Clinical research is a great way to test new treatments and see how they effect patients in an ethical manner. Some advantages to clinical studies are that you may be able to access new treatments, there may be fewer side effects compared to standard treatment, you are able to contact a research nurse if you encounter any problems/side effects, and more knowledge on different diseases may become available. Some disadvantages are that the new treatment may not be better than previous ones, there may be more side effects associated with the treatment, and some patients may have to take frequent trips to hospitals to participate in research studies.
You have a very interesting take on how the incorporation of medicine could be used to assist TBI patients in their recovery process. I have a brother that recently suffered from a traumatic brain injury and one of the recovery methods that was employed was the use of medicine that is created for alzheimer's disease treatment. It is difficult to quantify how and what is successful due to the various number of factors but I do believe that the clinical studies have supported long term progress. My question to you is how long do you think it will take for us to be able to genetically map out the human brain and its functions?
I believe the clinical trial is significant for the new device and drug development. Although everything that comes to the clinical trial has the IDE and IRB approved. When the device is required to apply to humans, it's still far different from animal tests. A clinical trial is necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the device or drug on humans. There are lots of settings that require adjustment when the test scales up. The advantage of the clinical trial is we can get better data and procedures to develop a better version. The disadvantage is some people might have serious side effects or illnesses in a clinical trial. They accept this clinical trial because this might be their only choice to get a better cure without insurance. Therefore the FDA guidance and protocol are essential to ensure the right of patients.
While the question is pretty broad, there are many advantages and disadvantages of clinical trials. When looking at the human population as a whole, the biggest advantage is that these trials are what are going to help advance medicine and cures for future diseases. While there are risks involved and some subjects may be put into harm's way in order to run the trial, it will be for the greater good of humanity. While it sounds bleak, this has been happening throughout human history and major advances were made due to being able to test on other human patients. As stated previously, a major disadvantage of these trials is the safety factor and the possibility of unforeseen consequences happening due to clinical testing. There need to be volunteers in order for the testing to occur and this can be dangerous for many reasons. Overall, the positives well outweigh the negatives in this scenario and clinical trials are something that is necessary for the future of the human race. As we saw with COVID, diseases can spread quickly and it is important that cures and solutions are able to be created in as little time as possible.
Upon reviewing responses from my peers, I have to agree with all the pros and cons that have been outlined, however, I wanted to bring some clarity to the discussion. There are different types of clinical studies. Clinical studies are split into observational studies and clinical trials. Observational studies help researchers understand a problem and formulate hypotheses that are aimed to explore the cause of a disease, outline a set of symptoms, or even to learn how a certain behavior affects people’s health. Clinical trials are research studies performed to evaluate the effectiveness of a medical approach (i.e. new or existing drug, device, diagnostic test) in preventing, detecting, or treating different diseases. The subtypes of each are outlined in the following infographic released by the NIH: https://www.nih.gov/sites/default/files/about-nih/public-trust/clinical-trials-infographic.pdf. With this clarification, some additional advantages not outlined include a better understanding of the world around us and the ability to repurpose existing or failed drug, device, or diagnostic applications with alternative indications for use - the most well-known example being Viagra which was original intended as a drug to treat angina but now is commonly prescribed to treat erectile-dysfunction. Additional disadvantages I did not come across include how small sample size can be an issue for the credibility of a study as it poorly reflects the entire population expected to be impacted and the issue of accessibility due to factors such as exclusion criteria, location, or poor insurance coverage.
With clinical studies comes lots of risks, especially where human participants are concerned. However, in order to figure out if a medical product, device, or drug is essential, these studies are necessary. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of clinical studies?
I think that clinical studies are necessary for discovery, but I am conflicted when it comes to the risk of the people. If a study goes bad, it can cost the well-being of a person.
Clinical studies have seemed to be the standard of ensuring the product is safe for human bodies. However, certain technologies nowadays will allow us to test the product without endangering human life. One example is organ-on-a-chip devices which will enable pharmaceutical companies to test their new products on these "chips" instead of humans to see if they will not affect humans. These chips emulate the physiological environments and functionality of human organs. So no human would have to be harmed when testing the drug's safety. So hopefully, in the sometime near future, we will not have to use clinical studies.
Being part of a clinical trial may have risks, but it may also have benefits. The first advantage is the potential to discover a new product and be part of it. Secondly, in case the patient is affected by any specific disease, and the drug or medical device works successfully, then the patient can get a cure for the disease without any cost. On the other hand, if the product being tested in the clinical trial get failed, then it can cause serious discomfort, pain, or life-threatening issues. Moreover, it can deteriorate the health of a fully healthy person. Therefore, I believe volunteers who participate in a clinical trial should be completely sure about their decision, and they must come up with the decision with a logical motive. However, clinical tests are necessary to establish the effect of a new drug or a medical device on humans.
Q: What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of clinical studies?
A: With any study that involves a human subject or even an animal subject, I think that the risks that come with such studies is heavily involved in the well-being of the person involved in the study. Other than the retrospective study, where no new patients are added and it's seemingly a "review" of previous studies that were done, each aspect of a clinical study pushes toward the aspect of "hopefully" doing no harm to the patient. Often times, I've heard that the only way that providers can know that a device works or that a drug works, is if nothing tragic happens. So, in my opinion, some major disadvantages in clinical trials would be the risks of uncertainty when it comes to the livelihoods of the patients, as well as the possibility of high mortality rates within the studies if not conducted safely.
As far as advantages that come from clinical trials, I would say that the use of human patients allows for accurate data for the device production and marketing strategy. This data would allow for the device or drug to be seen as impactful or received positive feedback when given to people for treatment. It also allows for people to understand the negative drawbacks or risks that come with the device/drug as well, to provide a well-rounded view of the device overall.
I believe with any type of trial, whether with animals or humans, there will be advantages and disadvantages. I don’t want to say it’s the end result that makes it worth it, but that is kinda the point. The advantage of clinical trials is the opportunity to have access to cutting-edge therapies that might only be offered as a part of a clinical trial. Also, to some people, it might be comforting to know that you might undergo more routine testing. Lastly, there is a possibility to contribute to the advancement of medical research and therapy.
Disadvantages would be the possibility of not knowing if you were part of a placebo group or you’re actually taking a new form of treatment, there might be more side effects and you may have the worst outcome than your initial treatment.
@reshamn One of the largest incentives for participating in a clinical trial is taking part in discovering edge-breaking treatments. Participates and others with health problems get to face on a cure. A clinical trial is one way to gain access to new medical treatments before they are available to the public at larger. Without willing volunteers clinical trials, the world could face many medical crisis. These are a few databases that lists both public and private human clinical studies. ClinicalTrials.gov, NIH Clinical Research Studies, and ResearchMatch
This is a tough one. Yes it is scary to think that a clinical trial can cause harm to a certain individual or group pf people that are being tested on, but if it doesn't go through them first, it can cause harm to a lot more people. As long as clinical trials aren't forced upon people, and that they all consented to doing the trial, then I am fine with it. It does get scary if and when people are taking advantage of, maybe because of their status or financial situation. Using that to convince someone to something for "science" I feel is unethical.
There are many advantages and disadvantages when it comes to clinical trials and studies.
Advantages
- Development of new drug with a high efficacy rate
- Vast range of individuals (sex, gender, age, race, etc.) can participate and provide results
-Patients can be compensated for their participation and treated for a disease with no current treatment option
Disadvantages
-Side effects of the drug
-Potential death of participants
-The drug not being as effective as it was in pre-clinical trials
Some advantages of clinical studies are discovery of new drugs and treatment, increase knowledge of diseases, new methods for diagnosing diseases, and new ways to reduce the likelihood of developing a disease. Clinical research provides information and answers about the safety and effectiveness of drugs and other therapies. Clinical research necessitates complex and stringent testing in collaboration with disease-affected communities. Some disadvantages of clinical studies are that treatment options are not always effective, patients may experience side effects from medication, some patients are given placebo instead of the medication, and the new treatment may not be as effective as the standard treatment. There is no guarantee that treatment in clinical studies will be effective and they may often require several visits to clinics and the hospital.
Clinical studies are very important in understanding how a drug or vaccine can affect a person's body. I believe in an advantage to clinical studies is being able to have real life subjects and collect the results to then transfer the results into the general population. It is a first hand way to see what works and what doesn't in terms of the drug, vaccine, or therapy on actual people. I believe a disadvantage of clinical studies is the unknown of how it's going to affect a person's body. There have been many clinical studies where it went left and that can get somebody killed. It is very important to take the right precautions and the clinical study. Another advantage of clinical studies, is being able to identify and work with subjects to advance science and technology especially in the medical field. It is an advantage to test out pharmaceuticals and be able to give the proper side effects and results. Again, the biggest disadvantage of clinical studies is the scientist does not know what would happen to the subjects involved and that can be a huge problem.
