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Drug Studies May Be False
The prescription drugs many people take may be based on inaccurate and
faulty studies. This concept was based on a new study published in
the August issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American
College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). Researchers
at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and the University of California found
that 30 percent of volunteer patients in a clinical drug research trial
reported that they did not take their medication despite reporting to the
clinical researchers that they did. This trend raises serious
questions about the accuracy of study conclusions from drug studies.
This deceptive practice called "dumping", is where
individuals remove or discharge all the medication from the dispensing
canister so when it was weighed at the next patient visit, it would
suggest that the patient had been taking medication as instructed.
Most drug usage recommendations are based on clinical trials. These
types of trials have been previously regarded as one of the most reliable
forms of research, and many practice guidelines for drug use are often
based on trial results. The researchers noted that conclusions drawn
from the results of clinical trials are based on the assumption that the
prescribed study medication has been taken according to the study
protocol. If a fairly high percentage of testers in these studies
are "dumping" the medications, the results from these studies
are invalid and the medications, even though they may already be approved,
could potentially be ineffective and dangerous.
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