History of Medicine

Following up on my last few posts on the importance of informed consent in medical research, I wanted to dig deeper into the practice of clinical trials and patients' rights in medical research. The concept of informed consent, the basis of which is the stipulation that people will make the right choice for their own health and wellness, is a well-established principle of bioethics. However, it is less clear about its prevalence in public health, and the recent covid-19 pandemic has further stoked discussions about patients' rights and value of consent in the face of a global health event. The DNA genetic testing company, 23andMe, has also demonstrated how consent is an obstruction to researchers’ ability to use and exploit personal data. It is known that the company's primary goal is to gather genetic data that can then be used for research. However, the company has feined an interest in empowering individuals to take control of their own health, and used that for their ma

As I wrote in my previous post, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced in 2021, amidst much fanfare, the successful conclusion of a pilot program for the malaria vaccine developed by GSK and that it was recommending a broad rollout in Africa. A nurse with the new malaria vaccine. Image courtesy: Gavi While the decision marked a landmark victory in the fight against malaria, a disease that has plagued humans since the origins of mankind, it was not without criticism, including from the well-respected Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has funded part of the research into the vaccine.  The vaccine, known as RTS,S and developed by GSK, requires four doses to achieve a rather dismal efficacy of 30%. Despite it not meeting (or even coming close to) WHO's set goal of 75% efficacy, the organization gave the vaccine its full backing and support, even pushing forward with a pilot study in four African countries with nearly a million participants.  Critics have pointed out the l

“Over millennia, its victims have included Neolithic dwellers, early Chinese and Greeks, princes, and paupers.”  Few ailments have reigned over mankind for centuries like malaria. Responsible for over half a million deaths each year, with 2/3rds of those being children under the age of five, the disease has claimed between 150 million and 300 million lives in the last century alone. Almost 5% of deaths in the 20th century have been attributed to malaria, according to Carter and Mendis, 2002. It is also spread throughout the globe, with 40% of the world's population living in areas where malaria is still a threat. However, about 95% of cases and deaths in 2021 belonged to sub-Saharan Africa. Given the significant threat to human lives that malaria presents, the prospect of a vaccine that could eradicate the disease from our populations is extremely attractive. Not only from a humanitarian viewpoint, but a medical one too, as it would herald a new age of health and medicine. However,