Self-experimentation in medicine
Encyclopedia
Self-experimentation refers to the very special case of single-subject scientific experimentation in which the experimenter conducts the experiment on her- or himself. Usually this means that the designer, operator, subject, analyst, and user or reporter of the experiment are all the same. Self-experimentation
has a long and well-documented history in medicine
which continues to the present. Some of these experiments have been very valuable and shed new and often unexpected insights into different areas of medicine.
's discovery of the ABO blood group system
in 1900 was based on an analysis of blood samples from six members of his laboratory staff, including himself.
begins with Werner Forssmann
in the 1930s, who inserted a catheter into the brachial vein of his own forearm, guided it fluoroscopically into his right atrium, and took an X-ray
picture of it. Forssmann won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
for this achievement.
in 1950, William J. Harrington performed an exchange blood transfusion between him and a thrombocytopenic patient, discovering the immune basis of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura
and providing evidence for the existence of autoimmunity
.
, discovered of the link between Helicobacter pylori
and gastritis
. This was based on a series of self experiments that involved gastroscopy and biopsy
, ingestion of H. pylori, regastroscopy and biopsy and subsequent treatment with tinidazole
.
synthesized and experimented with a wide array of new phenethylamine and tryptamine drugs, discovering a range of previously unknown psychoactive drug effects.
, U.S. Army doctors from Walter Reed
's research team infected themselves with yellow fever
including
James Carroll
, Aristides Agramonte
, and, most notably, Jesse Lazear
, who died from yellow fever complications in 1900. These efforts ultimately resulted in proof of the mosquito
-borne nature of yellow fever transmission and saved countless lives. Stubbins Ffirth
had investigated the contagious nature of the disease at the end of the 19th Century.
drug company Medicinalco, demonstrated the effect of antabuse and alcohol
on themselves, see Disufiram.
had an array of 100 electrodes fired into the median nerve
fibres of his left arm. With this in place, over a 3 month period, he conducted a number of experiments linking his nervous system with the internet.
in an effort to test Galen's
theory that the respiration occurs through the skin as perspiratio insensibilis (insensible perspiration). The result was the 1614 publication De Statica Medicina ("On Medical Measurements").
developed the use of sodium cromoglycate as a remedy for asthma
, based on khella, a traditional Middle Eastern remedy, with experiments on himself.
infected himself from the pus in the purple lesion in a bart No. 1 subspecies (bartonellosis
) patient in 1885. He died from the disease several weeks later.
Self-experimentation
Self-experimentation refers to the very special case of single-subject scientific experimentation in which the experimenter conducts the experiment on her- or himself. Usually this means that the designer, operator, subject, analyst, and user or reporter of the experiment are all the same...
has a long and well-documented history in medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
which continues to the present. Some of these experiments have been very valuable and shed new and often unexpected insights into different areas of medicine.
ABO blood group system
Doctor Karl LandsteinerKarl Landsteiner
Karl Landsteiner , was an Austrian-born American biologist and physician of Jewish origin. He is noted for having first distinguished the main blood groups in 1900, having developed the modern system of classification of blood groups from his identification of the presence of agglutinins in the...
's discovery of the ABO blood group system
ABO blood group system
The ABO blood group system is the most important blood type system in human blood transfusion. The associated anti-A antibodies and anti-B antibodies are usually IgM antibodies, which are usually produced in the first years of life by sensitization to environmental substances such as food,...
in 1900 was based on an analysis of blood samples from six members of his laboratory staff, including himself.
Cardiac catheterization
Clinical application of cardiac catheterizationCardiac catheterization
Cardiac catheterization is the insertion of a catheter into a chamber or vessel of the heart. This is done for both investigational and interventional purposes...
begins with Werner Forssmann
Werner Forssmann
Werner Theodor Otto Forßmann, was a physician from Germany who shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in Medicine for developing a procedure that allowed for cardiac catheterization. In 1929, he put himself under local anesthetic and inserted a catheter into his own arm...
in the 1930s, who inserted a catheter into the brachial vein of his own forearm, guided it fluoroscopically into his right atrium, and took an X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
picture of it. Forssmann won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
for this achievement.
Thrombocytopenia
In the Harrington–Hollingsworth experimentHarrington–Hollingsworth Experiment
The Harrington–Hollingsworth experiment was an experiment that established the autoimmune nature of the blood disorder immune thrombocytopenic purpura. It was performed in 1950 by the academic staff of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.-Experiment:...
in 1950, William J. Harrington performed an exchange blood transfusion between him and a thrombocytopenic patient, discovering the immune basis of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura is the condition of having an abnormally low platelet count of no known cause . As most incidents of ITP appear to be related to the production of antibodies against platelets, immune thrombocytopenic purpura or immune thrombocytopenia are terms also used to...
and providing evidence for the existence of autoimmunity
Autoimmunity
Autoimmunity is the failure of an organism to recognize its own constituent parts as self, which allows an immune response against its own cells and tissues. Any disease that results from such an aberrant immune response is termed an autoimmune disease...
.
Helicobacter pylori
In 1984 a Western Australian scientist, Dr Barry MarshallBarry Marshall
Barry James Marshall, AC, FRS, FAA is an Australian physician, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine, and Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Western Australia. Marshall is well-known for proving that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori Barry James Marshall, AC, FRS, FAA...
, discovered of the link between Helicobacter pylori
Helicobacter pylori
Helicobacter pylori , previously named Campylobacter pyloridis, is a Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacterium found in the stomach. It was identified in 1982 by Barry Marshall and Robin Warren, who found that it was present in patients with chronic gastritis and gastric ulcers, conditions that were...
and gastritis
Gastritis
Gastritis is an inflammation of the lining of the stomach, and has many possible causes. The main acute causes are excessive alcohol consumption or prolonged use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin or ibuprofen. Sometimes gastritis develops after major surgery, traumatic...
. This was based on a series of self experiments that involved gastroscopy and biopsy
Biopsy
A biopsy is a medical test involving sampling of cells or tissues for examination. It is the medical removal of tissue from a living subject to determine the presence or extent of a disease. The tissue is generally examined under a microscope by a pathologist, and can also be analyzed chemically...
, ingestion of H. pylori, regastroscopy and biopsy and subsequent treatment with tinidazole
Tinidazole
Tinidazole is an anti-parasitic drug used against protozoan infections. It is widely known throughout Europe and the developing world as treatment for a variety of amoebic and parasitic infections...
.
Effect of forces on the body
John Paul Stapp sat in a rocket sled at almost the speed of sound, and then made an abrupt stop.Psychoactive drugs
Psychopharmacologists Alexander and Ann ShulginAlexander Shulgin
Alexander "Sasha" Theodore Shulgin is an American pharmacologist, chemist, artist, and drug developer.Shulgin is credited with the popularization of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially for psychopharmaceutical use and the treatment of depression and...
synthesized and experimented with a wide array of new phenethylamine and tryptamine drugs, discovering a range of previously unknown psychoactive drug effects.
Yellow fever
In CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, U.S. Army doctors from Walter Reed
Walter Reed
Major Walter Reed, M.D., was a U.S. Army physician who in 1900 led the team that postulated and confirmed the theory that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species, rather than by direct contact...
's research team infected themselves with yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
including
James Carroll
James Carroll (scientist)
Major James Carroll ) was a US Army physician.Carroll was born in England. He moved to Canada in 1874, and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1874. He graduated with an M.D. from the University of Maryland in 1891...
, Aristides Agramonte
Aristides Agramonte
-External links:*...
, and, most notably, Jesse Lazear
Jesse William Lazear
Jesse William Lazear was an American physician.He was the son of William and Charlotte née Pettigrew...
, who died from yellow fever complications in 1900. These efforts ultimately resulted in proof of the mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
-borne nature of yellow fever transmission and saved countless lives. Stubbins Ffirth
Stubbins Ffirth
Stubbins Ffirth was an American trainee doctor notable for his unusual investigations into the cause of yellow fever. He theorized that the disease was not contagious, believing that the drop in cases during winter showed that it was more likely a result of the heat and stresses of the summer months...
had investigated the contagious nature of the disease at the end of the 19th Century.
Alcohol
Erik Jacobsen, with Jens Hald and Keneth Ferguson at the DanishDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
drug company Medicinalco, demonstrated the effect of antabuse and alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
on themselves, see Disufiram.
Neural implant
Kevin WarwickKevin Warwick
Kevin Warwick is a British scientist and professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom...
had an array of 100 electrodes fired into the median nerve
Median nerve
The median nerve is a nerve in humans and other animals. It is in the upper limb. It is one of the five main nerves originating from the brachial plexus....
fibres of his left arm. With this in place, over a 3 month period, he conducted a number of experiments linking his nervous system with the internet.
Skin transplantation
Ole Jakob Malm transplanted foreign tissue onto his own skin in order to discern among different tissue types.Snakebite
Tim Friede created his own vaccine against snakebite using pure venom injections from all four species of mambas, and four cobra species to achieve high immunity. He also survived IgE shock six times with mamba injections. Others have also injected venom to create immunity to snake venom; Bill Haast, Harold Mierkey, Ray Hunter, Joel La Rocque, Herschel Flowers, Martin Crimmins, and Charles Tanner.Weight balance
Santorio Santorio spent a large portion of 30 years living on a platform meticulously measuring his daily weight combined with that of his intake and excretionExcretion
Excretion is the process by which waste products of metabolism and other non-useful materials are eliminated from an organism. This is primarily carried out by the lungs, kidneys and skin. This is in contrast with secretion, where the substance may have specific tasks after leaving the cell...
in an effort to test Galen's
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
theory that the respiration occurs through the skin as perspiratio insensibilis (insensible perspiration). The result was the 1614 publication De Statica Medicina ("On Medical Measurements").
Asthma
Roger AltounyanRoger Altounyan
Roger Edward Collingwood Altounyan was an Armenian physician and pharmacologist who pioneered the use of sodium cromoglycate as a remedy for asthma...
developed the use of sodium cromoglycate as a remedy for asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
, based on khella, a traditional Middle Eastern remedy, with experiments on himself.
Bartonellosis
Daniel Alcides CarrionDaniel Alcides Carrión
Daniel Alcides Carrión García was a Peruvian medical student after whom Carrion's disease is named. He described the disease in the course of what proved to be a fatal experiment upon himself in 1885, in order to demonstrate definitively the cause of the illness...
infected himself from the pus in the purple lesion in a bart No. 1 subspecies (bartonellosis
Bartonellosis
Bartonellosis is an infectious disease produced by bacteria of the genus Bartonella. Bartonella species cause diseases such as Carrión´s disease, trench fever, and cat scratch disease, and other recognized diseases, such as bacillary angiomatosis, peliosis hepatis, chronic bacteremia, endocarditis,...
) patient in 1885. He died from the disease several weeks later.