This week’s reading that resonated with me is the story of Ellen Roche (2001). This resonates with me because she was a healthy 24-year-old that had mysteriously passed away after being involved in a study at Johns Hopkins University. The study involved Roche inhaling an experimental compound that was to help the researchers understand what causes asthma. However, she passed away from lung failure on June 2nd, which was 29 days after she fell ill on May 5th which was one day after inhaling the experimental compound. So, what happened? Why does this resonate with me? Well, I have a genetic disease called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and due to this, my liver can be impacted which then impacts my lungs. However, my liver has been fine, but my lungs have not so much. I fight constant lung infections at least once a month for a week or two so to hear about this research going so badly for someone who was supposed to be so healthy is scary. Miss Roche apparently took a drug not approved by the FDA called hexamethonium, which temporarily blocks the nerves in the lungs and can also lead to the lungs not responding properly. There are several drugs out there used for things that are not approved by the FDA and this can be dangerous, especially with drug-herb, drug-drug, or herb-herb reactions.  

Resource

·      Kolata, Gina. 2001, July 17. Johns Hopkins Admits Fault in Fatal Experiment. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/17/us/johns-hopkins-admits-fault-in-fatal-experiment.html