Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University: Open Journal Systems
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Informed Consent and Sham Surgery as a Placebo in Fetal Cell Transplant Therapy Research for Parkinson’s Disease
Get PDFFetal cellular transplantation therapy research in Parkinson’s Disease has raised important ethical questions from its beginning. One of the most hotly debated aspects of the recent clinical research has been the use of sham surgery as a placebo for the control group. Ethicists and researchers have focused on the unique risk surgical placebos pose to research subjects as compared to conventional, medical placebos. This review will deal with informed consent and the use of use of sham surgery in the placebo arm of recent fetal tissue transplantation randomized, placebo controlled, double blind, clinical trials. Do current procedures for obtaining informed consent meet the challenge of adequately informing patients enrolling in experiments with significant risks not only in the experimental group but also in the placebo group
The Discovery of Insulin: Is There Glory Enough for All?
Get PDFIn October 2011, the University of Toronto and the TorontoheadquarteredGairdner Foundation partnered to celebrate theninetieth anniversary of the discovery of insulin. In 1921, fourscientists worked to discover, isolate, and purify insulin at theUniversity of Toronto: Frederick Banting, John J. R. Macleod,James B. Collip, and Charles H. Best. The credit for this achievementhas been assigned in varying ways. Popular opinion, inToronto and worldwide, has bestowed the recognition for discoveryupon Banting and Best. Indeed, many noted diabetologistshave credited the achievement to this pair. However, theNobel Committee awarded the Prize in Physiology or Medicineto Banting and Macleod in 1923. Michael Bliss, in his 1982history of the discovery of insulin, revisited the question ofwho really is responsible for this wonder drug. Our essay willexplore the pathway toward the discovery of insulin and seekto understand why the credit for this monumental achievementwas apportioned in such different ways
What’s Ahead for Med Ed?
Get PDFIn response to biomedical advances and changes in the practice environment, medical education is always in the process of change. This paper deals primarily with educational changes involving the integration of the disciplines of genomics, prevention and population health, global health and integrative medicine into the curriculum. External and internal forces that tend to impede development of professional and humanistic values are also discussed along with the call to action for developing strategies that mitigate these forces.
Development of Preclinical Biomarkers Predictive of Safety of Vaginal Microbicides for the Prevention of HIV
Get PDFHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is transmitted predominantly through sexual intercourse. Research suggeststhat the vaginal epithelium acts as a barrier to HIV transmission, but this epithelium can be disrupted, leading toHIV infection and other sexually transmitted infections. Topical microbicides are considered an effective strategy forHIV prevention, and several candidate drugs are currently in clinical trials. However, significant concerns about drugadherence, efficacy, and safety must be addressed in order to develop a safe and effective microbicide. This paper willprovide an overview of the field and strategies to overcome some of the obstacles facing microbicide development,and briefly discuss a research project that focused on one aspect of preclinical microbicide safety testing
Can Outstanding Research Be Done Under Less Than Ideal Conditions?
Get PDFGreat scientific discoveries rarely originate from small and poor countries. However, the lives and achievements of three Yugoslav scientists who were active in the biomedical sciences, Laza K. Lazarevic ́ (1851-1891), Ivan Djaja (1884-1957), and Pavao Stern (1913-1976), serve as an example of success in this environment. These scientists, as well as the majority of other successful investigators in small and poor countries, weretrained in foreign and developed countries and, upon return, were given the freedom to start a self-dependent research program. They overcame many obstacles, including wars and civil unrests, to contribute significantly to certain medical fields. It is interesting that although a Jew, Stern was allowed to work during the World War II in Zagreb, which became capital of the so-called Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state under German control. Perhaps his good name among pharmacologists helped him to keep position during this tough period. Nowadays, new technologies needed for biomedical research are rather expensive, and poor countries cannot afford to finance many scientists. Thus, selection of the most productive researchers is the challenge for those who finance scientific work