Tag: clinical trial

Honoring a fallen hero in the struggle against Cystic Fibrosis and AR extremism

Yesterday I learned some sad news via the Understanding Animal Research blog, that a young woman named Laura Cowell had died, succumbing to cystic fibrosis at the age of just 25.  To see a life so full of promise end so prematurely is always sad, but what makes this death so gutting is that Laura … Continue reading Honoring a fallen hero in the struggle against Cystic Fibrosis and AR extremism

The Value of Animals in Pre-Clinical Trials

In the early stages of development a new drug must be tested in a series of human clinical trials.  The earliest phases of trials aim to assess the safety and tolerance of a drug in human volunteers.  In planning such trials you face an obvious question: what initial dosage to use? Of course, you want … Continue reading The Value of Animals in Pre-Clinical Trials

Microbicide gel cuts HIV infection rates…thank the monkeys!

There was exciting news on Monday when it was announced at an international AIDS conference in Vienna that microbicide gel had dramatically reduced the transmission of HIV in a Phase 2 clinical trial involving 889 women in South Africa.  If confirmed by  larger phase 3 trials this gel will offer millions of women a way … Continue reading Microbicide gel cuts HIV infection rates…thank the monkeys!

RNAi: Send in the Nanobots!

The publication of the preliminary results of a small clinical trial of a new therapy called RNA interference (RNAi) online in the scientific journal Nature is causing quite a stir in the scientific community this week.  A team led by Professor Mark E. Davis at Caltech targeted the delivery of a nanoparticle only 70 nanometers … Continue reading RNAi: Send in the Nanobots!

Protecting a broken heart: the discovery of remote ischemic preconditioning.

After a couple of weeks dominated by dialogue with moderate animal rights activists, and subsequently the response of the scientific community to threats by animal rights extremists,  it is refreshing to be able to turn again to an example of how research on rabbits and dogs is furthering medical progress. The prospects of surviving a … Continue reading Protecting a broken heart: the discovery of remote ischemic preconditioning.