High attrition rates in drug development bedevil drug developers, ethicists, health care professionals, and patients alike. Increasingly, many commentators are suggesting the attrition problem partly relates to prevalent methodological flaws in the conduct and reporting of preclinical studies. Preclinical efficacy studies involve administering a putative drug to animals (usually mice or rats) that model the… Continue reading Uncaging Validity in Preclinical Research
Tag: validity
Hypothesis Generator
Is good medical research directed at testing hypotheses? Or is there a competing model of good medical research that sees hypothesis generating research as a valuable end? In an intriguing essay appearing in the August 21, 2009 issue of Cell, Maureen O’Malley and co-authors show how current funding mechanisms at agencies like NIH and NSF… Continue reading Hypothesis Generator
The Problem with Models
Chicago in plastic and balsa. If only animal models were as convincing as the one pictured above from the Museum of Science and Industry. The August 7 issue of Nature ran a fascinating feature on how many scientists are reassessing the value of animal models used in neurodegenerative preclinical research (“Standard Model,” by Jim Schnabel).… Continue reading The Problem with Models
Masks and Random Thoughts on Preclinical Research Validity
Epidemiologists and biostatisticians have evolved numerous ways of reducing bias in clinical trials. Randomization of patients, and masking them to their treatment allocation are two. Another is masking clinicians who assess their outcomes. Why are these simple measures so rarely used in preclinical animal studies? And do animal studies show exaggerated effects as a consequence… Continue reading Masks and Random Thoughts on Preclinical Research Validity