{"id":225350,"date":"2016-10-03T17:44:57","date_gmt":"2016-10-03T20:44:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/?p=225350"},"modified":"2016-10-04T17:09:16","modified_gmt":"2016-10-04T20:09:16","slug":"revisiting-the-scientific-method","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/revisiting-the-scientific-method\/","title":{"rendered":"Revisiting the scientific method"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a long series of missteps, phosphoethanolamine capsules informally taken by patients with cancer will finally become the next drug to be scientifically tested in humans<\/a>.\u00a0 Clinical trials are expected to begin in late 2016 on patients in the states of S\u00e3o Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Cear\u00e1, and only after this stage has been completed will physicians be able to say whether the substance is in fact effective in fighting tumors. \u00a0Without this controlled, time-consuming and expensive work, the drug\u2019s actual effectiveness remains mere speculation based on personal impressions, backed by no solid information.<\/p>\n

The story of phosphoethanolamine is unusual due to the attention it has received from politicians at the urging of a public who sees the compound as a possible cure for cancer.\u00a0 That same public has been fed positive reviews by patients and physicians who have made use of the medicine, which is artisanally produced at a laboratory on the S\u00e3o Carlos campus of the Chemistry Institute of the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP).<\/p>\n

The mobilization of patients and their families resulted in the substance gaining rapid approval through all levels of Congress and release for use by the President of the Republic herself, even in the face of opposing opinions by scientific and medical associations.\u00a0 The problem is that it bypassed precisely that stage in which medications are to be tested to determine the effects they could have on the human body.\u00a0 In other words, whether the drug could cause any type of problem, as yet unseen, whether it is harmless, or whether it could benefit patients with cancer.<\/p>\n

This issue\u2019s cover story provides a look into the\u00a0 unorthodox trajectory of phosphoethanolamine.\u00a0 Now, the first scientific protocol will be funded by the state of S\u00e3o Paulo.\u00a0 Similar initiatives will take place in Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro.\u00a0 Up to this point, everything we know about the potential therapeutic effects of the medicine are based on in vitro<\/em> observations of laboratory-grown animal or human cells and in vivo<\/em> observations of animal models, usually mice.\u00a0 That is still too little information on which to determine its effectiveness in people.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Other serious diseases also concern health experts.\u00a0 Among some of the most recent are those caused by fungi, which in the past few years have begun to cause infections that are increasingly resistant to drugs.\u00a0 Official estimates indicate that 1.5 million people around the world die each year after being infected by fungi, more than all deaths caused by malaria and tuberculosis.\u00a0 In Brazil, four million people are expected to contract fungal infections each year.\u00a0 One reason for this is the weakening of patients\u2019 natural defenses as a result of disease or use of medication. Together with British colleagues, Brazilian researchers from several universities and states are working to determine the best way to diagnose and treat acute and chronic pneumonia of fungal origin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Aside from health, Pesquisa FAPESP<\/em> offers a complete menu of interesting reports.\u00a0 I\u2019ll highlight two pieces with very different flavors.\u00a0 The first discusses a new technology for biological pest control<\/a>, ready for commercial use.\u00a0 It is a bioinsecticide made from nematodes\u00a0 (earthworms) that fight insects in crops.\u00a0 The other story indicates that internal rules and practices can negatively affect the quality and quantity of debate by justices on the Supreme Court (STF)<\/a>, a frequent protagonist on the current national scene.<\/p>\n

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