Clinical Trials: Because Meds Don't Always Work

Unknown to most people, prescription medicines undergo stringent testing processes to ensure their safety and efficacy. These clinical trials, also known as interventional studies, involve testing the prototype medicine (the intervention) on a group of test subjects. More often than not, the results of these trials prove useful for improving overall medical care in a number of ways.

First, these trials help not only to validate old medical studies, but also to confirm whether certain medical practices are indeed safe. For instance, it was found out that using hormone therapy to reduce the risk of heart disease in women is actually dangerous, even though it was previously approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Hormone therapy was found to increase the risk of stroke, blood clots, and even breast cancer, but this would have never been confirmed had clinical trials not been conducted.

Second, clinical trials can be used to compare the effectiveness of medical practices, especially those used to treat the same ailment or disease. This is exactly what the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute did in order to find the best treatment for asthma. Lastly, clinical trials can give doctors and scientists the perfect opportunities to determine if certain medical procedures can be combined to create much more potent treatments.

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How Medical Clinical Trials Work

Before a new drug or treatment method can be introduced to the public, the health authority or ethics committee in a certain jurisdiction usually requires a clinical trial. This consists of a set of tests that aim to prove the efficacy and safety of the drug or treatment being presented upon market launch. The data typically touches upon adverse reactions or side effects, which help the authorities decide whether or not to approve the sale and distribution of the drug in question.

Medical clinical trials are essentially an investigative process that involves testing a product or treatment on volunteer patients. These volunteers usually suffer from the very illness or condition the product or treatment is designed to cure. The number of test patients increases as more results turn out favorably.

Most of the tests are funded by specific sponsors of the project. Governmental agencies or private pharmaceutical companies typically sponsor such tests. Meanwhile, the hospital or organization performing the tests can seek outsourced partners when the sponsorship funds are no longer sufficient to support the growing population of patients.

Medical clinical trials help protect the general public from the potential adverse effects of every drug being introduced to the market. At the same time, clinical trials can provide much-needed data that may help improve the safety, efficacy, and marketability of new drugs.

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Memory Loss: Preparing for the Inevitable

Memory loss, in general, doesn't always indicate that you're at risk of Alzheimer's disease. There are instances when people forget what they've seen or heard a few minutes ago; that's just how the brain works, according to psychologists. However, if you can't remember the names of people you spend a lot of time with, it may signify a problem. If you compare the brain to a hard drive, long-term memory loss is the same as a corrupted drive.

It's crucial to detect this degenerative mental disease in its early stages. Among those considered as early-stage symptoms are the inability to conjure ideas despite having rehearsed hundreds of times and the tendency to do multiple tasks at the same time. Memory screening tests can help identify whether or not a person has Alzheimer's disease, although its results aren't the sole basis. Early stages of the disease should be countered with early preparation.

Alzheimer's disease is progressive. Early detection may not yield a cure, but anticipating the disease ahead of time can prepare friends and family better for the inevitable. People suffering from Alzheimer's are most in need of medical and social support from those close to them. Memory screening and other clinical tests can help diagnosed patients prepare in advance for the journey ahead. 

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Basic Facts on Clinical Trials and Research

Before a drug is placed in the market or certain medical procedures are approved, clinical trials are frequently conducted to ensure their efficacy and safety. As a component of medical research, clinical trials are methodologically conducted by a team of professionals composed of doctors, nurses, research scientists, social workers, and other healthcare experts. Majority of trials are funded by government agencies, non-profit organizations, and pharmaceutical companies.

From discovering new treatments to identifying ways to prevent certain diseases or complications, there are many advantages associated with clinical trials. In fact, a number of participants who would've otherwise not received treatment, survive and get better with the help of clinical trials. However, as with most researches, there are still uncertainties and risks connected with every clinical trial. This is why patients and volunteers are thoroughly informed of the trial's objectives, risks, benefits, and its process before they are asked to sign a consent.

At present, several clinical trials are geared towards determining more effective cure for deadly and chronic conditions, such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Without medical research and clinical studies, there's no way to guarantee the effectiveness of a treatment. Furthermore, adverse reactions related to the drug being tested will not be discovered and resolved if not for medical trials. In the end, it's always about weighing the pros and cons.

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What Are the Phases of Clinical Trials?

Clinical trials are scientific research studies that involve patients as subjects to test treatments and newly developed medicines. The research goes through several stages to make sure that the results are unarguably accurate and reliable. The first stage is usually done for a small group of around 20 to 80, where the subject therapy will be administered for the first time.

The second phase involves about a hundred to 300 patients. The results of the Phase I tests will be checked against and compared to the Phase II results. The study will only reach the third stage if the pre-determined number of patients benefit from the treatment. In Phase III, the respondents are a much larger group of a thousand to three thousand. This phase involves evaluation of the treatment's effectiveness and monitoring of its side-effects.

For a certain drug to pass the stringent standards of the Food and Drugs Administration, it should make it through the third phase. However, this isn't the last step; Phase IV trials will have to be conducted while the drug is already in the market.

The purpose of the fourth phase is to continually evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment or drug and to discover any new benefits that may come up from them. This is why it's common to hear about scientists “discovering new uses for X medicine or Y drug.” In the end, clinical trials assure you that your medication, barring all other factors, can give you the cure you need.

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