From a pump handle to oral rehydration therapy: a model of translational research.
Few afflictions have attracted as much attention and impacted on as many societal and biomedical areas as cholera. Dr. John Snow's studies launched the field of epidemiology, were early applications of medical cartography, and promoted the use of statistical methods in medicine. The finding that cholera was due to the ingestion of contaminated water lent to the demise of the prevalent "miasmatic theory of contagion," set the platform for the "germ theory of disease," and promoted the growth of public health concerns for water purification and sanitation. More recent attention to this disease led to the notion of "secretory diarrhea" and the translation of basic principles to the development of oral rehydration therapy and its "spin-offs" (Gatorade and Pedilyte).
University of Texas Medical School, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. Stanley.G.Schultz@uth.tmc.edu
Stanley G
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D000284:Administration, Oral; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D002771:Cholera / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy / Q000635:transmission; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy; D005440:Fluid Therapy / Q000266:history*; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000266:history; D016357:Infection Control Practitioners / Q000266:history; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000378:metabolism; D007552:Isotonic Solutions / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000266:history; D008131:London; D015532:Rehydration Solutions / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000266:history*; D012107:Research Design; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014881:Water Supply / Q000266:history*
D000596:Amino Acids; D007552:Isotonic Solutions; D015532:Rehydration Solutions; C011259:gatorade; D014867:Water; D012964:Sodium