Ethical Imperialism?

Abstract

A Sounding Board article and an exchange of letters in this week's Journal raise important issues about the ethics of medical research in other countries. In the former,¹ Dr. Barry discusses the special problems associated with clinical research on the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Africa. In an unrelated letter,² Dr. Glass notes that informed consent is not mentioned in the report of a study of an experimental treatment for bladder cancer, performed in Chinese patients by a collaborative team of American and Chinese researchers. Dr. Prout and his colleagues, in their reply,³ assure us that informed consent was obtained . . .