#ProtectingSight #368: The US syphilis experiment. Refractive lens exchange, shunt malfunction, & diffuse choroidal melanoma.

Welcome to my daily learning journal. Here is today’s list:

1. Ted Talk – Susan M. Reverby: Ugly History: The US syphilis experiment. “Afflicting nearly 1 in 10 Americans, syphilis was ravaging the U.S. in the 1930s. Many doctors believed syphilis affected Black and white patients differently, and the Public Health Service launched an experiment to investigate, recruiting 600 Black men to take part. But the study was centered on a lie: the men wouldn’t actually receive treatment. Susan Reverby details the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. [Directed by Ouros Animation, narrated by Christina Greer, music Stephen LaRosa].” (ted.com)

I remember first learning about the Tuskegee experiments in high school. By medical school, I simply could not understand how this was allowed to continue for so long after effective treatments had appeared. The work continues to bring about equity in U.S. health care. (See also the AMA’s Vision for equity and justice in medicine).

2. Cataract Surgery – Uday Devgan MD – 1136: Refractive Lens Exchange Surgery. Excellent case and pearls.

3. Andrew Lee MD – Shunt malfunction.

Dr. Lee’s neuro-ophthalmology reviews are perfect for lifelong learning.

4. Bakhoum, Mathieu F. et al. “Defining Extent of Diffuse Choroidal Melanoma with Indocyanine Green Angiography.” Ophthalmology, Volume 128, Issue 6, 834

5. AMA Annual Meeting – Last full day of the AMA virtual meeting. Great to stay connected with friends and colleagues who share a mission to move medicine forward.

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