Magic Bullet (medicine)
The magic bullet is a scientific concept developed by the German Nobel laureate Paul Ehrlich in 1907. [Reprint of "Experimental Researches on Specific Therapy: On Immunity with special Reference to the Relationship between Distribution and Action of Antigens" from ''The Harben Lectures for 1907 of the Royal Institute of Public Health'', London: Lewis, 1908] While working at the Institute of Experimental Therapy (''Institut für experimentelle Therapie''), Ehrlich formed an idea that it could be possible to kill specific Microorganism, microbes (such as bacteria), which cause diseases in the body, without harming the body itself. He named the hypothetical agent as ''Zauberkugel,'' and used the English translation "magic bullet" in The Harben Lectures at London. The name itself is a reference to an old German myth about a bullet that cannot miss its target. Ehrlich had in mind Carl Maria von Weber's popular 1821 opera '' Der Freischütz'', in which a young hunter is required to hit a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Paul Ehrlich
Paul Ehrlich (; 14 March 1854 – 20 August 1915) was a Nobel Prize-winning German physician and scientist who worked in the fields of hematology, immunology and antimicrobial chemotherapy. Among his foremost achievements were finding a cure for syphilis in 1909 and inventing an important modification of the technique for Gram staining bacteria. The methods he developed for staining tissue made it possible to distinguish between different types of blood cells, which led to the ability to diagnose numerous Hematology, blood diseases. His laboratory discovered arsphenamine (Salvarsan), the first antibiotic and first effective medicinal treatment for syphilis, thereby initiating and also naming the concept of chemotherapy. Ehrlich introduced the concept of a Magic bullet (medicine), magic bullet. He also made a decisive contribution to the development of an antiserum to combat diphtheria and conceived a method for standardising therapeutic Drug, serums. In 1908, he received the No ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Corynebacterium Diphtheriae
''Corynebacterium diphtheriae'' is a Gram-positive pathogenic bacterium that causes diphtheria. It is also known as the Klebs–Löffler bacillus because it was discovered in 1884 by German bacteriologists Edwin Klebs (1834–1912) and Friedrich Löffler (1852–1915). These bacteria are usually harmless, unless they are infected by a bacteriophage carrying a gene which gives rise to a microbial toxin, toxin. This toxin causes the disease. Diphtheria is caused by the adhesion and infiltration of the bacteria into the mucosal layers of the body, primarily affecting the respiratory tract and causing the subsequent release of an exotoxin. The toxin has a localized effect on skin lesions, as well as a metastatic, proteolytic effects on other organ systems in severe infections. Originally a major cause of childhood mortality, diphtheria has been almost entirely eradicated due to the vigorous administration of the diphtheria vaccination in the 1910s. Diphtheria is no longer transmitted ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Institute Of Public Health
Royal Institute of Public Health merged in 2008 with the Royal Society for Health to form Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). History The institute was the amalgamation of a few societies. The Metropolitan Association of Medical Officers of Health was an English society of metropolitan Medical Officer for Health established on 3 April 1856. In 1869 "Metropolitan" was dropped from the title, and in 1873 it became the Society of Medical Officers of Health, and in 1989 it became the Society of Public Health. Timeline Presidents Past presidents include: * John Simon, first presidentMichael Warren1850-1899 A Chronology of State Medicine, Public Health, Welfare and Related Services in Britain: 1066 - 1999. * Lawson Soulsby, Baron Soulsby of Swaffham Prior * Nora Wattie Publications * ''Public Health'' (journal), now owned by Royal Society for Public Health. Previous publications * '' Journal of State Medicine'' * ''Health & Hygiene'' References External li ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sahachiro Hata
was a prominent Japanese bacteriologist who researched the bubonic plague under Kitasato Shibasaburō and assisted in developing the antisyphilitic drug arsphenamine in 1909 in the laboratory of Paul Ehrlich. Hata received three unsuccessful nominations for the Nobel Prize, one from Swiss surgeon Emil Kocher for Chemistry in 1911 and two by Japanese colleagues Hayazo Ito and G Osawa for Physiology or Medicine in 1912 and 1913, respectively. Early life Hata was born in Tsumo Village, Shimane prefecture (now part of Masuda City) as the eighth son of the Yamane family. At the age of 14, he was adopted by the Hata family, whose male members were doctors from generation to generation. Hata completed his medical education in Okayama at the Third Higher School of Medicine (now Okayama University School of Medicine). In 1897, he became an assistant at Okayama Prefectural Hospital where he learned internal medicine from Zenjiro Inoue and biochemistry from Torasaburo Araki. Plague re ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arsphenamine
Arsphenamine, also known as Salvarsan or compound 606, is an antibiotic drug that was introduced at the beginning of the 1910s as the first effective treatment for the deadly infectious diseases syphilis, relapsing fever, and African trypanosomiasis. This organoarsenic compound was the first modern antimicrobial agent. History Arsphenamine was first synthesized in 1907 in Paul Ehrlich's lab by Alfred Bertheim. The antisyphilitic activity of this compound was discovered by Sahachiro Hata in 1909, during a survey of hundreds of newly synthesized organic arsenical compounds. Ehrlich had theorized that by screening many compounds, a drug could be discovered that would have anti-microbial activity but not kill the human patient. Ehrlich's team began their search for such a " magic bullet" among chemical derivatives of the dangerously toxic drug atoxyl. Arsphenamine was used to treat the disease syphilis because it is toxic to the bacterium '' Treponema pallidum'', a spiroche ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Treponema Pallidum
''Treponema pallidum'', formerly known as ''Spirochaeta pallida'', is a Microaerophile, microaerophilic, Gram-negative bacteria, gram-negative, spirochaete bacterium with subspecies that cause the diseases syphilis, bejel (also known as endemic syphilis), and yaws. It is known to be transmitted only among humans and baboons. ''T. pallidum'' can enter the host through mucosal membranes or open lesions in the skin and is primarily spread through sexual contact. It is a helically coiled microorganism usually 6–15 μm long and 0.1–0.2 μm wide. ''T. pallidum'''s lack of both a Citric acid cycle, tricarboxylic acid cycle and processes for oxidative phosphorylation results in minimal metabolic activity. As a Chemoorganoheterotrophic, chemoorganoheterotroph, ''Treponema pallidum'' is an obligate parasite that acquires its glucose carbon source from its host. Glucose can be used not only as a primary carbon source but also in glycolytic mechanisms to generate ATP needed to power the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Erich Hoffmann
Erich Hoffmann (25 April 1868 – 8 May 1959) was a German dermatologist who was a native of Witzmitz, Pomerania. He studied medicine at the Berlin Military Academy, and was later a professor at the Universities of Halle and Bonn. Hoffmann is remembered for his research performed with zoologist Fritz Schaudinn (1871-1906) at the Charité Clinic in Berlin. In 1905 Schaudinn and Hoffmann discovered the bacterium that was responsible for syphilis, a spiral-shaped spirochete called ''Treponema pallidum'', which they first called ''Spirochaeta pallida''. The organism was removed from a papule in the vulva of a woman with secondary syphilis. The two doctors documented their findings in a treatise called ''Vorläufiger Bericht über das Vorkommen von Spirochaeten in syphilitischen Krankheitsprodukten und bei Papillome''.Fritz Richard Schaudinn, Erich Hoffmann: Vorläufiger Bericht über das Vorkommen von Spirochaeten in syphilitischen Krankheitsprodukten und bei Papillomen. Arbeit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fritz Schaudinn
Fritz Richard Schaudinn (19 September 1871 – 22 June 1906) was a German zoologist. Born in Röseningken (now in Ozyorsky District) in the Province of Prussia, he co-discovered, with Erich Hoffmann in 1905, the causative agent of syphilis, ''Spirochaeta pallida'' (also known as ''Treponema pallidum''). The work was carried out at the Berlin Charité. Among Schaudinn's other contributions to medicine include his work in the field of amoebic dysentery, sleeping sickness and his confirmation of the work of Sir Ronald Ross and Giovanni Battista Grassi (1854–1925) in the field of malaria research. He also demonstrated that human hookworm infection is contracted through the skin of the feet. He made noted contributions to zoology and was one of the developers of protozoology as an experimental science. Schaudinn was a graduate in zoology of the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin. Since 2002 an annual medical prize has been awarded in his name. In 1898 with zoologist F ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Azo Dye
Azo dyes are organic compounds bearing the functional group R−N=N−R′, in which R and R′ are usually aryl and substituted aryl groups. They are a commercially important family of azo compounds, i.e. compounds containing the C−N=N−C linkage. Azo dyes are synthetic dyes and do not occur naturally. Most azo dyes contain only one azo group but there are some that contain two or three azo groups, called "diazo dyes" and "triazo dyes" respectively. Azo dyes comprise 60–70% of all dyes used in food and textile industries. Azo dyes are widely used to treat textiles, leather articles, and some foods. Chemically related derivatives of azo dyes include azo pigments, which are insoluble in water and other solvents. Classes Many kinds of azo dyes are known, and several classification systems exist. Some classes include disperse dyes, metal-complex dyes, reactive dyes, and substantive dyes. Also called direct dyes, substantive dyes are employed for cellulose-based textil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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African Trypanosomiasis
African trypanosomiasis is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals. Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as African sleeping sickness or simply sleeping sickness, is caused by the species ''Trypanosoma brucei''. Humans are infected by two types, ''Trypanosoma brucei gambiense'' (TbG) and ''Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense'' (TbR). TbG causes over 92% of reported cases. Both are usually transmitted by the bite of an infected tsetse fly and are most common in rural areas. Initially, the first stage of the disease is characterized by fevers, headaches, itchiness, and joint pains, beginning one to three weeks after the bite. Weeks to months later, the second stage begins with confusion, poor coordination, numbness, and trouble sleeping. Diagnosis involves detecting the parasite in a blood smear or lymph node fluid. A lumbar puncture is often needed to tell the difference between first- and second-stage disease. Prevention of severe disease in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trypanosoma
''Trypanosoma'' is a genus of kinetoplastids (class Trypanosomatidae), a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa. Trypanosoma is part of the phylum Euglenozoa. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek ''trypano-'' (borer) and ''soma'' (body) because of their corkscrew-like motion. Most trypanosomes are heteroxenous (requiring more than one obligatory host to complete life cycle) and most are transmitted via a vector. The majority of species are transmitted by blood-feeding invertebrates, but there are different mechanisms among the varying species. '' Trypanosoma equiperdum'' is spread between horses and other equine species by sexual contact. They are generally found in the intestine of their invertebrate host, but normally occupy the bloodstream or an intracellular environment in the vertebrate host. Trypanosomes infect a variety of hosts and cause various diseases, including the fatal human diseases sleeping sickness, caused by '' Trypanosoma br ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kiyoshi Shiga
was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist. He had a well-rounded education and career that led to many scientific discoveries. In 1897, Shiga was credited with the discovery and identification of the ''Shigella'' ''dysenteriae'' microorganism which causes dysentery, and the Shiga toxin which is produced by the bacteria. He conducted research on other diseases such as tuberculosis and trypanosomiasis, and made many advancements in bacteriology and immunology. Personal life Shiga was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. His original surname was Satō, but he changed it to his mother's maiden name, Shiga, after being brought up by his maternal family. Shiga was raised during Japan's Industrial age and restoration. The changing times put financial troubles on his family. In 1900, Kiyoshi Shiga married Ichiko Shiga and in the following years had eight children. He faced many family hardships. Shiga lost his wife in 1944 to stomach cancer, his eldest son to turbulent seas during a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |