New cutting-edge cell research will lead to safer medical experiments on humans
April 10, 2013 in Medical research In almost 90 per cent of cases, novel drugs tested on humans by pharmaceutical companies do not work as intended and must be scrapped. Often the drugs do not work, while at worst, test subjects die. New research from the University of Southern Denmark now shows that this number can be reduced. The secret is to test the drug on cells grown as 3D structures.
In 1993, five out of 15 liver patients who participated in a medical trial following the American Federal Drug Administration's (FDA's) instructions died. The patients had been treated with the substance fialuridin that should treat them for the disease hepatitis B. The substance was tested in the laboratory and on animals and had been evaluated as safe for human testing. Surprisingly it turned out that the substance was acutely lethal to humans and led to extensive liver failure. Five patients died and two others only survived because they received a liver transplant...
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