Tuskegee Study
The U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee, more generally known as the Tuskegee Study, was a research study into syphilis treatment. It is a prominent case study of unethical human subject research.
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History
The U.S. Public Health Service and the Tuskegee Institute (later the Tuskegee University) conducted a study in 1932. 600 poor black men were recruited for the study and offered free medical care. 399 has syphilis but their diagnosis was withheld. The other 201 were used as a control group. They were given placebos to treat 'bad blood'. The experiment was intended to last 6 months but was expanded to 40 years. No subjects were ever treated with penicillin.
Details of the experiment were leaked in 1972, leading to its discontinuation. 28 subjects died from syphilis; 100 died from related complications; 40 partners of the subjects were infected; and 19 children of the subjects were born with congenital syphilis.
The National Research Act of 1974 established the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. In 1978 the commission published the Belmont Report.