Syphilis
Syphilis was not always as well understood as it is now. The origin itself is still unclear with multiple hypotheses: Columbian theory believes it originated in the New World and was brought back to the Europe after Columbus founded the Americas, while the pre-Columbian theory suggests syphilis was always present in Europe, regardless of Columbus' travels. In 1495, the first epidemic of syphilis broke out in French soldiers, causing chaos and devastation; unclear of it's origin yet, they called it "the great pox." The name 'syphilis' was created by the Italian Girolamo Fracastoro, who wrote an epic poem titled Syphilis sive morbus gallicus (Syphilis, the French Disease). The organism Treponema pallidum causes the disease, a spirochete baterium. It is a sexually transmitted infection, therefore the route is through sexual contact; it could also be from mother to fetus during pregnancy or birth. Related diseases caused by the same bacterium are Yaws, Pinta, and Bejel.
For the full text of the untranslated epic poem: https://archive.org/details/hieronymifracast00frac
The 18th century is when people started questioning the disease: how did it start, what were the symptoms and stages, and how can it be treated. In the past, the main treatments weren't extremely effective, and they were also very subjective. People used guaiacum, mercury skin ointments, and sweat baths. Guaiacum went out of fashion first, seen as ineffective and too expensive, leaving mercury as the main treatment. Still, mercury had high toxicity and sometimes gave side effects worst than the infection itself. What really took hold, in 1906, was August Paul von Wasserman's treatment: a fixation serum antibody test for syphilis. It was called the Wasserman reaction. In the same year, Paul Ehrlich started studying syphilis, eventually coming to a treatment in 1912 called drug 914, in which he was awarded the Nobel Prize. Finally, until penicillin, arsenic in combination with bismuth or mercury became the main treatment for syphilis. In 1943, in the middle of the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment, penicillin was introduced as the treatment for syphilis. It was founded by John Mahoney, Richard Arnold and AD Harris. It was highly effective, best when during the primary or secondary stages, and it had few side effects, especially compared to mercury.
Syphilis, as stated, is a sexually transmitted infection. There are three stages: Primary, secondary, and latent or tertiary. Primary stage includes sores and ulcers in the genitalia; even without treatment, they heal within six weeks. Secondary stage can last from 1-3 months, including a rash on the hands and feet, moist warts in the groin, fever or weight loss. It can also resolve without treatment. Latent syphilis is where the infection is inactive without causing any symptoms, while tertiary is if the infection isn't treated. In tertiary, it could proceed to severe problems such as paralysis, blindness, dementia, deafness and even death. It currently affects males more than females and older aged; the rates have decreased drastically since the Tuskegee study, mostly because of education and penicillin, but it is still important to realize the symptoms and stages, and long term effects, placed on the participants because of their untreated disease.
In context with the Tuskegee Experiment, it is really upsetting to think of the long lines of treatments that helped contain syphilis, treat symptoms, or cure it all together, all that were withheld from the participants. Before the study, the use of arsenic and bismuth was really the best treatment; it didn't fully cure the disease but it helped withhold symptoms and helped it disappear in some cases. At that point, before and the middle of the study, the most useful treatment wasn't given to the participants. Then, the fact that penicillin became a known cure for syphilis and was withheld is absolutely disgraceful. While the at the start of the study, the authorities didn't have a perfectly clear cut knowledge of syphilis, they had a very well-rounded idea. When they were given the tools to stop the disease, they allowed it to progress for their own use, taking their achievements above the health of human beings. It is really a shame to see how much could have been done and wasn't. Feel free to flash back to the TIMELINE page to see these treatments in a more orderly manner.
Syphilis was not always as well understood as it is now. The origin itself is still unclear with multiple hypotheses: Columbian theory believes it originated in the New World and was brought back to the Europe after Columbus founded the Americas, while the pre-Columbian theory suggests syphilis was always present in Europe, regardless of Columbus' travels. In 1495, the first epidemic of syphilis broke out in French soldiers, causing chaos and devastation; unclear of it's origin yet, they called it "the great pox." The name 'syphilis' was created by the Italian Girolamo Fracastoro, who wrote an epic poem titled Syphilis sive morbus gallicus (Syphilis, the French Disease). The organism Treponema pallidum causes the disease, a spirochete baterium. It is a sexually transmitted infection, therefore the route is through sexual contact; it could also be from mother to fetus during pregnancy or birth. Related diseases caused by the same bacterium are Yaws, Pinta, and Bejel.
For the full text of the untranslated epic poem: https://archive.org/details/hieronymifracast00frac
The 18th century is when people started questioning the disease: how did it start, what were the symptoms and stages, and how can it be treated. In the past, the main treatments weren't extremely effective, and they were also very subjective. People used guaiacum, mercury skin ointments, and sweat baths. Guaiacum went out of fashion first, seen as ineffective and too expensive, leaving mercury as the main treatment. Still, mercury had high toxicity and sometimes gave side effects worst than the infection itself. What really took hold, in 1906, was August Paul von Wasserman's treatment: a fixation serum antibody test for syphilis. It was called the Wasserman reaction. In the same year, Paul Ehrlich started studying syphilis, eventually coming to a treatment in 1912 called drug 914, in which he was awarded the Nobel Prize. Finally, until penicillin, arsenic in combination with bismuth or mercury became the main treatment for syphilis. In 1943, in the middle of the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment, penicillin was introduced as the treatment for syphilis. It was founded by John Mahoney, Richard Arnold and AD Harris. It was highly effective, best when during the primary or secondary stages, and it had few side effects, especially compared to mercury.
Syphilis, as stated, is a sexually transmitted infection. There are three stages: Primary, secondary, and latent or tertiary. Primary stage includes sores and ulcers in the genitalia; even without treatment, they heal within six weeks. Secondary stage can last from 1-3 months, including a rash on the hands and feet, moist warts in the groin, fever or weight loss. It can also resolve without treatment. Latent syphilis is where the infection is inactive without causing any symptoms, while tertiary is if the infection isn't treated. In tertiary, it could proceed to severe problems such as paralysis, blindness, dementia, deafness and even death. It currently affects males more than females and older aged; the rates have decreased drastically since the Tuskegee study, mostly because of education and penicillin, but it is still important to realize the symptoms and stages, and long term effects, placed on the participants because of their untreated disease.
In context with the Tuskegee Experiment, it is really upsetting to think of the long lines of treatments that helped contain syphilis, treat symptoms, or cure it all together, all that were withheld from the participants. Before the study, the use of arsenic and bismuth was really the best treatment; it didn't fully cure the disease but it helped withhold symptoms and helped it disappear in some cases. At that point, before and the middle of the study, the most useful treatment wasn't given to the participants. Then, the fact that penicillin became a known cure for syphilis and was withheld is absolutely disgraceful. While the at the start of the study, the authorities didn't have a perfectly clear cut knowledge of syphilis, they had a very well-rounded idea. When they were given the tools to stop the disease, they allowed it to progress for their own use, taking their achievements above the health of human beings. It is really a shame to see how much could have been done and wasn't. Feel free to flash back to the TIMELINE page to see these treatments in a more orderly manner.