I've been reading The Great Influenza by John M. Barry, which seems topical enough. I got it on Tuesday when I was sitting in Logan Airport waiting for a shuttle back to New York. The book is not quite what I expected it to be, but it has been a fascinating read. The first 1/3 of the text is given over to a brief history of the transformation of American medicine in the 50 or so years from the founding of Johns Hopkins to the end of the great influenza pandemic of 1918. It was amazing to realize how close we were to leeches and bloodlettings at the turn of the century.
Now, I haven't finished the book yet, but the structure Barry has chosen for his narrative is somewhat similar to the movie "Outbreak," starring Dustin Hoffman. An epidemic starts and brave doctors are rushing to identify the pathogen and create a cure. In the movie, the plot centers around finding the monkey who infected everybody. Once they find him, they are able to whip up a cure in no time and save everybody.
As I said, I haven't finished the book, but I am pretty certain that the 1918 pandemic simply burned out, as viruses do, because they tend to run out of hosts or mutate into less lethal forms (a process known as "passage"). There was no monkey to find and no cure to whip up.
On the other hand, the intensive study prompted by the pandemic undoubtedly moved virology, pathology, epidemiology and other branches of medicine forward.
So what's my point?
In my daily life, I run a fund that invests in biotechnology companies. When I tell that to people, they often assume that one of the companies we invest in will someday come out and announce that they have "cured" cancer/diabetes/muscular dystrophy/ALS. Being a non-scientific type, I realize now that I used to think that way, subconsciously, as well. It's human nature.
But it doesn't really happen. "Positive" results in many cancer trials increase life expectancy by mere months. The ball is advanced slowly. Medicine is kind of like Army football; the passing game is weak. We advance one yard at a time, on the ground, in the mud.
5 comments:
Well I hope the future of medicine is a little less bleak than that of Army Football. While I've been a Black Knights fan, oh....my whole life, I never give up on them, or the wishbone, but I never expect great results, maybe Army should find the monkey...
That monkey's name was George Zip...
let's cure one for the Zipper!
That's funny - I just clicked the "Logan Airport" link.
WHOA!!! Another Army football fan? How could this be? I thought Jackson and I were the only ones. I will now read your blog everyday.
It is painfully apparent that Ross will need to explore the option offense next year. Let's hope he does. It's the only way the Black Knights will return to greatness.
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