Information On Clinical Trials Brandon FL Residents Should Know

By Jason Stewart


Clinical trials are an important component in the development of new drugs and medical interventions. They provide a mechanism through which the effectiveness and safety profile of new forms of therapy are tested before being adopted as routine practice. There are a number of facts on clinical trials Brandon Fl aspiring researchers need to know.

The trial is preceded by what is referred to as preclinical research. This entails determination of whether or not the study is feasible in humans. At this point the molecule or drug of interest is used on human cells or animal models and the effects studied. A drug that proves to be harmful may need some modification or is abandoned altogether.

The next stage comprises a number of phases the first of which is phase zero. Here, just a small group of subjects are included in the study. The number is often less than fifteen. At the same time, only a small dose of the drug under development is administered. This is mainly because the harmful effects, if any, may not be fully understood at this point.

If a drug shows serious side effects, the next phase cannot take off. The researcher has the option of modifying the molecule or giving up the study at this stage. Phase one is slightly larger than phase zero. The number of persons that are required at this point should be anywhere between 20 and 80. This stage is conducted over a couple of months with the main emphasis being on how safe the drug in question is.

Phase one is also important in several other respects other than side effect profiling. For instance, it is the period during which the effective dosage is determined. This is done by gradually increasing the amount administered to subjects and monitoring the side effects. The optimal dose is the highest that can be given without resulting in serious side effects. The route of administration can also be determined at this time.

About 75 per cent of phase 1 studies usually proceed to the next step. At phase 2, the study participants are a few hundreds. The precondition for one to be considered as a participant is that they should have the medical condition behind controlled by the drug. There are several months of follow up by the researcher to see how effective the drug is in the larger. Data collected are used to make decisions on subsequent stages of study.

The third phase is made up of a few thousand participants. They also have a medical condition targeted by the drug. The main role of this stage is to compare and contrast the effects of the new drug with those of pre-existing molecules used for the same condition. Participants receive either the existing drug or the new one in random fashion. The concept of double blinding is also employed to eliminate bias by the researchers and participants.

The final phase, 4, takes place after a drug has been approved for human use. About a quarter to a third of studies from the third stage, make it to the fourth. Thousands of participants in a vast geographical area are involved. The idea is to monitor long term side effects of the drug since these may not be evident in the earlier stages.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment