clinical trial
Human research study
A clinical trial is a research study testing medical treatments, drugs, or procedures on human participants.
Trials typically proceed through phases—from small safety studies to large-scale effectiveness tests—before a treatment can receive regulatory approval.
The vaccine entered clinical trials in early 2020.
Results from clinical trials form the evidence base for modern medicine.
Introducing chance systematically
- blindingPainfully intense light
- double-blindNeither tester nor tested knows
- placebo-controlledTested against inactive substance
- protocolPrescribed conduct rules
control group · crossover · eligibility · endpoint · baseline · sample size · stratification · multicenter
Freedom from harm
- tolerabilityAcceptableness of something unpleasant
- efficacyAbility to produce results
- proof-of-conceptFeasibility demonstration
- confirmatoryServing to verify
Purposeful involvement to change course
- dosageMeasured medicine amount
- regimenPrescribed course of treatment
- pharmacokineticsDrug fate in body
- bioavailabilityFraction reaching active circulation
half-life · immunotherapy · biologic · gene therapy · cell therapy · combination therapy · monotherapy · adjuvant
Inactive substitute for medicine
- shamFraudulent imitation
- inertInactive, physically or chemically
- inactiveNot currently functioning
- placebo effectHealing through expectation
nocebo · blinding · equipoise · standard of care · placebo-controlled · unblinding
Panel assessing moral standards
- FDAU.S. health regulator
- informed consentPermission given with understanding
- INDUniversal drug nomenclature
- NDASecrecy contract, abbreviated
sponsor · investigator · audit · inspection · compliance · HIPAA
Unpaid willing participant
- subjectMatter under discussion
- participantOne who takes part
- enrollmentAct of registering officially
- recruitmentSeeking new personnel
screening · informed consent · compensation · retention · dropout · adherence · compliance · demographics
Statistical methods for medicine
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- statistical significanceUnlikely due to chance
- p-valueProbability under null hypothesis
- confidence intervalEstimated bounds for population parameter
data collection · publication · peer review · results · findings
randomization
Introducing chance systematically
- blindingPainfully intense light
- double-blindNeither tester nor tested knows
- placebo-controlledTested against inactive substance
protocol · control group · crossover · eligibility · endpoint · baseline · sample size · stratification · multicenter · superiority
safety
Freedom from harm
- tolerabilityAcceptableness of something unpleasant
- efficacyAbility to produce results
- proof-of-conceptFeasibility demonstration
confirmatory · exploratory · seamless design · dose-response
intervention
Purposeful involvement to change course
- dosageMeasured medicine amount
- regimenPrescribed course of treatment
- pharmacokineticsDrug fate in body
bioavailability · half-life · immunotherapy · biologic · gene therapy · cell therapy · combination therapy · monotherapy · adjuvant
sugar pill
Inactive substitute for medicine
placebo effect · nocebo · blinding · equipoise · standard of care · placebo-controlled · unblinding
ethics committee
Panel assessing moral standards
- FDAU.S. health regulator
- informed consentPermission given with understanding
- INDUniversal drug nomenclature
NDA · sponsor · investigator · audit · inspection · compliance · HIPAA
volunteer
Unpaid willing participant
- subjectMatter under discussion
- participantOne who takes part
- enrollmentAct of registering officially
recruitment · screening · informed consent · compensation · retention · dropout · adherence · compliance · demographics · diversity
biostatistics
Statistical methods for medicine
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- statistical significanceUnlikely due to chance
- p-valueProbability under null hypothesis
confidence interval · data collection · publication · peer review · results · findings
- Psychology ResearchStanford prison experiment, Pavlov's dogs, marshmallow test, classical conditioning, operant conditioning
- clinical trialsplacebo, double-blind, control group, double blind, phase 1
- biomedical researchanimal model, animal testing, drug testing, xenograft, pharmacokinetics
- research studiescase study, follow-up study, field study, twin study, outbreak investigation
- medicinedoctor, doctors, hospital, medicine, surgery
- sciencebiology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geology
clinical trialanimal testing
Experiments on living creatures
animal model · in vitro testing · laboratory research · laboratory testing · basic research
clinical trialanecdotal evidence
Support from individual accounts
folk remedy · traditional medicine · quackery · home remedy · word of mouth
trial, clinic, trials, clinical, clinics, clinician, trialled, trialling, clinically