...natural history of syphilis is very variable. The course of the infection spans many years and may lead to various clinical presentations, which are classified into early (infectious) and late (non-infectious) stages. Early syphilis may be further divided into primary, secondary, and early latent syphilis; late syphilis includes late latent and the various forms of tertiary syphilis. The immune response to syphilis involves production of antibodies to a broad range of antigens, including non-specific antibodies (cardiolipin or lipoidal) antibody and specific treponemal antibodies. The bacterium Treponema pallidum is a spirochetal bacterium that is the cause of syphilis. T. pallidum is a spirochete it can range from 6 to 20 um in length and 18 to 20 um in diameter it requires low amounts of oxygen which it is able to draw from the atmosphere around it. Spirochetes are usually Gram negative but T. pallidum will not show up on a gram stain because the organism is too thin. It can however be detected using special stains such as the Dieterle stain. Spirochetal bacterium have long helical shaped cells the reason for the helical shape if because of the different arrangement of the axial filaments which is known as endocellular flagella the filaments run the length of the cell causing the spiral shape, these flagella are used to move the spirochete. Spirochetes are usually found in liquid environments such as blood, lymph or water. (Encyclopedia Britannica 2010.) Syphilis can present in...
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...Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that is caused by the spirochetes bacterium Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum. T. pallidum belongs to a family of spiral-shaped bacteria, the Spirochaetaceae (spirochete), and is related to other pathogenic treponemes that cause nonvenereal disease, that is diseases contracted or transmitted via sexual contact (LaFond & Lukehart, 2006). Treponemes stain poorly with aniline dyes (Rodolf); however, spirochetes tend to be gram- negative. Because of how thin T. pallidum is, it is difficult to classify its gram stain (Baron, 1996). The coiled shaped body of T. pallidum is surrounded by a cytoplasmic membrane, which is enclosed by a loose outer membrane. A thin later of peptidoglycan between these membranes provides structural stability (LaFond & Lukehart, 2006). T. pallidum lacks certain metabolic capabilities. The organism has the ability to carry out glycolysis, but lacks tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes and an electronic transport chain. It also lacks components of oxidative phosphorylation and most biosynthetic pathways, relying on the host to perform necessary functions (Cameron & Lukehart, 2013; Fantry & Tramont, n.d. ;LaFond & Lukehart, 2006). T. pallidum cannot survive out of the mammalian host. This inability of T. pallidum to survive and multiply outside the mammalian host is the greatest barriers to syphilis research (LaFond & Lukehart, 2006). The generation time of T. pallidum is relatively slow; inoculation studies show that...
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...Evolutionary Anthropology 21:50–57 (2012) ISSUES The Science Behind Pre-Columbian Evidence of Syphilis in Europe: Research by Documentary GEORGE J. ARMELAGOS, MOLLY K. ZUCKERMAN, AND KRISTIN N. HARPER This article discusses the presentation of scientific findings by documentary, without the process of peer review. We use, as an example, PBS’s ‘‘The Syphilis Enigma,’’ in which researchers presented novel evidence concerning the origin of syphilis that had never been reviewed by other scientists. These ‘‘findings’’ then entered the world of peer-reviewed literature through citations of the documentary itself or material associated with it. Here, we demonstrate that the case for pre-Columbian syphilis in Europe that was made in the documentary does not withstand scientific scrutiny. We also situate this example from paleopathology within a larger trend of ‘‘science by documentary’’ or ‘‘science by press conference,’’ in which researchers seek to bypass the peer review process by presenting unvetted findings directly to the public. George J. Armelagos is Goodrich C. White Professor of Anthropology at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. His research has focused on diet and disease in prehistory. He was the Viking Medal Medalist (Wenner-Gren Foundation) in 2005, received The Franz Boas Award for Exemplary Service to Anthropology from the American Anthropological Association in 2008, and The Charles Darwin Award for Lifetime Achievement to Biological Anthropology...
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...Syphilis Organism: Treponema pallidum, Eubacteria Transmission: * Direct contact with a syphilis sore. * Contact occurs during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. * Sores can be located on the external genitals, vagina, anus, or rectum. * Syphilis can be transmitted from pregnant mother to child (causing stillbirths or problems with child.) * Cannot be transmitted in contact with non body items such as doorknobs, toilet seats, hot tubs, etc. Symptoms: * Most noticeable are a red sores (called chancres). * Many do not have symptoms or do not notice the sores, which heal in 3-6 weeks without pain. * Secondary symptoms include: rashes and lesions, fever, sore throat, headaches, and fatigue (resembling other diseases). * Later symptoms: difficult muscle control, numbness, and dementia. Prognosis: * First, a single chancre which will heal without pain. * Second, several weeks later, rashes and lesions which do not cause itching and will heal on their own along with the other secondary symptoms. * The first and secondary stage symptoms will heal with or without treatment, but without treatment victims are susceptible to the later stages. * In the late stage, the disease may damage the internal organs, including the brain, nerves, eyes, heart, blood vessels, liver, bones, and joints. * If gone untreated, damage from the later stage may eventually lead to death. Treatment: * Diagnosed through studying the chancre...
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...The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment was an unforgettable case conducted between 1932 and 1972 in Tuskegee, Alabama by the U.S. Public Health Service. The reasoning of the Tuskegee experiment was to study the effects of untreated syphilis in the rural Macon Country on poverty affected African-American males who thought they were receiving free health care from the U.S. government but were actually being injected with syphilis without consent. The research started in 1932, on 600 low-income African American men, out of which 399 who had already contracted syphilis, and 201 who were disease free. To get the participants to begin medical experiments, government funded programs offered free medical care, meals, and free burial services to those who...
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...Syphilis By: Roshni Patel Transmission: * Syphilis is primarily transferred through sexual contact. This can be from open sores around or inside the gentiles or mouth and the mucous membrane (1). * The disease can also be spread from the mother to the fetus via the placenta in utero, this normally occurs during the late stage of pregnancy (3). * Human to human contact thus far is the only known way to acquire syphilis (7). Reservoirs: * The bacterium lives in the human genital tract of infected males and females (5). Etiologic Agent: * Treponema Pallidum (5). Microorganism General Characteristics: * T. pallidum is a spirochete, which is a type of bacteria that is helically shaped and the gram stains are usually negative. This pathogen is only found in humans and does not naturally occur in other species. This microorganism is transmitted through penetration of the spirochetes through mucous membranes or abrasions on the skins surface. T. pallidum is easily broken down which causes it to lack the capability to survive of dry, disinfected surfaces (3). * Silver imprinting methods can be used to view the bacterium by dark field microscopy. The flagella of the spirochete move in the periplasmic space along the flagella bundle, this causes the bacterium to move in a corkscrew structure. The bacterium promptly rotates along its longitudinal axis and then bends and snaps to its full length. The bacterium can range in cell size from...
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...Tuskegee Syphilis Study was a very controversial research study conducted by the United States Public Health Service in collaboration with the Tuskegee University (then known as the Tuskegee Institute) in Macon County, Alabama between the years 1932 and 1972. The study was named the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” and the original intent was to study the effects of untreated syphilis on African-American men for a duration of six to nine months and then follow-up with a treatment plan. A total of 600 African American men were enrolled in the study, 399 men with syphilis and 201 men without the infection. Syphilis is a highly contagious disease caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum transmitted sexually or congenitally...
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...The Tuskegee Syphilis Study began in 1936 in Macon County, Alabama, at the Tuskegee Institute. Researchers at the institute conducted this study to follow the natural course of syphilis in black males. Before the study was put into progress, there was no known treatment for syphilis. In this study, there was a total of 600 men, 399 of which were infected with syphilis, and 201 who were not. These 201 men were used as the control group of the study. Most of these men were poor and uneducated sharecroppers that were living in Macon County at the time of the experiment ("About the USPHS Syphilis Study"). This experiment was originally supposed to last about six months, but continued for 40 years ("U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee")....
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...When looking for information concerning the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, there is a small assortment of books to choose from. I chose The Tuskegee Syphilis Study by Fred Gray because he was the lawyer in the lawsuits against the government, and I thought that he would be able to provide the most in-depth analysis of the event because he was actually involved in it. It was also written fairly recently, so that enables the book to analyze the long term effects that it has had on African-Americans, the South, and history in general. Gray’s book provides a very informative study, but if you’re looking for more information, check out James Jones’ Bad Blood. Gray takes a lot of information from this book which was written about 20 years before his. When searching the web for information on the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the results were quite slim. Most of the results involved syllabi for college classes or websites much like our own that were prepared for a class. The website that I reviewed is from the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics, which was actually created from President Clinton’s apology and ideas for improvement of racial relations and medical testing. The webpage’s main purpose is to educate the public about the atrocities that were performed on African-Americans in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, and to help prevent an event like this from ever happening again The Tuskegee Syphilis Study by Fred D. Gray examines a medical study that occurred in...
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...Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment Name University of Phoenix Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment The Tuskegee Syphilis experiment was a 40 years study from 1932 to 1972 in Tuskegee, Alabama. The experiment was conducted on a group of 399 impoverished and illiterate African American sharecroppers. This disease was not; however revealed to them by the US Government. They were told they were going to receive treatment for bad blood. The study proved to be one of the most horrendous studies carried out that disregarded the basic ethical principles of conduct. It symbolized medical and disregard for human life. Standard medical treatment at the time were toxic, dangerous and, often time questionable in respect to effect. Some of the studies were being addressed to determine if a patient was better off not being treated at all. Researchers also tried to prolong any treatment to study the different stages of syphilis so they may be able to find a more suitable means of treatment. Medical ethics during this time did not have standard for informing patients. Information often withheld regarding their condition so patients often went through testing and treatment with little knowledge of consequences. By experiencing the study the participants were kept in the dark about the disease so they would co-operation. During this time these men were considered subjects, not patients. They were not considered patients, but clinical material instead of sick people. Most of the experiments...
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...When looking for information concerning the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, there is a small assortment of books to choose from. I chose The Tuskegee Syphilis Study by Fred Gray because he was the lawyer in the lawsuits against the government, and I thought that he would be able to provide the most in-depth analysis of the event because he was actually involved in it. It was also written fairly recently, so that enables the book to analyze the long term effects that it has had on African-Americans, the South, and history in general. Gray’s book provides a very informative study, but if you’re looking for more information, check out James Jones’ Bad Blood. Gray takes a lot of information from this book which was written about 20 years before his. When searching the web for information on the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the results were quite slim. Most of the results involved syllabi for college classes or websites much like our own that were prepared for a class. The website that I reviewed is from the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics, which was actually created from President Clinton’s apology and ideas for improvement of racial relations and medical testing. The webpage’s main purpose is to educate the public about the atrocities that were performed on African-Americans in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, and to help prevent an event like this from ever happening again The Tuskegee Syphilis Study by Fred D. Gray examines a medical study that occurred in Tuskegee...
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...The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Some Ethical Reflections 75 The Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Some Ethical Reflections Adebayo A. Ogungbure Department of Philosophy University of Ibadan, Nigeria philosopher.bayo@yahoo.com Thought and Practice: A Journal of the Philosophical Association of Kenya (PAK) New Series, Vol.3 No.2, December 2011, pp.75-92 thoughtandpractice@gmail.com http://ajol.info/index.php/tp/index Abstract There are established ethical principles to protect human participants in biomedical research from undue exploitation by researchers. However, in the “Tuskegee Study” in the US, these principles were grossly violated. The task of this paper is to critically examine the ethical implications of that study on future practices in biomedical research, and to suggest ways of ensuring that such practices comply with appropriate ethical values. Key Words Bioethics, Biomedical research, clinical research, Tuskegee Study, paternalism, morality Introduction From time to time human beings experience health challenges, whether physical or mental. On its part, medical practice has made considerable progress towards combating or controlling many of these challenges. It is through research that the nature, symptoms and effects of ailments can be ascertained and remedies discovered. Medical researchers engage in both therapeutic and non-therapeutic research. Therapeutic research is that carried out with the purpose of treating disease. On the other hand...
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...Syphilis Ryan Robinson SCI/163 December 12, 2013 Dr. O Syphilis Syphilis is a highly contagious disease spread primarily by sexual activity, including oral and anal sex. Syphilis can be passed through kissing and close bodily contact(WebMD, 2011). This disease spreads from sores, which a majority of the sores go unnoticed. The person that is infected is unaware he or she has the disease and passes it on to his or her partner. Transmission of the bacteria usually occurs during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. The syphilis bacteria are passed from person to person through direct contact(WebMD, 2011). Syphilis can enter the body through cuts in the skin and scrapes, or wet kisses which rarely happens. The disease also can be passed from using a needle from a infected person. According to USATODAY, there was a syphilis outbreak in the porn industry in the summer of 2012. Jesse Spencer known as Mr. Marcus was one of nearly a dozen porn actors who tested positive during the syphilis outbreak last summer in Los Angeles, CA . The outbreak led the porn industry officials to briefly call for a moratorium on filming(USATODAY, 2013). The first sign of syphilis is a small sore. The sore appears at the spot where the bacteria entered the body. The disease starts as a painless sore usually on your genitals, rectum, or mouth. Syphilis can be cured sometimes with an injection of penicillin. Syphilis can damage the heart, brain, other organs, and can be life threatening if not treated early(MayoClinc...
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...1. Syphilis is a venereal disease that spreads during sexual intercourse. 2. That is was usually contracted by poor, African Americans, whom had terrible sanitation issues. 3. One major purpose was to integrate African Americans and white people through the study. There were brief arguments about the racial issue. 4. They were now looking for the progression of syphilis in African American males. 5. The results weren’t really adequate they only were that syphilis in white and black people were different (they didn’t take into consideration the poverty of one group versus another). Their reasoning for using black people was that there were a larger number of them with documented cases of syphilis. 1. The men got a formal diagnosis and some form of treatment. 2. Many of them were only given partial treatment which allowed the virus to adapt to the medication, leaving them incurable. 3. No they were poor an uneducated they wouldn’t have known the reasoning. 4. Yes they could have shown some compassion and humanitarian aid to their fellow man. Instead of leaving them after making the disease stronger. 1. The people who had more documented cases of syphilis were poor African americans whom had never been to a doctor. Many black people has no access to clean water, plumbing, sanitation, medication, and/or good paying jobs. It is obvious that their results couldn’t compare to white people who had access to all of these ‘luxuries’. 2. Because...
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...to conduct a study that would study syphilis in black men for 6 to 9 months, a year at the most (Gray, 1998). Then do a follow up with treatment. Others involved in the study had a different idea. They wanted to study the natural history of syphilis, and so they did for 40 years, 1932 - 1972. Syphilis is an infectious disease (CDC, 2009) that is caused by bacterium, Treponema palladium a spirochete capable of infecting almost any organ or tissue in the body and causing protean clinical manifestations (CDC, 2009). Transmission occurs most frequently during sexual contact, including oral sex, through minor skin or mucosal lesions; sites of inoculations are usually genitals but may be extragential (CDC, 2009). The risk of developing syphilis after unprotected sex is 30-50% (Engineering, 2006). If left untreated it causes death. Before death occurs the individual infected suffers tremendously. The Tuskegee Study was initiated by the Public Health Service of Macon County, Alabama. It took place on the campus of Tuskegee Institute at John A. Andrews Memorial Hospital. The incidence of syphilis was 36% among the 27,000 residents of Macon County, Alabama were infected with syphilis, giving this place syphilis prevalence among the greatest in the United States (Gray, 1998). Tuskegee residents were 82% black. This is the reason why Macon County was chosen to study the natural history of syphilis; it had the highest incidence of syphilis in the nation. Subjects were recruited...
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