History

The concepts behind clinical trials are ancient. The Book of Daniel chapter 1, verses 12 through 15, for instance, describes a planned experiment with both baseline and follow-up observations of two groups who either partook of, or did not partake of, “the King’s meat” over a trial period of ten days. Persian physician Avicenna, in The Canon of Medicine (1025) gave similar advice for determining the efficacy of medical drugs and substances.

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Development

The first proper clinical trial was conducted by the physician James Lind. The disease scurvy, now known to be caused by a Vitamin C deficiency, would often have terrible effects on the welfare of the crew of long distance voyages. In 1740, the catastrophic result of Anson’s circumnavigation attracted much attention in Europe; out of 1900 men, 1400 had died, most of them allegedly from having contracted scurvy. 

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Consulting Sources/References

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• Clinical Trials Gov.

• National Institute of Health (NIH)

• Medline Plus. U.S. National Library of Medicine

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

• Bsc Human Biosciences – Plymouth University

• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved January 2014.

• Acceptable Risk in Biomedical Research. Dr. Sigmund Simonsen. Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU.