The Oslo Study of Untreated Syphilis Review and Commentary

A rare case of a chronic syphilitic gumma in a man infected with human immunodeficiency virus

“…5 In that study, the condition mostly affected skin (70 per cent), followed by involvement of bone (10 per cent) and mucosa (10 per cent). 5 In that study, the condition mostly affected skin (70 per cent), followed by involvement of bone (10 per cent) and mucosa (10 per cent).…”

“…5,6 Tertiary syphilis can be subdivided into late benign syphilis, cardiovascular syphilis and neurosyphilis. If left untreated, 30 per cent of patients with latent syphilis will go on to develop tertiary syphilis.…”

Human Subjects Research after the Holocaust

“…The researchers theorized that Whites experienced more neurological complications from syphilis, whereas Blacks were more susceptible to cardiovascular damages. The researchers believed that racial differences affected the course of the disease and, therefore, expected the Tuskegee study to provide a useful comparison to the Oslo Study, which was a study of syphilis in White people (Harrison 1956). There was, however, a fundamental difference in the two studies: The Oslo study was a retrospective study that utilized health records of untreated syphilis cases, whereas the Tuskegee study was a prospective study deliberately designed to withhold treatment Harrison 1956).…”

The spectre of race in American medicine

“…It is less often noted that the very premise of the study hypothesis rested upon the same biological determinism and presupposition of racial differences that featured so prominently in the slavery debate. Indeed, there had already been a long-term study of the natural history of untreated syphilis in White patients 7. The crucial argument that the Tuskegee investigators presented to justify replicating this study was that the progression of syphilis was not the same in Blacks as it was in Whites 8.…”