“In this new social media environment researchers and clinicians need to engage more actively with the public to articulate the importance of science in determining the benefits and harm of novel treatments and to ensure that patients’ concerns and priorities are heard, according to new study published in Nature.
The study shows that widespread demands in Canada for clinical trials for a controversial treatment for multiple sclerosis show the growing power of the Internet and social media to influence research priorities.
Paulo Zamboni, an Italian surgeon, suggested in 2008 that MS was not an autoimmune disease but rather a vascular disease caused by blockages in the brain. He proposed unblocking the veins by mechanically widening them – what he calls the “liberation procedure”.”
Article
Healthcare IT News, 28 April 2011
