0

How does a person share a cure for a disease? Through trial and error a normal Joe or Jane Smoe finds a cure to a disease that has no other cure what is the best way to get it validated?

For example, if someone says that they found a treatment for diagnosed psoriatic rash on the legs and it cured it, but that treatment has not been previously known as a treatment for psoriasis, how can one validate it's a real treatment and not a chance?

Improve this question
6
  • There seem to be two parts to this question - how do you "validate" a cure (prove that it does indeed work), and how do you make its use widespread after it's approved by the local regulatory agency. Those are two very different processes.
    – Nuclear Hoagie
    Jun 17, 2019 at 14:35
  • Please clarify who you're trying to validate this treatment with. Are you asking how to submit for regulatory approval or are you asking how to prove this treatment works on you or some other individual?
    – Carey Gregory is on strike ♦
    Jun 17, 2019 at 19:07
  • @CareyGregory yes you are correct on both? Should I ask my local dermatologist for help with this?
    – Muze
    Jun 17, 2019 at 19:12
  • 1
    Asking how to obtain FDA approval would be on topic here, but that's something far beyond the reach of a layman unless you happen to have millions of dollars to hire expert consultants and fund all the necessary studies and clinical trials it would require. Asking how to prove it works on yourself isn't exactly off topic, but it's borderline. In any case, Jan has provided an answer for that. If you have questions about how to use this treatment, if it's safe, etc, that's definitely off topic and a question for your dermatologist.
    – Carey Gregory is on strike ♦
    Jun 17, 2019 at 19:44
  • @CareyGregory understood. TKS
    – Muze
    Jun 17, 2019 at 19:57

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

If an average Joe and Jane Smoe think they discovered a treatment that works for them but it's not currently used by conventional medicine and they want to validate it for effectiveness and safety, they can ask an experienced doctor, in case of psoriasis a dermatologist, for an opinion. The doctor can then judge if the treatment deserves further investigations and find experts who would be willing to do them. In the US, it's the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) who makes the final validation and approval of a treatment:

Drug companies seeking to sell a drug in the United States must first test it. The company then sends CDER the evidence from these tests to prove the drug is safe and effective for its intended use. A team of CDER physicians, statisticians, chemists, pharmacologists, and other scientists reviews the company's data and proposed labeling. If this independent and unbiased review establishes that a drug's health benefits outweigh its known risks, the drug is approved for sale.

The best way to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment is by randomized double blind placebo controlled studies.

Randomized means that a group of participants is randomly divided into 2 groups: the main group receieves the studied treatment and the control group a placebo (the treatment with no effect).

Double-blinded means that during the study neither the researchers nor the participants know who receives the real treatment and who a placebo.

The results of individual studies can be further evaluated by systematic reviews and meta-analyses, which are considered the highest level of evidence.

Improve this answer
7
  • While that's all true, it doesn't touch on the hard part of the question, which is how an average individual would be able to conduct a clinical trial. It seems exceedingly unlikely that would be possible.
    – Carey Gregory is on strike ♦
    Jun 17, 2019 at 14:43
  • 1
    To me, the core of the question is how to validate the cure, not how to share it. If you just want to share a cure with someone, you simply tell him how it helped you. Or publish an article about it.
    – Jan
    Jun 17, 2019 at 14:45
  • 1
    Jan, I agree, but that's the heart of my comment. OP specifically states "normal Joe or Jane," implying someone who is not affiliated with a research institute, hospital, etc. How could they possibly launch a clinical trial?
    – Carey Gregory is on strike ♦
    Jun 17, 2019 at 14:52
  • 1
    @Jan One person trying a treatment is nothing more than anecdote.
    – Carey Gregory is on strike ♦
    Jun 17, 2019 at 16:32
  • 1
    I figured that "how to share a cure" means how can an average Joe who thinks he invented a new treatment get this treatment evaluated for safety and effectiveness by experts, so I edited my answer accordingly.
    – Jan
    Jun 18, 2019 at 6:36

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.