In their July editorial, the PLOS Medicine Editors discuss the potential of translational medicine to improve global health and how adherence to reporting standards and guidelines for translational research will lead to better-quality studies in this field.
Two recent translational medicine papers published in PLOS Medicine demonstrate how clinical care can be improved through translational research. The first paper, from Pierre Laurent-Puig and colleagues, reported on a novel transcriptome-based classification of colon cancer that groups colon cancers into six molecular subtypes with prognostic importance. Nathan Ledeboer and colleagues evaluated a diagnostic platform for rapidly detecting Gram-positive bacteria in blood cultures, which could improve decision-making when initiating patient treatment. The editors also argue that advances in translational medicine can lead to improvements in global health, but the technologies must be accessible to low-income countries.
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Editorial
Translating Translational Research into Global Health Gains
PLOS Medicine: published July 30, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001493
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Combatting Substandard and Falsified Medicines: A View from Rwanda
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Reflections on the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Estimates
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Progress in Using Systematic Reviews of Animal Studies to Improve Translational Research
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Access to Drugs for Treatment of Noncommunicable Diseases
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Sickle Cell Anaemia in a Changing World
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The Growing Problem of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in North Korea
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Multiplex Identification of Gram-Positive Bacteria and Resistance Determinants Directly from Positive Blood Culture Broths: Evaluation of an Automated Microarray-Based Nucleic Acid Test
PLOS Medicine: published July 2, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001478
Association of Lifecourse Socioeconomic Status with Chronic Inflammation and Type 2 Diabetes Risk: The Whitehall II Prospective Cohort Study
PLOS Medicine: published July 2, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001479
The Effect of Tobacco Control Measures during a Period of Rising Cardiovascular Disease Risk in India: A Mathematical Model of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke
PLOS Medicine: published July 9, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001480
Changes in Association between Previous Therapeutic Abortion and Preterm Birth in Scotland, 1980 to 2008: A Historical Cohort Study
PLOS Medicine: published July 9, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001481
Global Burden of Sickle Cell Anaemia in Children under Five, 2010–2050: Modelling Based on Demographics, Excess Mortality, and Interventions
PLOS Medicine: published July 16, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001484
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Threats to Validity in the Design and Conduct of Preclinical Efficacy Studies: A Systematic Review of Guidelines for In Vivo Animal Experiments
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The Influence of Health Systems on Hypertension Awareness, Treatment, and Control: A Systematic Literature Review
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Risk Prediction for Breast, Endometrial, and Ovarian Cancer in White Women Aged 50 y or Older: Derivation and Validation from Population-Based Cohort Studies
PLOS Medicine: published July 30, 2013 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001492