HEALTH notes
CALL FOR ALL CLINICAL TRIAL RESULTS TO BE PUBLISHED
WE like to think decisions on whether our medicines are safe or effective are based on all the evidence.
Worryingly, an estimated 50% of results from clinical trials aren’t published.
It is widely suspected this is because the findings are inconvenient for pharmaceutical firms or public bodies which fund them.
Norman Lamb MP, chairman of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, said: “Many of these trials are funded with public money and the taxpayer has a right to expect those who benefit from public funding to publish in full.”
The so-called “publication bias” can mean that trials that show profitable drugs are ineffective or unsafe never see the light of day. It could also mean we do not have all the evidence on whether vaccinations should be publicly funded to save lives.
DESPERATE COUPLES RISK FINANCIAL RUIN TO FUND IVF
A THIRD of couples who have to go private due to IVF rationing have risked financial ruin, new research by Fertility Network UK shows.
Nine-in-10 say infertility feels like a trauma and 94% say they don’t think their friends and family understand what they are going through.
The survey carried out jointly with 5 News found 54% of people feel annoyed by other people’s comments, such as “just relax and it will happen”, “don’t stress” and “just adopt”.
SCIENTISTS CLOSER TO FINDING CURE FOR ENDOMETRIOSIS
NEW research could benefit women with endometriosis.
The condition causes the tissue that lines the uterus to spread to other places in the body, such as the pelvis and fallopian tubes. When the cells break down during a women’s period it can cause internal bleeding, leading to discomfort and even infertility.
Researchers at Chicago’s Northwestern University have found a way to reprogramme stem cells from patients into healthy womb tissue, which could lead to a breakthrough in treatment.