Friday, 15 June 2018

Essentials Of Clinical Research Tampa Residents May Wish To Know

By Barbara Walker


Clinical research is needed to find cure for conditions that do not have a clear management protocol. It is also paramount that an alternative is provided to ensure that the conditions are put under control as cure is being sought. The aim of research is often to create a new drug, device or establish a non-pharmacological way of curing disease. There are several important concepts on clinical research tampa residents may find interesting.

As the term suggests, pre-clinical trials come right before the trial itself. The pre-clinical phase aims at establishing a safety framework for use of a drug among participants of the main trial. At this stage, important properties ( also known ad pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics) of a given drug are studied. Pharmacodynamics refer to the response of the body to the drug. Such will include, for example, the side effects and maximum safe dose. Pharmacokinetics, on the other hand, define how the drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized and excreted from the body.

Trials may also be designed for testing medical devices rather than drugs. Medical devices are generally invented to enhance the accuracy of diagnosis of illnesses or to maintain functionality when an organ is or has failed. A good example is the artificial pacemaker. For such a device to be approved for use, researchers need to establish just how sustainable it would be for any given individual. Medical equipment and devices have to be taken through the stage of good lab practices to ascertain their safety.

A more recent step has been introduced to quicken the process of research. This step is simply referred to as phase zero. Only a limited number of individuals are tested. In addition, the drug administered is of levels way below the therapeutic concentration. The idea is to chaff out drug characters that have very minimal chances of being effective later in the trial and subsequently when launched into the market.

Phase one of a study entails testing certain drug concepts on a given number of individuals. These concepts include formulation type, safety and dosing levels. Two to one hundred study subjects are utilized, on average.

Individuals who are healthy are the preferred choice to be used for these studies. People living with advanced cancer are an alternative. Patients who have failed to respond to standard medication are also commonly enrolled in research programs. Ethical guidelines dictate that the individuals signing up for the research receive some financial help to offset any side effects that may occur.

Phase two of research requires the participation of more than a hundred people. This phase mainly tests for efficacy of a drug on a larger number of individuals. The third phase calls for more than a hundred individuals to participate. It is an intensive phase that seeks to prove the value of a therapeutic agent.

The fourth and final phase emphasizes on getting the finer details. For instance, certain groups of people that may not have been evaluated in at the preliminary level fit in perfectly at this stage. Expectant women and infants are classic examples.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment