What drug actually cures a disease?
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I keep thinking about this post.[^], in which Fisticuffs wrote: Well, I need to write a program that does linear regressions so that I can figure out if that drug you're taking to cure your disease actually works. And I was wondering, can anyone name, off the top of their head, a drug that actually cures you. I don't mean supressing or masking the symptoms, or supressing the infection or organ that's gone out of whack, etc., but actually cures. By cure, I mean, you take the drug for a while, and then you can stop taking the drug, because it's fixed the problem. I can't think of a single FDA approved drug that truly cures. And yet, we have this subconscious concept that drugs cure. Why is that? For example, google "drug cure". There's a link on sickle cell anemia "...not a cure...". Another on epilepsy: "AED's...do not cure..." Now, I'm not poopooing drugs here--obviously, they are essential for people with serious ailments to at least have some hope of having a normal life. What I'm interested in is the phrase "drug to cure your disease" that we seem to so easily, without thought, use. [edit]:doh: I knew I missed the obvious--let's exclude antibacterial drugs from this list.[/edit] Marc Pensieve Functional Entanglement vs. Code Entanglement Static Classes Make For Rigid Architectures -- modified at 8:46 Thursday 9th March, 2006
penicillin
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An ulcer isn't a disease, though - it's just a physical condition not unlike getting a cut on your finger.
Actually, the majority of ulcers are caused by a specific bacterial infection in the lining of the stomach. http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/pepticulcer.htm[^]
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Actually, the majority of ulcers are caused by a specific bacterial infection in the lining of the stomach. http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/pepticulcer.htm[^]
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DavidCrow wrote:
No company is going to willfully forgo billions of dollars in revenue for the sake of wellness.
Unless they can get the government to pass laws effectively forcing (except for religious exemption) the administration of the drug on all children, ie, vaccines, thus ensuring a continual supply of "unwell" patients. Marc Pensieve Functional Entanglement vs. Code Entanglement Static Classes Make For Rigid Architectures
Marc Clifton wrote:
Unless they can get the government to pass laws effectively forcing...
There's a certain amount of 'truth' to this. While the doctors are not forcing the meds upon us, there's certainly the perception that they are in cahoots with the pharmaceutical companies to get us to take as much medication as possible. Last I heard, the average time a doctor visits with a patient is less than 10 minutes, especially where HMOs are concerned. That's not a lot of time to accurately diagnose and treat a problem. It would be way too easy to just prescribe the patient a medication that would address the immediate symptoms. Doctors face so many pressures today. There are not a lot of financial incentives to spend a lot of time listening and counseling patients.
"Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed." - Mark Twain
"There is no death, only a change of worlds." - Native American Proverb
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I keep thinking about this post.[^], in which Fisticuffs wrote: Well, I need to write a program that does linear regressions so that I can figure out if that drug you're taking to cure your disease actually works. And I was wondering, can anyone name, off the top of their head, a drug that actually cures you. I don't mean supressing or masking the symptoms, or supressing the infection or organ that's gone out of whack, etc., but actually cures. By cure, I mean, you take the drug for a while, and then you can stop taking the drug, because it's fixed the problem. I can't think of a single FDA approved drug that truly cures. And yet, we have this subconscious concept that drugs cure. Why is that? For example, google "drug cure". There's a link on sickle cell anemia "...not a cure...". Another on epilepsy: "AED's...do not cure..." Now, I'm not poopooing drugs here--obviously, they are essential for people with serious ailments to at least have some hope of having a normal life. What I'm interested in is the phrase "drug to cure your disease" that we seem to so easily, without thought, use. [edit]:doh: I knew I missed the obvious--let's exclude antibacterial drugs from this list.[/edit] Marc Pensieve Functional Entanglement vs. Code Entanglement Static Classes Make For Rigid Architectures -- modified at 8:46 Thursday 9th March, 2006
Antidepressants, when used to treat situational depression (also known as the 'blues'). A lot of times, a case of the blues gets started due to a one-time incident. Unfortunately, due to poor coping skills, the depression doesn't go away after the incident is resolved. Antidepressants help in this case, in essence 'curing' the 'disease'. I'll admit this is a bit of a stretch, but this actually happened to me, so...
Software Zen:
delete this; -
Antidepressants, when used to treat situational depression (also known as the 'blues'). A lot of times, a case of the blues gets started due to a one-time incident. Unfortunately, due to poor coping skills, the depression doesn't go away after the incident is resolved. Antidepressants help in this case, in essence 'curing' the 'disease'. I'll admit this is a bit of a stretch, but this actually happened to me, so...
Software Zen:
delete this;Gary Wheeler wrote:
I'll admit this is a bit of a stretch
I can see how that would qualify, as it breaks the cycle allowing you to reach a stable place from which you can take over on your own. Marc Pensieve Functional Entanglement vs. Code Entanglement Static Classes Make For Rigid Architectures
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Gary Wheeler wrote:
I'll admit this is a bit of a stretch
I can see how that would qualify, as it breaks the cycle allowing you to reach a stable place from which you can take over on your own. Marc Pensieve Functional Entanglement vs. Code Entanglement Static Classes Make For Rigid Architectures
Marc Clifton wrote:
allowing you to reach a stable place from which you can take over on your own
Precisely. I was in a cycle of depression and migraine headaches as a result of job and family stress. I took Prozac for a little over a year, while my situation stabilized and my doctor and I found a treatment regimen for my headaches.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
DavidCrow wrote:
No such thing exists, Marc. If it did, the FDA would be quick to squelch it.
Polio. Measles. Whooping Cough. Rubella. Rabies. Smallpox. Guinea Worm Disease (thank you Jimmy Carter). etc... Certainly pharmaceutical companies are no more saints than other companies or groups of people. And of course they have profit in mind - just like every other flippin' company on the face of the planet. But this rampant knee-jerk cynicism has got to stop.
You forgot tetanus and diphtheria. Of course, these are all vaccinations technically, ie profilactics instead of curing a disease once the individual has it. I remember reading something about smallpox serum, which is something they used for a short time before developing the vaccination. Basically, they would infect a pig with the disease, then take the antibodies from the pigs blood and give it to the sick person. If it didn't kill them (because of bad refining techniques), they would get better in a few days....apparently some research has been started down this path due to antibiotic resistance.
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You forgot tetanus and diphtheria. Of course, these are all vaccinations technically, ie profilactics instead of curing a disease once the individual has it. I remember reading something about smallpox serum, which is something they used for a short time before developing the vaccination. Basically, they would infect a pig with the disease, then take the antibodies from the pigs blood and give it to the sick person. If it didn't kill them (because of bad refining techniques), they would get better in a few days....apparently some research has been started down this path due to antibiotic resistance.
JonEngle wrote:
Of course, these are all vaccinations technically, ie profilactics instead of curing a disease once the individual has it.
Fair enough. I just wanted to strongly make the point that there are terrors our ancestors knew that we only read about these days - and it's the result of lots of people working really hard for a long time.
JonEngle wrote:
Basically, they would infect a pig with the disease, then take the antibodies from the pigs blood and give it to the sick person.
Interesting... I remember reading that insulin from pigs was (or is) used to treat diabetes, but I had no idea that they were once used as an antibody farm!
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I suffer from SAD (social anxiety disorder), i'm take some happy pills, they just balance out the chemical's i'm missing, but really doesnt "cure" it. I'm going on 7 years now, take these meds. without them i would have no life