Exercises:

1. Which GM guidelines in A breached in each these cases?

1. A GP falls asleep regularly during consultations. His colleagues do not nothing.

2. A doctor knows that a patient has a mental disease. She informs a friend whose daughter has just become engaged to this man.

3. A doctor attempts to dissuade a patient from having an abortion as this procedure is against his religious beliefs.

4. A doctor refers a patient to a medical textbook for an explanation of his pancreatic cancer.

5. A doctor fails to complete the number of days of professional development training advised annually.

6. A doctor tells a seriously overweight patient who has ignored his advice to diet that she deserves any ill effects that might result from her obecity.

2. Match each headline an opening line from a newspaper report.

1. 66-year-od becomes oldest mother

2. Frozen embryo case to go to Europe

3. Surrogate mother sued by couple

4. Embryo cloning – where will it take us?

5. Using body parts without consent

6. Designer baby's rules are relaxed

7. Doctors back infant mercy killing

1. A woman of 30 who agreed to bear a child for a childless couple then refused to part with the child has been…

2. A surgeon has been accused of removing organs from patients without their knowledge…

3. Three-quarters of Belgian doctors are willing to assist in the death of critically ill babies to end their suffering.

4. A woman hoping to stop the destruction of six embryos. Launched a case at the European Court of Human Rights….

5. A woman has given birth in Romania following IVF treatment.

6. If your favorite pet dies, is it technically possible to produce exact replicas – but what about humans?

7. It is now legal to select embryos to provide blood cell transplants for sick siblings.

attempt – попытка

to dissuade – разубедить

obesity - полнота

to refuse – отказаться

to refer – отсылать

explanation - объяснение

annually – ежегодно

to deserve – заслуживать

to accuse – обвинять

to launch a case – подать в суд

exact replica - точная копия

siblings – братья и сестры

Unit 21 Research Studies

^{Case-control studies}

Here are some extracts from a medical textbook.

In a case-control study, a group of people suffering from a disease (the cases) is compared with a group who do not have the disease, but are similar in other ways (the controls). The two groups, the participants in the study, are compared to see if they were exposed to a possible risk factor or not. A risk factor is something which may contribute to the cause of disease. This type of study is often used as a first step in identifying the cause of a disease.

^{Cohort studies}

In a cohort study, a group (cohort) of people (subjects) who are similar is studied over a period of years (a longitudinal study) to determine if there is a relationship between exposure to a risk factor and development of a disease. At the beginning of a prospective study, none of the subjects has the disease. They are followed up for a number of years, and at the end of the period, those who have developed the disease are compared with those who have not. In a retrospective study, the researchers look back, by studying hospital records for example, at what has happened in the past, comparing subjects who have developed the disease with those who have not. In a cohort study and in a case-control study the subjects are only observed and there is no intervention such as drug treatment or surgery. A cohort study is a more reliable method of identifying the cause of disease than a case-control study. But for proof of cause, a trial is needed.

^Trials

In a trial, a group of people who are suffering from a disease are given a particular treatment. To determine the effectiveness of the treatment, a controlled trial is performed. Two groups are studied: one group (the study group) is given the treatment and the other (the control group) is not. The controls may be given a placebo - something which seems to be identical to the treatment but which has no effect. If there is an equal possibility that patients may be selected for the study group or for the controls, the trial is said to be randomized. A randomized controlled trial makes bias - error in a study which influences the results - less likely. An additional way of removing bias is blinding: patients do not know if they are receiving the treatment or the placebo. If, in addition, the researchers do not know who is receiving the treatment, the trial is a double blind trial. Randomized controlled trials are used to test treatments or preventive measures.