Autonomic dysregulation and nonsuicidal self-injury: findings from a cross-sectional online survey.

Medicine is evolving at such a pace that it is difficult to keep up. What version are we at now? Can medicine even be meaningfully numbered, given that the scientific progress is inherently iterative and continuous? While any attempt to categorise medicine into distinct ‘versions’ risks oversimplifying a complex process, the three broad phases proposed by Attia and Gifford () in their book, , offer a valuable perspective. Their three phases of provide a useful framework for thinking about how medicine has evolved and how it should evolve in the future. is defined as the largely ineffective medicine practised before the emergence of modern science. During this time, treatments were often based on superstition, anecdote, or incomplete theories of the body, with limited ability to reliably produce optimal results. , by contrast, represents the modern era of scientific medicine and evidence-based healthcare. Defined by the use of the scientific method and scientific tools such as microscopes, antibiotics, and randomised controlled trials. As Attia and Gifford state, “ was transformational”; it became “a scientific war machine that has eradicated deadly diseases such as polio and smallpox,” contributing to the doubling of lifespans (2023). However, Attia and Gifford also argue that lifespans have since plateaued and modern healthcare systems are largely reactive (2023).