Nagging doubt, public opinion offer obstacles to ending 'cluster' studies
Article Abstract:
A study evaluating the incidence and cause of cancers among football players who trained and competed at the Meadowlands Stadium (N.J.) is an example of what epidemiologists refer to as a "cluster study." Cluster studies, or cluster investigations as they are called by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), are examinations of diseases of unknown cause that occur in a well-defined geographic area. During the last five years the CDC has diminished its role in cluster studies and, instead, states have begun to establish their own programs for conducting these investigations. The CDC will soon issue formal guidelines and dispense resources in order to help states improve their programs. Critics of these investigations cite that they are often undertaken as a response to public demand based on the perceived increase in the incidence of a disease, often an emotionally charged problem such as leukemia in children or birth defects. Additional criticism leveled at cluster studies is that the results may be inconclusive and, upon evaluation, the study was probably not worth undertaking in the first place. States must rationally appraise the reasons for conducting a cluster study, and not conduct such investigations merely to appease public opinion or provide a public relations forum for a special interest group.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1989
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Where are the children of the 'dirty war'? Science seeks answers for their relatives
Article Abstract:
Medical forensics are being used to identify children kidnapped during the murderous period in Argentina following the ouster of Juan Peron. Many of the children of the 'disappeared' were kept by officials and guards who were involved in the murder of their parents. Now groups of concerned relatives are pushing authorities to help find and restore these children to their natural families. New state-of-the-art scientific methods such as mitochondrial DNA sampling are being used to identify both victims and familial relationships. This technique relies on the use of the polymerase chain reaction, which involves the chain reaction of 'primers' that bind to both ends of a piece of DNA. The samples are heated to help separate double-stranded DNA and a DNA polymerase begins to replicate the selected segment by pairing the sequence to a complementary strand of nucleotides. Mitochondrial DNA is useful because this class of genetic material is derived only from the mother, and can therefore be used to identify maternal grandmothers with a high degree of certainty. Specific blood testing involving the analysis of alleles of various genes and their likelihood of appearing in a grandparent and grandchild is another method for reuniting families.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1989
User Contributions:
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