WAS THE GOLD STANDARD REALLY DESTABILIZING?

Was Meduna's theory really wrong?

To the Editors Few treatments in psychiatry were discovered and developed based on a previously developed theory. The therapeutic effects of the first antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs, for example, were serendipitously observed before a theory on how they work was described. By contrast, convulsive therapy was developed in Budapest by Dr. Lazlo Meduna based on facts that led him to forese...

Serological diagnosis of avian influenza in poultry: is the haemagglutination inhibition test really the ‘gold standard’?

BACKGROUND The serological diagnosis of avian influenza (AI) can be performed using different methods, yet the haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test is considered the 'gold standard' for AI antibody subtyping. Although alternative diagnostic assays have been developed, in most cases, their accuracy has been evaluated in comparison with HI test results, whose performance for poultry has not bee...

Is MRI Really the Gold Standard for the Quantification of Salvage From Myocardial Infarction?

Longevity after aortic root replacement: is the mechanically valved conduit really the gold standard for quinquagenarians?

BACKGROUND The choice of the best conduit for root/ascending disease and its impact on longevity remain controversial in quinquagenarians. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 205 patients (men=155) between 50 and 60 years (mean, 55.7 ± 2.9 years) received either a stentless porcine xenoroot (n=78) or a mechanically valved composite prosthesis (n=127) between February 1998 and July 2011. Of these, ...

2006 gy : was it really extra - ordinary ?

We present the photometric and spectroscopic study of the very luminous Type IIn SN 2006gy for a time period spanning more than one year. The evolution of multiband light curves, the pseudo-bolometric (BVRI) light curve and an extended spectral sequence are used to derive constraints on the origin and evolution of the SN. A broad, bright (MR ∼ −21.7) peak characterizes all monochromatic light c...