Clinical Trials

[Guest guest]

From the health section last week of The Dallas Morning News -

Patients' lies lower the value of clinical truials, scientists say -

Oh how scientists do get peeved when patients practice to deceive.

A new study found that one in three patients participating in a clinical

trial said they took their medicine, when in fact they did not. The

finding that 30 percent of patients lied - " an unexpectedly large and

disturbing figure, " the researchers said - casts some doubt on the

wealth of medical knowledge that comes from clinical trials.

The clinical trial, conducted at s Hopkins University and the

University of California, Los Angeles, examined whether spritzes of an

inhaled medicine affected the progression of severe lung disease in

smokers. The 101 volunteers didn't know, however, that their inhalers

automatically logged the date and time of each use. During each

doctor's exam, the study participants dutifully reported taking their

medicine. The inhalers, though, revealed that many patients were simply

dumping their medicine just before the visit.

By contrast, 175 other volunteers knew that their inhalers were

monitored. Only one of them cheated.

Based on this and similar studies, researchers wrote last week in the

journal Chest, scientists should know that some deception " can be

expected in almost any clinical trial. "

Unfortunately, it isn't only the patients who cheat - researchers are

good at this too. There were 120 violations in the MIRA trial approved

by the researchers.

Hm! - 120 violations, maybe up to a third of participants failed to take

medication correctly and still the results showed Minocin to be

effective?

Ethel