INTERNATIONAL CLINICAL TRIALS DAY: THE HANDS-ON SCIENCE THAT DRIVES MEDICAL ADVANCEMENT

20 May is celebrated worldwide as Clinical Trials Day. This significant day dates back to 1747, when James Lind, a Scottish surgeon in the British Navy, made a remarkable discovery and cured 12 scurvy sailors. In modern medicine, clinical trials serve as the primary engine of development and progress, the driving force behind new knowledge and medical achievements, and a ray of hope for millions of patients.

Indeed, without effective research, humanity would still lack effective treatments for polio, smallpox, leprosy, and other devastating diseases. Meanwhile, many patients with various complex diagnoses continue to wait for innovative therapies. By 2022, the primary medical areas of clinical research in Ukraine will be oncology, psychiatry, neurology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, and pulmonology.

Recent history provides an example of this, as trials led to the development and deployment of millions of life-saving vaccines in record time to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. However, clinical research is not just about vaccines and medicines; it also involves developing new diagnostic methods, innovations in physiotherapy, studying the effects of special diets, and supportive and preventive therapies.

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Many young Charity Exchange "DobroDiy" wards await new discoveries and breakthroughs in medicine and pharmacology. At the same time, there are children and adolescents who, due to the nature of their diagnoses, require a constant intake of supportive drugs and special enteral nutrition. Currently, this is their only chance of maintaining their health. Among them are:

• 2-year-old Maria Masych, who has esophageal atresia and requires supportive medications and special nutrition: https://248.dp.ua/projects/1716
  
• 13-year-old Nazar Vysochenko, who has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and developmental delay, and requires special nutrition: https://248.dp.ua/projects/1648
  
• 3-year-old Tymofiy Tkachuk, who has severe motor disorders and requires enteral special nutrition: https://248.dp.ua/projects/1725

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On International Clinical Trials Day, we thank all the researchers, professionals, and patients making history in healthcare by saving lives. We also invite you to support those waiting and hoping for cures and disease recovery!