Controversy and Challenge

Screening for prostate cancer: Controversy? What controversy?

for the absence of a reduction in mortality in the plco trial and in comparison with the difference seen in the erspc trial. The truth of the matter is the psa test should not be used at all in screening for prostate cancer in the manner it has heretofore been used. Prostate-specific antigen, discovered in 1970 5,6 , is a normal component of the prostate. It is not cancer-specific. Rather, it i...

Insulin: discovery and controversy.

During the first two decades of the 20th century, several investigators prepared extracts of pancreas that were often successful in lowering blood sugar and reducing glycosuria in test animals. However, they were unable to remove impurities, and toxic reactions prevented its use in humans with diabetes. In the spring of 1921, Frederick G. Banting, a young Ontario orthopedic surgeon, was given l...

Progress, frustration and controversy.

Fuelling controversy

The US President’s annual State of the Union speech is a favorite place to unveil new initiatives. For the past several months there has been a buzz that President George W. Bush would say something dramatic about climate change. “Buzz” in Washington can mean political trial balloons, genuine leaks or simply wishful thinking. It took a while to sort out the truth in this case. The week before t...

C-Reactive Protein and Cardiovascular Risk in the Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes: Controversy and Challenge

C-reactive protein (CRP) has become the subject of avid interest in recent years, but the history of CRP began > 7 decades ago and has been one of discovery and continuing dispute. In 1930, Tillet and Francis1 observed a substance in the serum of people with pneumococcal infections that formed a precipitate when mixed with the C-polysaccharide coat of Streptococcus pneumoniae. This “Creactive” ...