Translational Medicine as Implementation Science in the Field of Monitoring HIV and TB. New Concepts Emanating from Resource-Poor Countries

摘要

In the last decade, there has been generous support by Western nations to deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic and accompanying plethora of infections, a significant portion of the aid is extended to resource-restricted countries (1). The wave of support has contributed to the development of a branch of biomedical activity, referred to as translational medicine. This new field covers two areas: (i) the "translational medicine proper" (T-1) to establish proofs of concepts - mostly in animal models that lead to pilot studies in humans, and (ii) "the translational medicine-2" (T-2, also referred to as "implementation science") for optimizing already established medical concepts in rich and poor countries alike, for wider applications in communities (2). Fledgling journals which carry the "translational" title clearly favor T-1 publications;by contrast, on the pages of Clinical Cytometry mostly T-2 topics are featured as clinical implementations of diagnostically relevant developments.