BiotechMashup

(Duke University Medical Center) Researchers at Duke University Medical Center looked for a learning curve phenomenon in the data record of a large, multi-site clinical trial. Their findings point to ways to improve the quality of future trials through better training and simulation exercises.

A research team from Turkey has investigated the proficiency level reached in laparoscopic splenectomy using the learning curve method. They found that, unlike the widely accepted "L" shape, the learning curve for laparoscopic splenectomy was a horizontal lazy "S" with two distinct slopes. An improvement was observed after the first 5 cases. The learning curve was flat up to the 25th case.

by Katharine Molloy, David R. Moore, Ediz Sohoglu, Sygal Amitay

A research team led by Dr. Khaled El Emam, the Canada Research Chair in Electronic Health Information at the CHEO Research Institute, evaluated the use of technology in Canadian clinical trials, and found that a significant proportion (41 percent) have moved away from collecting and managing trial data using only paper records.

(University of Michigan Health System) Researchers at the University of Michigan hope to improve the process for bringing therapies and medical devices to patients by investigating the impact of a class of innovative trial designs known as adaptive clinical trials -- which make adjustments to the trial using information accumulated as patients are enrolled -- in hopes of improving the efficiency of clinical trials as a whole.

The largest comprehensive analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov finds that clinical trials are falling short of producing high-quality evidence needed to guide medical decision-making. The analysis found the majority of clinical trials is small, and there are significant differences among methodical approaches, including randomizing, blinding and the use of data monitoring committees.

Doctors are testing a new kind of clinical trial that's not only less costly but guides doctors to switch to the best treatment even before the trial is completed. The new approach -- called a point-of-care clinical trial -- is an alternative to expensive, lengthy, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials to compare drugs and procedures that are already in regular use.

(Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute) A research team led by Dr. Khaled El Emam, the Canada Research Chair in Electronic Health Information at the CHEO Research Institute, evaluated the use of technology in Canadian clinical trials, and found that a significant proportion (41 percent) have moved away from collecting and managing trial data using only paper records.

Stress, sickness and depression can generate inflammation in the brain, which is detrimental to learning. According to a new study T cells level the learning curve by producing a protein that combats inflammation, establishing a more learning-conducive environment in the brain.