Elderly often excluded from drug trials for drugs intended for them!

A charter against ageism in clinical trials is being launched by a group of geriatricians from Europe.TheEU funded project, called PREDICT, says treatments are less likely tobe tested on older people even though the elderly take the mostmedication. Trial results from younger people cannot always be extrapolated to the elderly, say the authors.  They want older people to have access to drugs which have been shown to be safe and effective for their age group.  PREDICT set out assess the extent to which the elderly were excluded from clinical trials and to come up with solutions. Theysurveyed the medical literature on treatments for conditions which werecommon among elderly people and found clear evidence that the elderlywere underrepresented.  For example, the average age of patientsin clinical trials of treatments for high blood pressure is 63,although 44% of patients are over 70 when they are first diagnosed.

Source and more:  BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8487509.stm