments for diseases of the brain and defects of cognitive and behavioral function: pharmacological, cell-based and even gene therapy may all provide keys to cognitive regeneration. Such therapies, however, might be applied not only towards restoring brain function in the case of disease but to enhance cognitive function for healthy individuals. The concept of cognitive enhancement raises many ethical issues: whether brain-enhancing treatments should be developed and made available and to whom; and what potential consequences might arise? This paper explores some of the ethical arguments associated with cognitive enhancement and concludes that although the technology involved is as yet uncertain and issues of social equity remain to be addressed, the potential benefit of enhancing human brain function is clear.

Medical Films, Ethics and Euthanasia in Nazi Germany: The History of Medical Research and Teaching Films of the Reich Office for Educational Films/ Reich Institute for Films in Science and Education, 1933-1945 (review)

Medical Films, Ethics and Euthanasia in Nazi Germany: The History of Medical Research and Teaching Films of the Reich Office for Educational Films/ Reich Institute for Films in Science and Education, 1933-1945 (review)

Book Review: Medical Films, Ethics, and Euthanasia in Nazi Germany. The History of Medical Research and Teaching Films of the Reich Office for Educational Films/Reich Institute for Films in Science and Education, 1933-1945

Book Review: Medical Films, Ethics, and Euthanasia in Nazi Germany. The History of Medical Research and Teaching Films of the Reich Office for Educational Films/Reich Institute for Films in Science and Education, 1933-1945