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#Deanehistory 90. Today is “International Clinical Trials Day.” That which might once have felt rather obscure feels vital & relevant, so here’s the story of James Lind, the British naval surgeon who pioneered the 1st clinical trials on board HMS Salisbury on 20 May 1747.
In those times, scurvy was a huge threat for navies. Indeed, it caused more deaths amongst British sailors than French and Spanish forces combined. We now know that scurvy is caused by vitamin C deficiency, but vitamins were then unknown.
Lind thought scurvy was caused by “putrefaction of the body” and that that could potentially be cured through the introduction of acids. He therefore recruited a dozen men with scurvy for a “fair test.”
(his informed consent process would… not satisfy modern day requirements.)
(his informed consent process would… not satisfy modern day requirements.)
