Stephen E. Malawista, Lyme Disease Researcher, Dies at 79
By DOUGLAS MARTIN
Published: September 18, 2013
From New York Times Stephen E. Malawista, Lyme Disease Researcher, Dies at 79 http://nyti.ms/18AJiaR
Dr. Stephen E. Malawista, right, in 1976 with Dr. Allen C. Steere.
我蠻喜歡看這些前輩醫師的傳記文，因為這其實也把我們所認識的疾病，從怎麼發現的，從頭講一次，也看到了醫學科學的發展。Lyme disease這少見的疾病，僅在書上念過，這文章就介紹了這病怎麼被發現的。每年美國有300,000人被診斷lyme disease，這是一種由tick傳染的疾病，會影響肌肉，關節，心臟，甚至大腦。
Malawista醫師，在1975年發現在Lyme地區有二位媽媽身上有紅疹、關節腫脹和神經學症狀，他們的家屬，同時也有這些症狀。在附近醫院無法處理，後來就到Yale大學求助。總共有51案例，而且常發生在溫暖潮溼的季節。
“Here was a disease that by its clustering — it was clustering in time, it was clustering in space, it was clustering in families and on roads — it really looked like there was a vector, something that transmits the disease, such as an insect,” Dr. Malawista was quoted as saying in the book “Bull’s-Eye: Unraveling the Medical Mystery of Lyme Disease” (Yale University Press, 2003), by Dr. Jonathan A. Edlow.
這段話，就看出醫學觀察的過程、分析或是猜測，因為這是一種未知的疾病。
接著他們又發現，疾病和鹿有地緣性關係，養鹿的地方這病特別多，而鹿身上有tick，接下來才確認tick和lyme disease的關係。
Dr. Malawista and his team made the compelling link between ticks and the disease by noting that cases were 30 times more frequent on the east side of the Connecticut River, where Lyme is situated, than on the west side. Ticks feed and breed on deer, and there are far more deer on the east side.
醫學有時真有趣，好像偵探一般，如果不提現在的一些無理糾紛的話。
Dr. Stephen E. Malawista, right, in 1976 with Dr. Allen C. Steere.
我蠻喜歡看這些前輩醫師的傳記文，因為這其實也把我們所認識的疾病，從怎麼發現的，從頭講一次，也看到了醫學科學的發展。Lyme disease這少見的疾病，僅在書上念過，這文章就介紹了這病怎麼被發現的。每年美國有300,000人被診斷lyme disease，這是一種由tick傳染的疾病，會影響肌肉，關節，心臟，甚至大腦。
“Here was a disease that by its clustering — it was clustering in time, it was clustering in space, it was clustering in families and on roads — it really looked like there was a vector, something that transmits the disease, such as an insect,” Dr. Malawista was quoted as saying in the book “Bull’s-Eye: Unraveling the Medical Mystery of Lyme Disease” (Yale University Press, 2003), by Dr. Jonathan A. Edlow.
這段話，就看出醫學觀察的過程、分析或是猜測，因為這是一種未知的疾病。
接著他們又發現，疾病和鹿有地緣性關係，養鹿的地方這病特別多，而鹿身上有tick，接下來才確認tick和lyme disease的關係。
Dr. Malawista and his team made the compelling link between ticks and the disease by noting that cases were 30 times more frequent on the east side of the Connecticut River, where Lyme is situated, than on the west side. Ticks feed and breed on deer, and there are far more deer on the east side.
醫學有時真有趣，好像偵探一般，如果不提現在的一些無理糾紛的話。
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