The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Precision Medicine Latest Initiative in War on Autoimmunity, Rheumatic Illnesses

Precision Medicine Latest Initiative in War on Autoimmunity, Rheumatic Illnesses

June 12, 2016 • By Simon M. Helfgott, MD

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
Allies Interactive/shutterstock.com

Allies Interactive/shutterstock.com

It’s been said that there is no greater bully pulpit than the American presidency. Linking the force of moral persuasion to this most powerful office—one that is capable of issuing executive orders and bypassing the wishes of Congress or rousing public opinion in favor of or against bills that are in the process of being crafted—many of its recent incumbents have seized upon this authority to declare a war on something.

You Might Also Like
  • Experts Discuss the Latest Precision Medicine Research
  • The ACR Pre-Meeting Research Conferences to Explore Immunity, Precision Medicine in Rheumatic Diseases
  • The Latest Data on Cancer Immunotherapy’s Interaction with Autoimmunity
Explore This Issue
June 2016
Also By This Author
  • Patient Access to Electronic Health Records Yields Unexpected Results

These are not the usual proclamations that serve to mobilize and unite the nation in times of battle. No, these are the rallying calls, the pep talks used by the commander in chief to cajole the members of Congress and inspire the public to work diligently toward achieving some worthy goals.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

For John F. Kennedy, this war was his call for an all-out technological effort to beat the Soviets in the race to the moon. For Lyndon Johnson, it was the war on poverty, a series of federal programs that sought to alter the bleak economic landscape that affected one-fifth of the population, which was mired in poverty during his presidency. For some presidents, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, it has been the enduring war on drugs, focused on ending illicit drug use, a battle with mixed results that rages on.

And then there was one other skirmish started by a most unlikely White House incumbent, President Nixon. Entangled in a deeply unpopular war in Southeast Asia, President Nixon sought some dramatic initiative that could signify to voters that he was more than a warmonger, an appellation commonly affixed to his name.1 Six months before the infamous Watergate burglary, during his 1971 State of the Union address, he telegraphed his intentions to vanquish cancer when he pledged $100 million toward this battle. President Nixon declared, “I hope in the years ahead we will look back on this action today as the most significant action taken during my administration.”2

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

I will let others judge whether this laudable effort compensates for President Nixon’s policy blunders in Vietnam or his impeachable behavior during the Watergate scandal. Immediately after declaring this war, President Nixon—always the shrewd politician—ordered the conversion of the Army’s Fort Detrick, Md., biological warfare facility to a cancer research center, a biblical gesture. A depot of germ warfare was transformed into the Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center, an internationally recognized facility for cancer and AIDS research.1

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Single Page

Filed Under: Conditions, Opinion, Rheuminations Tagged With: Affordable Care Act, autoimmunity, Obamacare, Precision Medicine, Rheumatic DiseaseIssue: June 2016

You Might Also Like:
  • Experts Discuss the Latest Precision Medicine Research
  • The ACR Pre-Meeting Research Conferences to Explore Immunity, Precision Medicine in Rheumatic Diseases
  • The Latest Data on Cancer Immunotherapy’s Interaction with Autoimmunity
  • Precision Medicine in Rheumatology May Improve Diagnosis, Disease Classification

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

ACR Convergence

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Convergence site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2022 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)