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Natural History Group
The term natural history group refers to subjects in a drug trial that receive no treatment of any kind and whose illness is, as a consequence, left to run its "natural" course. The term stems from the natural history of an illness, which is the course and outcome of that illness in the absence of treatment. First usage In 1863, Austin Flint (1812–1886) in his report of the first-ever trial that directly compared the efficacy of a placebo treatment with that of an active treatment, spoke of "the natural history of n untreateddisease". Third arm The natural history group is often referred to as the ''third arm'' of a controlled drug trial, from the simple notion that a trial constructed in this way has three, rather than two arms (the "active" and "placebo" groups). The observed outcomes within this group are then compared with the outcomes manifested by a group that has been given the active drug, and with that manifested by a second group who have been given a dummy, placeb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drug Trial
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietary choices, dietary supplements, and medical devices) and known interventions that warrant further study and comparison. Clinical trials generate data on dosage, safety and efficacy. They are conducted only after they have received health authority/ethics committee approval in the country where approval of the therapy is sought. These authorities are responsible for vetting the risk/benefit ratio of the trial—their approval does not mean the therapy is 'safe' or effective, only that the trial may be conducted. Depending on product type and development stage, investigators initially enroll volunteers or patients into small pilot studies, and subsequently conduct progressively larger scale comparative studies. Clinical trials can vary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural History Of Disease
The natural history of disease is the course a disease takes in individual people from its pathological onset ("inception") until its resolution (either through complete recovery or eventual death). The inception of a disease is not a firmly defined concept. The natural history of a disease is sometimes said to start at the moment of exposure to causal agents. Knowledge of the natural history of disease ranks alongside causal understanding in importance for disease prevention and control. Natural history of disease is one of the major elements of descriptive epidemiology. As an example, the cartilage of the knee, trapeziometacarpal and other joints deteriorates with age in most humans (osteoarthritis). There are no disease-modifying treatments for osteoarthritis---no way to slow, arrest, or reverse this pathophysiological process. There are only palliative/symptomatic treatments such as analgesics and exercises. In contrast, consider rheumatoid arthritis, a systemic inflammatory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austin Flint
Austin Flint I (October 20, 1812 – March 13, 1886) was an American physician. He was a founder of Buffalo Medical College, precursor to The State University of New York at Buffalo. He served as president of the American Medical Association. Biography Flint was born at Petersham, Massachusetts on October 20, 1812 to Joseph Henshaw Flint (1786-1846) and Hannah Willard Reed. He was educated at Amherst and Harvard and graduated at the latter in 1833. After practicing at Boston, Massachusetts and Northampton, Massachusetts, he moved to Buffalo, New York, in 1836. He was appointed professor of the institutes and practices of medicine in Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois; resigned after one year, in 1846, and established the '' Buffalo Medical Journal''. With Doctors White and Frank Hastings Hamilton he founded the Buffalo Medical College in 1847, where he was professor of the principles and practice of medicine for six years. He was afterward professor of the theory and p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Placebo
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general, placebos can affect how patients perceive their condition and encourage the body's chemical processes for relieving pain and a few other symptoms, but have no impact on the disease itself. Improvements that patients experience after being treated with a placebo can also be due to unrelated factors, such as regression to the mean (a statistical effect where an unusually high or low measurement is likely to be followed by a less extreme one). The use of placebos in clinical medicine raises ethical concerns, especially if they are disguised as an active treatment, as this introduces dishonesty into the doctor–patient relationship and bypasses informed consent. While it was once assumed that this deception was necessary for placebos to have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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