Seven rules for medical experiments -
Avicenna. or by the full name - Abu Ali Al-Hossein Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina (980-1037), was a famous Arabian philosopher and physician. He proposed seven rules to follow when evaluating the evidence of the benefit of drugs. Avicenna was well known to early scientist up to and including the time of Darwin, however, he is virtually unknown to today's scientist, researchers and doctors.
In recognizing that variability is the crux of the problem, Avicenna was concerned that one must separate the effect of a treatment from what could well be a placebo effect.
1) Medicine must be free from any acquired effect An interaction between that medicine and other drugs or chemicals must be known. As an example, if a drug produces either fever or chills, then other drugs that produce the same effect must not be administered at the same time.
2) Beware of composite diseases As the diseased condition often occurs in a sequence of events, consider that a viral infection often is followed by a bacterial infection, these "composite" diseases may confuse the effect of the treatment. We often see antibiotics administered for the flu well knowing that the antibiotic will have no effect on the virus causing the initial problem, yet they are still prescribed.
3) Recognize that the drug may work on one disease and not another The treatment with a single drug when there is more than one disease, may produce an effect on one as is intended, and it may appear that it was effective against the other, but this is purely by accident, i.e., can't be repeated.
4) The dosage must be known prior to treatment of the patient. In evaluating the drug, it is proper to use increasing levels to ascertain the amount necessary to elicit the desired effect. (This should be done prior to being approved by the proper authorities.) And, don't use diluted dosages (A recent fraudulent example is of a pharmacist who was diluting medication for his profit. Irreparable harm can come from this either from developing resistant cultures of microorganisms, or by actual death of the patient.)
5) Begin treatment at the onset of the disease A drug that may be effective early may be totally ineffective after the disease is entrenched.
6) Establish a protocol and follow it. When a protocol is begun, complete it to the end. It is quite possible that variation may result in effects that are not expected, and only by observation is it possible to rule out random variation.
7) Study the effect on lesser animals Prior to treating the human animal, the effect should be studied on lesser animals.
NB - The subject headings are from Avicenna and the "interpretation" is mine.
(A. Crombie, Avicenna - Scientist and Philosopher, G. Wickens, London, 1952. As published in 1608. In Canon medicinae 2..1.2, Venice)
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