Healthlinks Upstate March/April 2022

56 | www.Ups tatePhys i c i ansSC . com | www.Hea l thL i nksUps tate. com “Clinical studies evaluate the safety and effectiveness of investigational treatments, devices and vaccines to help prevent and treat diseases,” explained Kasie Ingram, the marketing and recruiting coordinator for Coastal Carolina Research Center, a locally-owned medical research facility in North Charleston. “Before a drug is placed on the market, it first has to go through a set number of clinical trials to gather enough data to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective.” Clinical studies have been around for a long time. The first recorded one dates back to Babylon in 562 B.C. It seems King Nebuchadnezzar ordered his courtiers to consume only meat and wine to achieve the best physical health. Captive Hebrew men protested, requesting a vegetarian diet with water instead. The trial lasted only 10 days, and the vegetarians were clearly the winners. Fast forward to 1757, and we have James Lind conducting a scurvy trial that included some basic control elements. In 1946, streptomycin became the subject of the first randomized control trial complete with detailed design, organization and data collection. Since then, clinical studies have continued to become SHOULD YOU VOLUNTEER FOR A CLINICAL STUDY? By Janet E Perrigo

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