Paul Ehrlich: A Cure For Syphilis

As a scientist Ehrlich constantly tried through many experiments to come up with the treatment we now know as chemotherapy. Ehrlich was looking for, “A magic bullet, this bullet would kill a bacteria or virus without causing harm to a host cell, which is the individual being affected by the disease.”(Robert Bauman 18). In order to find this “magic bullet” Ehrlich had to have patience but most importantly what he had to have was diligence. Eventually Ehrlich was able to find something “Compound 606 which is an arsenic containing compound that was very toxic but later it was modified in order to be used to treat Syphilis.” (Bauman 38). Ehrlich was eventually able to find a “magic bullet” but in order to find one it took him six hundred and five tries. During this process of finding a chemotherapeutic agent Ehrlich must have had a hard time continuing on his discovery. Ehrlich needed a lot of diligence in order to find what he was looking for. If Ehrlich ever gave up then we wouldn’t have chemotherapy available for us today, which would of resulted in the demise of many individuals in our society. Ehrlich truly demonstrates having the virtue of diligence because he persisted and kept fighting to find a cure and by his actions of diligence many individuals in our society have been able to live longer lives due to his discovery of chemotherapeutic

These healthcare professionals in the clinic were performing autopsies on cadavers, which were infected with the disease, and then immediately went to assist mothers in childbirth. Semmelweis hypothesized that proper hand and instrument cleansing would decrease the death rate. It was not until much later that this concept was accepted by healthcare providers.

Syphilis is a venereal disease caused by a bacterium, called Treponema Pallidum. Research for syphilis began in the early 1900s. In 1905, two German scientists, Hoffman and Schaudinn isolated the bacterium that causes the disease. The Wassermann blood test was developed two years later, which aided in diagnosing syphilis. In 1910, German scientist, Paul Ehrlich created a compound called Salvarsan to treat syphilis but the side effects were severe, painful and sometimes fatal. In addition, the treatment spanned

Germany was aware of its own backwardness, while vigorously develop science and education. With its people’s emphasis on learning and rigorous and unremitting national spirit, Germany has trained a large number of outstanding talents for the second industrial revolution. This is inextricably linked to German government’s emphasis on education and the development of science and technology. Germany’s advances in chemistry, biology and physics provided many conditions for medical research and have made many achievements. Such as Dr. Robert Koch discovered the tuberculosis in 1862, Emil von Behring discovered the diphtheria serum in 1864 and medical scientist like Rudolf Virchow and Konrad Roentgen who all participate in the improvement of public health conditions.

Syphilis is one of the oldest sexually transmitted diseases in the world. The first recording of Syphilis was in Europe in 1495, but there is believed to be earlier cases that weren’t recognized. “The transatlantic origin of syphilis is still controversial as there was evidence of an endemic syphilis in Asia Minor before 1492” (JG, 1990) . There has not been a definitive origin for this disease and there were several different hypotheses on how it came to the United States. There have been 2 main theories proposed. The first was the New World or Columbian theory and the Old World or pre-Columbian theory. The first theory holds that the syphilis endemic started in the part of the world now known as Haiti and was then acquired and carried to Europe by Columbus in the 1400s. The second theory, pre-Columbian theory implies that syphilis began in central Africa and was brought to Europe prior to the voyage by Columbus. Recent studies have shown genetic differences between these organisms. Regardless of where the beginning of syphilis started, by 1495 a widespread syphilis epidemic had spread throughout Europe, and then on to India in 1498 and China in 1505. Since its discovery in Europe there have been many speculations that many famous ranging from political figures, musicians and some literary greats may have had syphilis. Some of those were Adolf Hitler, Ivan the Terrible, Henry VIII, Shakespeare, Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Lenin (Vladimir Ulyanov), Friedrich Nietzsche,

Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian physician in the mid 1800s. The work he did on antiseptic procedures challenged medical ideas at the time and made way for new ideas and discoveries.

Although it is easily preventable, over 36,000 cases of syphilis are reported annually in the United States alone (“STD Facts-Syphilis” 2010). Treponema pallidum is the bacterium that causes syphilis. Being one of the most common STDs, syphilis is a bacterial sexually transmitted disease that acts quite differently from the other common STDs because it acts in stages. Fortunately, there are antibiotics to cure syphilis; however, there are not cures for the other health related problems that it causes.

In 1878, Ehrlich was offered the position head physician at Charite Hospital in Berlin. Here he developed a new technique of straining cells to identify tuberculosis. He also identified the many types of blood cells of the body and practically laid out the foundation of hematology. Also, as he was developing a new method for the strain of live tissue, he discovered what the use of methylene blue was on the treatment of nervous disorders. After experiencing tuberculosis, he transferred to a different hospital where he focused on the problem of immunity. The hypothesis Ehrlich developed explained how antibodies are formed and how they react with other substances. Ehrlich later decided to study syphilis, and tried to form a cure for it. Ehrlich performed 606 experiments before he finally found a successful weapon to use against the

Koch being the founder of bacteriology impacted science and microbiology tremendously. He broke out of the normal and experimented to find the bacteria that derived from diseases. His techniques laid out the concept of what was considered the causing agent bacteria. The techniques he used also allowed many scientist to discover the causes of most protozoan and bacterial diseases as well as certain viral diseases. For example, Laveran found protozoan is the cause of malaria and Kelbs found the bacteria responsible for causing

There are many interesting facts about leprosy and Armauer Hansen that some people may or may not know. One interesting fact is that Armauer Hansen suffered from syphilis. Another interesting fact that some people may not know is that leprosy was renamed the Hansen's disease to honor him for identifying and discovering leprosy. Another interesting fact is that he was married twice. The last interesting fact about leprosy is that after the cause of leprosy was found out by Hansen, and before people found out the cure, scientists treated patients by injecting them with oil from the Chaulmoogra nut, which was very painful and not many people benefited from it.

Ignaz Semmelweis discovered the need for proper handwashing procedures when he began work at a local maternity clinic in Vienna. (Zoltan) Semmelweis made it his mission as a physician to back any inquiries that he made with scientific evidence. (Admin) Many women gave birth at home during this time period, but those who went to local clinics found themselves at risk of contracting this deadly disease. During this period in history, it was still believed that the origin of infectious diseases was caused by miasma, overcrowding, and poor ventilation, Semmelweis dug further to discover the true origin of the disease. (Zoltan)

The medical profession have claimed responsibility for the eradication of the infectious diseases that plagued the population in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Vaccination, chemical cures and advancements in medical

The French 19th century biologist, Louis Pasteur, is responsible for many scientific advancements, particularly in the field of biology. He has become one of the most well-known figures in the science of biology for having a massive effect on the direction of scientific thinking. He was a key figure in contributing to the germ theory of disease. His historical experiments proved his theories, and changed the way the world views the fundamental principles of microbiology.

researcher, discovered and developed the first successful polio vaccine, with the help of animals. He

Although he sparked off a scientific revolution which saved human lives his theory was largely ignored as doctors found it hard to accept that they were killing there patients and that diseases were contagious and transferable. But eventually Semmelweis's ideas did create new inventions such as the Penicillin founded by Fleming, the discovery of soap by Marie Curie also supported the arguments that Semmelweis proposed. His revolution was seen as an inspiration to Florence Nightingale who became a hero during World War I for her life saving discoveries. The scientific revolution that Francis Crick and James Watson set off is a clear example that if a scientific revolution occurs it will cause an increase in the amount of inventions.