Imagine you were subjected to medical experimentation during which doctors drilled holes in your skull and dumped in pig brains to replace your own.
It really happened to Jim Finn and Pighead. My voluminous notes from internet discussions with the two people were destroyed by the Yahoo Sheriff at the instigation of the usual cyberspace psychos but there is no shortage of evidence of the deed. Here is some.
The fact is they asked for it.
Jim Finn is the real name of a real person who was suffering from Parkinson's. Among other appearances he was on 60 Minutes. I saw confidential film of Jim Finn that would never be shown to the public because of the graphic nature of his advanced stage of a terrible disease.
Pighead I believe that was the pseudonym used by a very brave lady. She had suffered a stroke that left her badly incapacitated. She underwent the same procedure and apparently made great progress as well.
The pair had many discussions that a diligent researcher could perhaps recover with a search engine if the idiot censors haven't destroyed those too.
I had a bit more than academic interest. A doctor had suggested I might have early symptoms of Parkinson's.
Another later told me not to worry. It was probably just diabetic neuropathy. :-(
A commonly repeated false claim that placebos are never used in serious illnesses sparked memory of a most extreme "placebo" used in a clinical trial of the efficacy of "porcine neurons" transplanted into human brains.
More below the fold for any interested.
Jim Finn's progress from "terminal Parkinson's" [an obvious misnomer because Parkinson's is not lethal by itself] to taking up golf, the Scottish Revenge, for the first time [hopefully not the result of a diseased brain] and returning to work on his sports car was astounding.
Based on such results of early experimentation, a clinical trial was designed.
But what about the control arm? What possible placebo could be used?
It is not an absolute necessity to have a control arm but the FDA demands one if there is any possibility of one.
A way was found. Holes would be drilled in the skulls of all volunteers but only half would get the porcine neurons.
But what about doing no harm? Parkinson's patients in the control arm would have holes drilled in their skulls but would then be offered no remediation.
A panel of medical ethicists was convened and eventually OK'd the procedure.
One participant said he thought the volunteers who didn't get the pig cells in their heads might be considered the lucky ones.
And the trial results determined he was right.
Efficacy did not just miss statistical significance, as is often the case, but there was not the slightest indication of a difference in the two arms.
Jim Finn and Pighead did it all themselves. They might have done as well with a faith healer as with the xenotransplants.
Back to the drawing board.
Later a neuroscientist writing a newsletter scoffed at the entire experiment. He said the entire procedure was ludicrous. Dumping the fetal pig neurons in the brain at random and describing it as microsurgery approached the level of fraud.
I noticed he had not said the same before the results were unblinded.
Some day the ghoulish clinical trials will become obsolete. I am not exactly enamored of those who wish endless trials to be real, real, real certain a drug or device is efficacious and does only harm that might be tolerated in view of the benefit. Even death for some unfortunate souls is possible with such as cancer drugs that offer a large benefit to the many.
Either way the only way to learn is a most unpleasant one for now and the volunteers are as brave as any warrior. Often pain, suffering and even death is the all these unsung heroes receive.
Best, Terry