Exciting news for all patients and doctors worldwide
The United Nations has endorsed the aims of the All Trials Registered, All Results Reported campaign! Trust me this is exciting news — it is a step towards better clinical trials.
Clinical trials are used to prove the safety and effectiveness of new treatments and therapies by carefully testing them in people. They are relevant to all people and in all conditions because they are integral to all future treatments.
But there is a problem with clinical trials:
“The chances of a completed trial being published are roughly 50/50.”
-Ben Goldacre, co-founder of AllTrials campaign
The results of many clinical trials are not being published — they are not shared and cannot be used to help inform the people who make decisions about what medicines are best. And what is worse, the results that are being hidden are mainly from trials that are not successful.
This is a waste, but more importantly it could be dangerous.
All drugs have side effects and to when treating people clinicians can walk a fine line to balance the positive benefits of a drug and the negative side effects it has. If only positive results are being published it may seem like a drug is more effective than it really is. And as the people prescribing drugs do not have all the information, they could be unwittingly putting patients at harm by making the wrong decision when it comes to this balance, or simply by not prescribing the most effective treatment.
But there is a solution:
AllTrials calls for all past and present clinical trials to be registered and their full methods and summary results reported.
And there is some great news from the campaign — yesterday the United Nations called on governments worldwide to pass legislation requiring clinical trials to be registered, and their methods and results to be fully reported. You can read what the UN said in their report.
At the moment, these are just words — we need to see action. But it is a step in the right direction for better treatment of all patients, and all conditions.
Follow the campaign and show your support on the Alltrials.net website.
The AllTrials campaign is supported by 682 organisations, including Parkinson’s UK
Disclaimer: This is a personal blog. The views expressed on these pages are mine alone and not those of my employer. However, in the interest of full disclosure, I may be biased to topics relating to Parkinson’s research and the amazing work that Parkinson’s UK does.
