Subjects or objects? prisoners and human experimentation

During the 1950s, inmates at what was then called Holmesburg Prison, in Philadelphia, were inoculated with condyloma acuminatum, cutaneous moniliasis, and viruses causing warts, herpes simplex, and herpes zoster. For participating in this research, and in studies exposing them to dioxin and agents of chemical warfare, they were paid up to $1,500 a month. Between 1963 and 1971, researchers in Oregon and Washington irradiated and repeatedly took biopsy specimens from the testicles of healthy prisoners; the men subsequently reported rashes, peeling, and blisters on the scrotum as well as sexual difficulties. Hundreds of such experiments induced the federal government to essentially ban research involving prisoners in 1978. The message: such research is fundamentally exploitative and thus unethical. Yet a recent report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has opened the closed door, arguing not only that such research can be performed appropriately but that prisoners deserve to be included in investigative studies — at least those who might benefit directly. Examination of the explanations behind U.S. restrictions on prison research and their current applicability can provide guidance for today's policy debates

Last-ditch medical therapy : revisiting lobotomy

Desperate times call for desperate measures. So thought Walter J. Freeman, a neurologist who became the United States's staunchest advocate of the lobotomy between the 1930s and the 1970s. A new book, The Lobotomist, by journalist Jack El-Hai,1 chronicles Freeman's advocacy of a procedure that was viewed by many, and continues to be viewed, as barbaric. In exploring the ways in which lobotomy became part of common medical practice, El-Hai raises questions not only about how we should judge the procedure in retrospect, but also about what lobotomy teaches us about last-ditch medical interventions

Remembering Berton Roueché: Master of Medical Mysteries

Berton Roueché wrote the “Annals of Medicine” feature in the New Yorker magazine from the 1940s until the 1980s. Roueché developed his innovative approach to medical writing at a time when two important transformations were occurring in American medicine: the emergence of clinical epidemiology and the growth of media coverage of medical topics. Roueché was an immensely talented writer and storyteller, and his writings introduced not only laypersons but also future generations of physicians to the art of medicine

Mammalian tyrosinase: Effect of ions on enzyme action

1. 1. The univalent cations Li+, Na+, K+, and NH4+ have no effect on tyrosinase action.2. 2. The anions, fluoride, chloride, acetate, and oxalate, consistently inhibit the tyrosine-tyrosinase and dopa-tyrosinase reactions. Iodate, persulfate, and nitrite also inhibit these reactions. Relatively large amounts of these anions are required to produce inhibition.3. 3. Of 24 metal ions tested, only mercury, silver, and gold can produce an inactive enzyme preparation. The ions compete with copper ions for active centers on apotyrosinase. These competitive inhibition reactions are only slowly reversible.4. 4. No cations or anions accelerate tyrosinase action.5. 5. Copper ions are not bound to tyrosinase by a mercaptide linkage.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32541/1/0000652.pd

Entry into New Niches: The Effects of Firm Age and the Expansion of Technological Capabilities on Innovative Output and Impact

We provide evidence that young firms systematically differ from older firms in their innovative output when they enter 'new to the firm' technological niches. We analyze data from 128 biotechnology firms since their inception and track these firms over time. Our analyses reveal that the organizational age at which the firm branches into new technological niches significantly influences its innovative activity. We refine the focus of the extant literature by separately examining the effects of branching on the quantity of innovative output and the impact that this output has on the technology domain. Subsequent to branching into new niches, we find that older firms have a higher quantity of output than their younger counterparts, whereas young firms tend to outpace their older rivals with higher impact. We discuss the implications of these findings for the literature on dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurship. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Politics ahead of patients: The battle between medical and chiropractic professional associations over the inclusion of chiropractic in the American Medicare System

Health care professions struggling for legitimacy, recognition, and market share can become disoriented to their priorities. Health care practitioners are expected to put the interests of patients first. Professional associations represent the interests of their members. So when a professional association is composed of health care practitioners, its interests may differ from those of patients, creating a conflict for members. In addition, sometimes practitioners’ perspectives may be altered by indoctrination in a belief system, or misinformation, so that a practitioner could be confused about the reality of patient needs. Politicians, in attempting to find an expedient compromise, can value a “win” in the legislative arena over the effects of that legislation. These forces all figure into the events that led to the acceptance of chiropractic into the American Medicare system. Two health care systems in a political fight lost sight of their main purpose: to provide care to patients without doing harm. Dans leur recherche de légitimité, de reconnaissance et d’une juste part sur le marché de la santé, les professionnels de la santé peuvent perdre de vue leurs priorités. Ces praticiens doivent donner préséance aux intérêts des patients tandis que les associations professionnelles représentent ceux de leurs membres. Lorsqu’une association professionnelle regroupe des praticiens de la santé cependant, ses intérêts s’opposent parfois à ceux des patients, créant ainsi un conflit pour les membres. De plus, les praticiens peuvent être endoctrinés par un système de valeurs ou mal informés, au point de se tromper dans l’évaluation des besoins réels des patients. De leur côté, les politiciens peuvent préférer une « victoire » dans l’arène législative à une juste appréciation des impacts d’une loi. Ces forces ont toutes participé aux évènements qui ont mené à l’acceptation de la chiropraxie par le système américain Medicare. Dans cette bataille politique, deux systèmes de santé ont négligé leur principal objectif : soigner des patients sans leur nuire