Drug Testing - Paper 1

Question 1

Why is it important for medical trials to be double-blind?

Answer 1

Avoid bias from:
* Patients - who may be more likely to report side effects if they know they’ve recieved the drug
* Doctors - who may monitor and record symptoms more carefully for patients they known to have taken the drug

Question 2

What is a placebo?

Answer 2

A substance resembling the drug but not actually containing it
Acts as a control

Question 3

What is a double-blind trial?

Answer 3

A clinical trial in which neither patient or doctor know who has recieved the real drug or just the placebo

A placebo is a substance resembling the drug but not actually containing it which acts as a control to determine if the drug is actually responsible for the results