A clinical study follows a strict set of directions, called a protocol. The protocol includes a list of inclusion criteria volunteers must meet in order to qualify for the study; there is also a corresponding list of exclusion criteria that can exclude a volunteer from the study. The inclusion/exclusion criteria serve to find volunteers appropriate […]
Monitoring of social media needed to protect children
There’s no escaping the pervasiveness of social media. From Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, to all the gaming sites, virtual worlds and blogs, the digital world impacts our children – and they in turn leave their own digital footprints on it.
Expedition 3 Alzheimer’s Research Study Underway
The Expedition 3 Alzheimer’s disease study, evaluating a potential new treatment for patients with mild Alzheimer’s, is underway! I first wrote about this exciting clinical trial in early November 2013. As clinical trials go, this study was fairly complex to set up, but the team was assembled by late December and now all systems are […]
But, What if I Get the Placebo?
The average person knows more about clinical trials today than was common at the beginning of my research career in the mid-1980s. I find that patient volunteers today are asking great questions when they come in for initial study appointments, perhaps as the result of the internet age. Twenty or thirty years ago I usually […]
Transport The Tropics Into Your Winter
Last month my daughter and I were fortunate to tag along with my husband while he attended a medical conference in Maui. As you may imagine, escaping the cold winter blues of the Willamette Valley for weather that was instead very warm, sunny and downright perfect was a dream come true.
