Physicians and syphilis research: "Their research practices often strayed from today's ethical standards."

Actas Dermosifiliogr. 2013 Nov 21. pii: S0001-7310(13)00358-X. doi: 10.1016/j.ad.2013.09.007. [Epub ahead of print]

Syphilis and Human Experimentation From the First Appearance of the Disease to World War II: A Historical Perspective and Reflections on Ethics.

[Article in English, Spanish]

Cuerda-Galindo E1, Sierra-Valentí X2, González-López E3, López-Muñoz F4.

Author information

• 1Departamento de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, España. Electronic address: esther.cuerda@urjc.es.
• 2Institut Català de la Salut, Terrassa, Barcelona, España.
• 3Departamento de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, España.
• 4Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Camilo José Cela, Madrid, España.

Abstract

Physicians have conducted research on syphilis for centuries, seeking to understand its etiology and the means of transmission as well as find ways to prevent and cure the disease. Their research practices often strayed from today's ethical standards. In this paper we review ethical aspects of the long history of research on syphilis with emphasis on the experiments performed in the 20th century. The description of research around the time of World War II covers medical experiments carried out in US prisons and in the experimentation centers established by Japanese doctors in occupied territory, as well as experiments in Nazi Germany and the treatment of syphilitics there.