Junk DNA and the identification of new levels of evidence to guide medical practice in 2013 and beyond

Jones, Peter D

doi:10.5694/mja12.11513

Topics

To the Editor: This year, evidence-based medicine celebrated its 20th birthday.1 However, it remains difficult to translate research findings to the bedside,2 and many medical diagnoses and treatments are unable to meet the five levels of clinical evidence currently recognised in the United Kingdom (http://evidence basedmedicine.com.au/?page_id=30).

School of Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD.

Correspondence: pejones@bond.edu.au

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

1. Cook DJ, Jaeschke R, Guyatt GH. Critical appraisal of therapeutic interventions in the intensive care unit: human monoclonal antibody treatment in sepsis: Journal Club of the Hamilton Regional Critical Care Group. J Intensive Care Med 1992; 7: 275-282.
2. Scott IA, Glasziou PP. Improving the effectiveness of clinical medicine: the need for better translation of science into practice. Med J Aust 2012; 197: 374-378. <MJA full text>
3. The Encode Consortium. An integrated encyclopaedia of DNA elements in the human genome. Nature 2012; 489: 57-74.
4. Jones PD. Medical Munchausen syndrome. Lancet 1995; 345: 995.

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