Editors' Note: AAN Position Statement: Ethical Issues in Clinical Research in Neurology.

Abstract

In “AAN Position Statement: Ethical Issues in Clinical Research in Neurology,” Tolchin et al. provide guidance to AAN members about ethical issues encountered in neurologic clinical research. Dewar and Shamy note that, in addition to the topics covered by Tolchin et al., in the interest of optimizing use of resources and minimizing risks to patients, there is an ethical imperative to ensure neurologic randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) are only performed if a systematic review demonstrates there is uncertainty about the answer to a research question and there are no existing trials anticipated to potentially provide the answer. Tolchin et al. agreed that the social value and scientific validity of a RCT must be carefully considered, but refuted the requirement for a systematic review to demonstrate uncertainty about the answer to a research question before every RCT because there is merit to demonstrating whether the findings from a study can be reproduced. In “AAN Position Statement: Ethical Issues in Clinical Research in Neurology,” Tolchin et al. provide guidance to AAN members about ethical issues encountered in neurologic clinical research. Dewar and Shamy note that, in addition to the topics covered by Tolchin et al., in the interest of optimizing use of resources and minimizing risks to patients, there is an ethical imperative to ensure neurologic randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) are only performed if a systematic review demonstrates there is uncertainty about the answer to a research question and there are no existing trials anticipated to potentially provide the answer. Tolchin et al. agreed that the social value and scientific validity of a RCT must be carefully considered, but refuted the requirement for a systematic review to demonstrate uncertainty about the answer to a research question before every RCT because there is merit to demonstrating whether the findings from a study can be reproduced.