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Packer M. Lessons for Cardiovascular Clinical Investigators: The Tumultuous 2,500-Year Journey of Physicians Who Ignited Our Fire. J Am Coll Cardiol 2024; 84:78-96. [PMID: 38925728 DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2024.03.420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Whereas medical practice stems from Hippocrates, cardiovascular science originates with Aristotle. The Hippocratic philosophy was championed by Galen (129-216 CE), whose advocacy of a tripartite soul found favor in the early Christian Church. In contrast, Aristotle's works were banned as heresy by ecclesiastical authority, only to survive and prosper in the Islamic Golden Age (775-1258 CE). Galen theorized that the circulation consisted of separate venous and arterial systems. Blood was produced in the liver and traveled centrifugally through veins. When arriving in the right ventricle, venous blood passed through tiny pores in the ventricular septum into the left ventricle, where it became aerated by air passing from the lungs through the pulmonary veins to the left side of the heart. Following arrival at distal sites, arterial blood disappeared, being consumed by the tissues, requiring that the liver needed to continually synthesize new blood. The heart was viewed as a sucking organ, and the peripheral pulse was deemed to result from changes in arterial tone, rather than cardiac systole. Galen's framework remained undisputed and dominated medical thought for 1,300 years, but the reintroduction of Aristotelian principles from the Islamic world into Europe (through the efforts of the Toledo School of Translators) were nurtured by the academic freedom and iconoclastic environment uniquely cultivated at the University of Padua, made possible by Venetian rebellion against papal authority. At Padua, the work of Andreas Vesalius, Realdo Colombo, Hieronymus Fabricius ab Acquapendente, and William Harvey (1543-1628) methodically destroyed Galen's model, leading to the modern concept of a closed-ended circulation. Yet, due to political forces, Harvey was ridiculed, as was James Lind, who performed the first prospective controlled trial, involving citrus fruits for scurvy (1747); it took nearly 50 years for his work to be accepted. Even the work of William Withering (1785), the father of cardiovascular pharmacology, was tarnished by professional jealously and the marketing campaign of a pharmaceutical company. Today's cardiovascular investigators should understand that major advances are routinely derided by the medical establishment for political or personal reasons; and it may take decades or centuries for important work to be accepted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milton Packer
- Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute, Dallas, Texas, USA; Imperial College, London, United Kingdom.
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Heinrich C. A curious case of leg pain. JAAPA 2023; 36:47-49. [PMID: 37097783 DOI: 10.1097/01.jaa.0000923556.50400.a8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Heinrich
- Christopher Heinrich practices in hospital medicine at the Cleveland (Ohio) Clinic Foundation. The author has disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise
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Bandopadhyay S, Gupta AD, Banerjee A, Gupta P. Bitesize Epidemiology for General Awareness of All Students - I. RESONANCE 2023; 28. [PMCID: PMC10030195 DOI: 10.1007/s12045-023-1563-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
This is the first part of a two-part series article. Recently, we have been in the middle of a difficult time due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Pandemics or global epidemics are not new to humankind; they have occurred many times in history. The discourse of epidemiology describes mainly the causal factors which need to be mitigated to prevent or combat the effects of epidemics. In epidemiology, we are not concerned for a person, but rather every individual globally, to make life healthier for all. In this article, we will discuss the basics of epidemiological practice that scientists have used for centuries to prevent epidemics with great results. Overall, we plan for better global health aided by epidemiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shinjini Bandopadhyay
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Rajarhat Newtown, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700 135 India
| | - Angana Das Gupta
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Rajarhat Newtown, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700 135 India
| | - Asesh Banerjee
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Rajarhat Newtown, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700 135 India
| | - Prabuddha Gupta
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Rajarhat Newtown, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700 135 India
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Agarwal A, Oczkowski S, Sevransky J. Phase 2 Vitamin C Sepsis Trials: Another Brick in the (Evidence) Wall? Crit Care Med 2022; 50:897-899. [PMID: 35485591 PMCID: PMC9118696 DOI: 10.1097/ccm.0000000000005432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ankita Agarwal
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
- Emory Center for Critical Care, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
| | - Simon Oczkowski
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Jonathan Sevransky
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
- Emory Center for Critical Care, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
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Pallant A, Sullivan T, Kaluzny A. Nutritional deficiency presenting as acute pain, fatigue and bruising in a college health clinic. JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH : J OF ACH 2022; 70:670-672. [PMID: 32432971 DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2020.1767111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Revised: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
A previously healthy university student presents to Health Services with sudden onset of pain, fatigue, bruising, and a rapidly progressive anemia. There was not any previous significant health history. The case discussion will emphasize the critical overlap of physical and mental health assessments in identifying the cause and cure of a potentially life-threatening health crisis for a young adult student.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Pallant
- Health Services, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Tanya Sullivan
- Health Services, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Andrew Kaluzny
- Health Services, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
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Foster JM, Maithel SK. Introduction: Surgeons establishing the landscape of contemporary clinical trials in oncology. J Surg Oncol 2021; 125:5-6. [PMID: 34897713 DOI: 10.1002/jso.26732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jason M Foster
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
| | - Shishir K Maithel
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Taschner NP, Orsi C. Science based public policies: Lessons from Covid19 on the use of randomized trials. Genet Mol Biol 2021; 44:e20200273. [PMID: 33543746 PMCID: PMC7876434 DOI: 10.1590/1678-4685-gmb-2020-0273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic gave rise to a spirit of methodological anarchy in some fronts of biomedical research, embraced by some under the excuses of urgency and time restraints. This movement, however, comes at the same time when social sciences begin to recognize the value and soundness of the clinical research rationale - the need for randomization, of fair comparisons between intervention groups, the humility of acknowledging ignorance and accepting uncertainty, these last two imperatives usually subsumed under the principle of “equipoise”.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Pasternak Taschner
- Instituto Questão de Ciência, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.,Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, SP, Brazil
| | - Carlos Orsi
- Instituto Questão de Ciência, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Lanska DJ. The assessment of Perkins' patent metallic "tractors": Abandonment of an 18th-century therapeutic fad following trials using sham instruments. JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF THE NEUROSCIENCES 2019; 28:147-175. [PMID: 31116663 DOI: 10.1080/0964704x.2019.1589833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
From 1799 to 1801, with the instigation of John Haygarth, physicians in England evaluated the claims of Elisha and Benjamin Perkins that their patented "metallic tractors" could cure a wide variety of disorders. Previous therapies were typically judged based on experience and authority, whereas Perkinism was evaluated using a series of clinical trials of varying methodological sophistication, most employing sham instruments (all but those involving infants or horses), with a variety of trial designs, inconsistent use of contemporary controls, and different approaches to blinding subjects to the treatment administered. Haygarth and his colleagues collectively demonstrated that tractors and sham instruments produced equivalent effects in adults, and, by inference, that the tractors had no special therapeutic properties. Other trials using only genuine tractors demonstrated no effects in infants and horses, subjects who could not reasonably be influenced by suggestion and the imagination. These collective results provided strong support for the rival hypothesis that the observed effects were due to suggestion and the imagination of the subjects. Despite fallacy-laden counterattacks and counterarguments from Benjamin Perkins and his supporters, the trials eroded support for this therapy and led to abandonment of the "Metallic Practice" as a treatment in Britain and elsewhere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas J Lanska
- a Department of Medical Sociology, Healthcare Economics and Health Insurance , I. M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation , Moscow , Russia
- b Department of Neurology , University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health , Madison , Wisconsin , USA
- c Department of Psychiatry , Medical College of Wisconsin , Milwaukee , Wisconsin , USA
- d History and Archives Committee, American Academy of Neurology , Minneapolis , Minnesota , USA
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Abstract
Royal Naval ships' companies, isolated by hundreds of miles of sea with contacts to the outside world tightly regulated, provided perfect environments to study the epidemiology of disease. In 1747, James Lind organised one of the earliest clinical trials, demonstrating that scurvy could be treated by lemon juice. A century later, Alexander Bryson proved the value of careful epidemiological data collection and observation of infectious diseases encountered on the West Africa station. In the 20th century, Royal Navy physicians were at the cutting edge of vaccine research and antibiotic production. Nuclear submarines placed naval physicians at the forefront of nuclear medicine and environmental safety. The development of new aircraft carriers has driven a renewed interest in aviation medicine. This article reviews the contributions that Royal Navy physicians have made to medicine over the centuries, detailing some of the better known as well as some almost forgotten, but still remarkable, achievements.
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Bhide A, Shah PS, Acharya G. A simplified guide to randomized controlled trials. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 2018; 97:380-387. [DOI: 10.1111/aogs.13309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2018] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Amar Bhide
- Fetal Medicine Unit; St. Georges University Hospital; London UK
| | - Prakesh S. Shah
- Division of Neonatology; Department of Pediatrics; Mount Sinai Hospital; Toronto ON Canada
- Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation; University of Toronto; Toronto ON Canada
| | - Ganesh Acharya
- Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology; Karolinska Institute and Center for Fetal Medicine; Karolinska University Hospital; Stockholm Sweden
- Women's Health and Perinatology Research Group; Department of Clinical Medicine; UiT-The Arctic University of Norway; Tromsø Norway
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; University Hospital of North Norway; Tromsø Norway
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Abstract
To submit a letter in response to a JRSM article, please visit: http://jrsm.rsmjournals.com to find the article concerned, then click on the ‘send a quick comment’ link found in the article information section. Quick comments will automatically he considered for publication in print.
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Chalmers I, Atkinson P, Fenton M, Firkins L, Crowe S, Cowan K. Tackling treatment uncertainties together: the evolution of the James Lind Initiative, 2003-2013. J R Soc Med 2013; 106:482-91. [PMID: 23824330 PMCID: PMC3842854 DOI: 10.1177/0141076813493063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Hugh Baron
- Gastroenterology Division, Mt Sinai School of Medicine, Box 1069, New York 10029, USA
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Abbasi K. Why a royal in JRSM. J R Soc Med 2013; 105:495. [PMID: 23288077 DOI: 10.1177/0141076812473931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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