Deciphering RU-486
When told there is a drug available that may prove useful in the treatment of everything from cancer to HIV to Alzheimer¹s Disease (1), the tendency would be to ask why its use isn¹t more pervasive. Conversely, when told there is a drug that functions to terminate unwanted pregnancies as well as preventing them from occurring at all (1), it would be more likely to call into question the ethics of such a design. However, when considering a drug that does all these things, the need to see everything as black and white suddenly becomes less easily met. The drug RU-486, simultaneously vilified by anti-abortion advocates and praised by many research scientists, is just such a drug, and it presents a decidedly modern moral dilemma. Its inhibitory effects on the hormone progesterone are fairly effective in ending a pregnancy in its early stages (1), with this aspect of the drug being successfully marketed in Europe (6) prior to its more recent entrance into this country (13). Its other uses have been less widely publicized, largely because to an extent they are just being developed. RU-486 appears to also have an inhibitory effect on the class of stress hormones known as glucocorticoids, which have been recognized as being extremely harmful to the body in a whole host of ways given a high enough concentration. With the high-stress lifestyles we lead today and little evolutionary back-up to deal with that, it is imperative that we come up with a method of treating stress-related illness. It is worth considering at what point the more controversial use of RU-486 should be put aside to allow its beneficial features to achieve their fullest potential.
The clinical efficacy of RU-486 comes in its ability to bind to...
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6) Feminist Majority Foundation Reports on Mifepristone
http://www.feminist.org/gateway/ru486one.html
7) Unleashing the Killer Pill: RU-486 Dangers, Lies, and Nazi/Communist Roots Exposed
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a21faea3ba6.htm
8) The RU-486 Files
http://www.ru486.org/
9) Penn Scientists Identify New Pathway in HIV Cycle
http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/features/1995/042595/Vpr.html
10) AIDS-related Kaposi¹s Sarcoma: evidence for direct stimulatory effect of glucocorticoid on cell proliferation
http://cancer.med.upenn.edu/cancernet/95/may/705001.html#6
11) Cushing¹s Syndrome
http://medhlp.netusa.net/lib/cushings.htm
12) Treatment of Cushing¹s Syndrome
http://www.uptodate.com/patient_info/topicpages/text/10348A3.asp#19
13) Time Magazine: The Pill Arrives
http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,56387,00.html
The Red Scare was given its name because everyone feared the idea of communism (“Red”) in America. Fear, especially spread out among a group, is a dangerous and chaotic thing that can cause people to do things that they would not normally do. It can cause people to betray others close to them or not trust some people they would normally trust.
Ischemic Stroke is caused due to a blood clot in an area of the brain, leading to loss of neural function if last for more than 24 hours. In the United States, ischemic stroke affects 2.7% of men and 2.5% of women of age range 18 years and older. In addition, it has reported that annually about 610,000 and 185,000 of new strokes and recurrent strokes cases occur in US1. Moreover, it has reported that patients who have suffered from a stroke have more chances of recurrent stroke, Myocardial infarction, and death from vascular causes2. One of the risk factor of ischemic stroke is formation of plaque in the blood vessels causing blood clot3. Several randomized trials have also reported that antiplatelet medications are efficient in preventing recurrences of stroke in patients who had an incident of ischemic stroke. Antiplatelet medications for preventing recurrences of stroke are aspirin, combination of aspirin and extended-release dipyridamole, and clopidogrel alone4. It ha...
It goes without saying that everyone’s health is important and should be taken care carefully. Everyone has heard of strokes before but many people do not really know its meaning, types, and the number of individuals of that dies due to this issue. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), strokes kills an average of 130,000 people a year and it is one of the most common deaths that happen in the United States. An average of 800,000 of people die from cardiovascular disease and strokes and it is also a reason of long-term disability (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Strokes, which can also be called cerebrovascular accident or CVA happen when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted or the blood vessel going towards the brain burst. Then part of the brain dies or become seriously injured because the brain cells do not receive oxygen and they eventually die. People’s lifestyle may also impact seriously on their health and increase the possibility of having a stroke. Some of the risk that can severely increase the cause of stroke would be high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cigarette smoking, as well as strokes that
1. "Dangerous Designer Drug Packs a One-two Punch." - VCU Center for Clinical and Translational Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013
Imagine being in a family that is expecting their first child. Articles in the newspaper are showing how the chances of miscarriages are increasing. As soon as anxiety starts to take over, a flip of a page in the newspaper changes everything. An article about a new drug called Diethylstilbestrol seems to be on the next page. Diethylstilbestrol, also known as DES, is a medicine that helps prevent women from having pregnancy complications including miscarriages. “This is amazing!” one may say, but do they really know the consequences of taking this new medication? Diethylstilbestrol was a huge turning point for most pregnant women in the early twentieth century; however, it had many underlying negative consequences that would later affect the mother and child with the word no one ever wants to hear; cancer.
Feldstein, J.P. (2011). Health Policy Issues: An economic perspective (5th ed.). Chicago, IL: HAP &AUPHA.
There was a feud between feminists who wanted flibanserin regardless of the side effects, and FDA who believed the approval for safety of flibanserin was an elongated process. This paper will explain the six reasons why flibanserin had been mistakenly approved by FDA.
Summary of Text: ‘The Redfern Address’ is a speech that was given to a crowd made up of mainly indigenous Australians at the official opening of the United Nations International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples in Redfern Park, New South Wales. This text deals with many of the challenges that have been faced by Indigenous Australians over time, while prompting the audience to ask themselves, ‘How would I feel?’ Throughout the text, Keating challenges the views of history over time, outlines some of the outrageous crimes committed against the Indigenous community, and praises the indigenous people on their contribution to our nation, despite the way they have been treated.
Marmor, T. (2009). The obama administration's options for health care cost control: Hope versus reality. Annuals of Internal Medicine, 150(7), 485-489.
In the year of 1962, Kefauver-Harris drug Amendment Act was established. The act stated, all drugs has to undergo strict surveillance during clinical trials and also after drug is marketed out. The clinical trial has to provide data that proves that the drug is both safe and effective before being marketed out. This act was established after Thalidomide Tragedy that took place in 1960’s. In 1960, Thalidomide became very popular drug for sleeping just like when aspirin was first discovered. Thalidomide was marketed out to 46 countries and was sold as over-the-counter drug. During that time, the drug was said to be safe for pregnant women. An Australian Obstetrician, name Dr. William McBride starting observing elevated levels of morning sickness in pregnant women caused by the drug Thalidomide. Then, when delivering many babies with severe child defect he then realized that t...
The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease, starting in the 1960’s on to today. Although, the popularity of labor unions has decreased, its importance remains to be evident with politics, journalism, auto, and the public education industries. The objective of this paper is to shine light upon labor unions, taking a closer look at the disputed issues of union ethics, concerns of union diversity, and the opposing viewpoints of labor unions.
The continuous introduction of new drugs into the pharmaceutical world proves to have immense benefits to society’s treatment of medical issues, however it has also proved to cause disaster. A seamless example of the often terrible events that occur due to quickly advancing medicine is the disaster caused by the drug Thalidomide in the late 1950’s to the early 1960’s. Thalidomide was taken by thousands of pregnant mothers to battle symptoms of morning sickness. It is estimated that ten to twenty thousand babies were born with serious disabilities and physical defects due to this seemingly harmless drug. As researchers are finding new uses for the drug, controversy has arisen whether
The health care system in the United States encompasses so many individuals, businesses, and interest groups. Also, it can be difficult to pinpoint the most optimal approach to serve everyone’s unique needs and wants. This has led to a major health-care crisis in the society. As a matter of fact, the effect of the health-care crisis in the American society has been a longtime situation, and an effective policy response must focus on what is most enriching in the society: aiming to improve the overall quality of the system and positively impact the health status of all citizens, while subsequently minimizing costs.
Thalidomide was a pharmaceutical sedative and birth control that was distributed primarily during the 1960’s. It was first developed by the company, Grünenthal, based in Stolberg near Aachen, Germany. In the early 1950’s, thalidomide was first clinically tested and later sold to treat respiratory infections. During this time, it was advertised as “Grippex”, containing ingredients such as acetylsalicylic acid and quinine (Mandal, 2015). During these clinical trials, the scientists behind the development of thalidomide determines that it was “practically impossible” to receive an overdose of the drug. It was soon being sold over the counter, no prescription needed, to millions of Europeans, and began to sweep across the United States in 1960.
While many people believe that the legalization of abortion protects women from harm regarding pregnancy, however that is not the case according to an article on the Americans United for Life website. The website is the center of a community known as ‘Pro-Life’ whose mission is to make abortions illegal in order to save the lives of thousands of babies as well as protect women from the dangerous procedure. The article first establishes that abortion has health risks, such as cardiac arrest, renal failure, and shock. Second, abortions can cause psychological and physical consequences. These can range anywhere from breast cancer to miscarriages in later pregnancies to death. It also highlights the fact that many problems with chemical abortions