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MARCH, 2001 |
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QUESTION OF THE MONTH. |
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January 1st 2001 marked the beginning of the XXI Century and the end of close to 150 years of serious dedicated study and research in the fields of pre-eclampsia-eclampsia. In spite of not knowing yet the intimate etiology of this syndrome, the advances in other issues following the advent of all sorts of complex medical technologies is very impressive to say the least. Unfortunately, most of this spectacular progress has been limited to the very affluent peoples, leaving by the sides to almost four fifths of the World population. |
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When meeting with younger research physicians and after establishing a sympathetic atmosphere, it was customary of Prof. L.C. Chesley to take that person aside and in a soft voice ask him "Are you really interested in pre-eclampsia?" Being the answer in the affirmative, the next phrase was "I feel sorry for you!!". |
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I for one, immediately realized that Prof. Chesley was forewarning that particular person about many future stormy periods of uncertainty and frustration, much as he probably had had or was experiencing at the time. |
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Uncertainty, marked by two World Wars, the Cold War, the nuclear threat and the uncertainty of the quantic dimension in Science, was the sign of the XX Century, and we have learned successfully to live and work in spite of it all. |
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But frustration! What about frustration? Not so much because we do not know what causes eclampsia, but because after 150 years of medical progress we still see hundreds, thousands and in the end millions of pregnant women get sick and die from it. I insist, you do not have to know the intimate cause of a disease to learn to fight it rationally and successfully in its lethal potential, nor knowing its real cause necessarily follows that you will be able to fight it rationally and conquer it. Are we ready to face another 100 or 150 years of this same frustration? Shall we better take refuge in perennial cynicism? And finally, �what advice could you give to younger medical scientists attracted by the study and research in the fields of pre-eclampsia-eclampsia in this nascent XXI Century? |
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