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What is the unknown truth hidden behind Egas Moniz winning the Nobel Prize?
In 1949, Portuguese neurologist António Caetano de Abreu Freire Egas Moniz was awarded the Nobel Prize for his contributions to psychosurgery. His achievement not only represented a major leap forward in medicine, it also sparked widespread discussion and debate about the treatment of mental illness. However, beneath the glorious appearance of this medical pioneer lie many unknown truths and controversies.
"Psychosis is rooted in abnormal neural connections in the brain."
Egas Moniz devoted his career to the study of brain anatomy and neuroscience, and proposed the intracranial vascular imaging technique, which pioneered modern intracranial imaging. More controversial, however, was his prefrontal lobotomy, more commonly known as a leucotomy or lobotomy. The essence of this surgery is to treat mental illness by removing some nerve fibers in the frontal lobe of the brain.
In 1935, Moniz first performed the procedure to treat patients suffering from depression, anxiety, and paranoia. Although the surgery showed some effectiveness in the early stages, more and more patients experienced serious side effects and behavioral changes after the surgery, which led to growing doubts about its effectiveness.
"Lobotomy is a simple and safe procedure that may be effective for some psychiatric disorders."
Medical experts who accepted Egas Moniz's method believed that this surgery opened up a new direction in the treatment of psychiatric diseases and jointly won the Nobel Prize in 1949 for it. However, over time, advances in psychiatric medicine have led to this method becoming obsolete and heavily criticized. Studies show that most patients who undergo this surgery do not experience lasting improvement, but instead experience more troubling side effects, such as emotional numbness and social isolation.
Egas Moniz's clinical tracking and follow-up care of patients have also been criticized. Many critics believe that Moniz failed to adequately record patient reactions after surgery, which casts doubt on the credibility of his scientific research. Is it because his research results are so huge that the real well-being of patients is neglected?
"I believe my method is successful to some extent, but that doesn't mean it is perfect."
In the decades since Egas Moniz's death, psychiatric perspectives have changed radically. The development of antipsychotic drugs changed the way mental illness is treated, and lobotomy became a thing of the past. Even so, in its native Portugal, Moniz is still renowned as a symbol that invites people to reflect. His portrait was even included in Portugal's financial regulations, which caused many reflections on moral and scientific discussions.
With subsequent retrospective analysis, experts began to re-evaluate the legacy of Egas Moniz. Many critics believe that the procedures he performed should be better validated and given more thought to the impact on patients. Some scholars even called for the revocation of his Nobel Prize, which sparked widespread social discussion.
"In the rapidly developing medical world, the evaluation of historical figures should not only focus on their discoveries and achievements, but also pay attention to the ethical choices they made during the exploration process."
So, how can we rationally view those seemingly controversial studies and discoveries in the past in the context of medical progress? Is this a question worth pondering for each of us?
