Medical News and Research
What is Medical Research?
Medical research ranges from fundamental research to clinical and applied technology. Fundamental research involves investigations into biological functions; knowledge thus acquired may then be applied in clinical research to help understand specific diseases and to develop improved treatments, cures and methods of prevention.
Medical research can be divided into two general categories: the evaluation of new treatments for both safety and efficacy in what are termed clinical trials, and all other research that contributes to the development of new treatments. The latter is termed preclinical research if its goal is specifically to elaborate knowledge for the development of new therapeutic strategies.
Among the major benefits of medical research have been vaccines for measles and polio, medication for high blood pressure, improved treatments for AIDS, insulin treatment for diabetes, classes of antibiotics for treating a host of maladies, statins and other treatments for atherosclerosis, new surgical techniques such as microsurgery, and increasingly successful treatments for cancer.
A clinical trial is a comparison test of a medication or other medical treatment, versus a placebo, other medications and devices, or the standard medical treatment for a patient's condition.
Preclinical research is research in basic science, which precedes the clinical trials, and is almost purely based on theory and animal experiments.
In the United States, the most recent data from 2003 suggest that about 94 billion dollars were provided for biomedical research in the United States. The National Institutes of Health and pharmaceutical companies collectively contribute 26.4 billion dollars and 27.0 billion dollars, respectively, which constitute 28% and 29% of the total, respectively.
In the UK, funding bodies such as the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust derive their assets from UK tax payers, and distribute this to institutions in a competitive manner.
Disabled World brings you a summary of the latest medical and drug news from around the world including breakthroughs and advances regarding health and disability cures.
More and more exciting advances in the field of medicine are being discovered each day by doctors, researchers, and scientists around the globe. For instance testing yourself at home for diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis will very soon be as simple as using a home pregnancy testing kit.
In this section of Disabled World News we bring you up to date with all the latest medical news from all over the world including news such as how cholesterol lowering drugs and new technologies are significantly advancing the worlds battle against heart disease.
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