Research!

Spent yesterday in the Clinical HIV Research Unit (CHRU) at the Themba Lethu clinic! It was amazing & soooo interesting!! Even in this country there is so many ethical and legal bodies that research studies have to pass through before they are allowed to go ahead. They have reviews every so often and if the study is proving to be un-beneficial its pulled! Its so interesting and different to anything I have done before. They test new medication for HIV patients, and some drugs which are registered abroad but not in South Africa. They also do some research on the side effects of drugs. All patients have to pass through screening to be able to come onto a study, and then they have regular check up appointments to see how they are doing, take bloods, and see if the study is working. Some are double blind, meaning that both the patient and the researcher do not know if they have received the study drug or a placebo. Everything is anonymous and patients have a unique reference number incorporating their initials! Its just fascinating to see how the studies we read on paper started out (: really good day!