An expanded microarray platform for diagnosis of nonbacterial sepsis: Potential usefulness for immunosuppressed patients

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• 作者：Simone Lista ; Enzo Emanuele
• 关键词：Autism ; Autism spectrum disorders ; Spironolactone ; Androgen ; Testosterone ; Neuroglia ; Neuroinflammation ; Inflammation ; Immune dysregulation ; Anti-inflammatory ; Anti-androgen
• 刊名：Medical Hypotheses
• 出版年：2006
• 出版时间：2006
• 年：2006
• 卷：67
• 期：4
• 页码：1001
• 全文大小：32 K

文摘

Popperian epidemiology is a biomedical science tool based on the hypothesis-deductive method and the falsifiability of scientific hypotheses. This article explores the applicability of the refutationist logic tools in the analysis of a randomised controlled trial (RCT), the randomised Aldactone evaluation study (RALES). This was carried out by using bi-conditional modus-tollens arguments of the type (i) P-then-Q_n and (ii) Q_n-If-X_P, X_P being a set of potential falsifiers of Q_n as part of the explicit falsity-content of P. In this model, P is the main hypothesis and Q_n one or more logical predictions to be tested. The X_P argument represents inclusion criteria, exclusion criteria and conditional criteria of the RCT so every P-then-X_P argument should be fulfilled in canonical form to corroborate P-then-Q_n. Thus, falsifiability of a RCT would be determined by the empirical content of the conditional argument Q_n-If-X_P and its external validity would be determined by the empirical content of X_P. In this way it would be possible to mathematically assess the external validity of a RCT if the observational predicates of the X_P argument in a given population are known. According to this popperian model, applicability of the RCT results to clinical practice implies transferring of all its empirical content, in other words, the totality of its truth and falsity contents. Thus, to ignore the explicit falsity-content of a RCT such as RALES may jeopardise its potential benefits in clinical practice as suggested by recent studies.