Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs

[aphar]

#1. Circumcision Can Prevent HIV

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686252_1690372,00.html
In December 2006, the National Institutes of Health halted two clinical trials of male circumcision after an early review of the data showed that the procedure dramatically reduced transmission of HIV. Early this year, the details of those studies were published in the Lancet: In the two randomized trials, which included 7,780 HIV-negative men in Rakai, Uganda, and Kisumu, Kenya, researchers found that medically circumcised men were at least 51% less likely than uncircumcised men to acquire HIV during sex with women. The editors of the Lancet called the discovery "a new era for HIV prevention." Scientists don't know yet whether male circumcision can also provide protection for female partners — a new study on the hypothesis is forthcoming next year.

#6. No More Periods

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686252_1690388,00.html
Women wanting to dodge the nuisance of their monthly menses can now turn to Lybrel, the first continuous use birth control drug approved by the FDA. Made by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the new contraceptive is similar to the conventional Pill — minus the placebos. Typically, a month's worth of birth control pills includes four to seven days of placebo pills, which trigger menstruation. With Lybrel, the dummy pills are replaced with daily doses of hormones, eliminating menstruation altogether. The downside? Most women will have some spotting and breakthrough bleeding, especially during the first year of use.

#10. Benefits of Vitamin D

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686252_1690393,00.html
Researchers have long known that the "sunshine vitamin" boosts bone strength by encouraging the body to absorb calcium. But a slew of new studies published in 2007 suggests that the vitamin has a lot of other benefits: Diets high in D may ward off diabetes, gum disease and multiple sclerosis — and maybe even cancer. Though some findings linking vitamin D and cancer showed questionable benefit, the news on colon cancer was promising. In one large trial, men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and women in the Nurses' Health Study with the highest blood levels of vitamin D were half as likely to develop colon cancer as their peers with less circulating vitamin D. To squeeze the most value out of vitamin D, aim for taking a supplement with 1,000 IU daily.

Comments

Re: Жизнь ради науки

[russian-bob.livejournal.com]

Что так не делается, обрезание или эксперимент?

Re: Жизнь ради науки

[ymarkov.livejournal.com]

Эксперименты, естественно. Последним таким был т.н. Tuskegee Syphilis Study, где контрольную группу намеренно не лечили. Ох скандал был!

При randomized trials вообще никого не уговаривают менять что-то в своём поведении. Просто наблюдают за ними и систематизируют информацию; в этом случае одна группа обрезана.

Смотрите здесь описание исследования: (http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00059371)
Uncircumcised men aged 18 to 24 years old will be offered voluntary HIV counseling and testing. HIV negative men will be asked to enroll in the study. All study participants will be interviewed to obtain socio-demographic information and assess behavioral risk factors. Participants will be examined for significant medical conditions. All men will be counseled in strategies to reduce their risk for HIV infection. Consenting men will be randomly assigned to either the treatment (circumcised) arm or the control (uncircumcised) arm of the study. After circumcision, men will be monitored for complications. They will be counseled to abstain from sex until healing is complete. Follow-up visits will occur every 6 months for 2 years. Uncircumcised men will be offered circumcision at the end of follow-up.

Re: Жизнь ради науки

[russian-bob.livejournal.com]

Понял.
Однако имеется одно замечание: те, кому обрезание сделали сначала, были "выведены из строя" по крайней мере на время пока там всё подживало. Те кому это предстояло сделать через два года старались не упускать время и удвоили свои усилия.
- Ну вот и результат. :)

На самом деле не понятно как обрезание снижает вероятность подцепить HIV. Может поведение меняется?

Re: Жизнь ради науки

[russian-bob.livejournal.com]

Посмотрел также сам отчёт:
randomised controlled trial of 2784 men .... on December 12, 2006,... 22 men in the intervention group and 47 in the control group had tested positive for HIV when the study was stopped.

Мне кажется что 22 вс 47 - это недостаточно представительная выборка для статистики.
Вот если бы 2784 человека заболели СПИДом, но об этом можно только мечтать, и из них 2/3 были бы необрезаны а 1/3 обрезаны - это уже тянуло бы на статистический материал.

И всё же, согласитесь, кастрация в корне решила бы проблему с AIDS и много других проблем в Африке. :)