Introduction - Uppsala Monitoring Centre

Physician/scientist Drug taken ADRs reported
1951 G Pauletta Chloramphenicol succinate
Chloramphenicol
glutarate
No effect
Anaphylactic shock and died
195? JG Hamilton Isotopes of Na, Cl, Br, I
and Plutonium
Developed leukaemia
The main source for this table was ‘Self-experiments: sources for study’ by Arsen
P Fiks, edited by P A Buelow. Westport, Conn. London: Praeger, 2003. This book
contains many other self-experimenters. Some details also from Altman, 1986.
Summary
We now have publication of case series and detailed individual case histories.
The use of numbers becomes more common (Tröhler , 2011) and there are now
fuller details of ADRs with doses. Experimentation now plays a part in the study of
medicines. Hoffman’s response to an epidemic of ergotism is to establish the cause
with experiments in animals and this leads to regulatory action. Leigh performs a
series of experiments on volunteers to explain the effects of opium. There are more
references to figures, e.g. pulse rates, doses and numbers of patients. Whereas we
had previously individual reports of ADRs we now have publications devoted to
ADRs in general from Halle University throughout the century and from Doeveren in
1779. Following Helmont’s proposed comparison of two treatments in 1662
comparisons between treatments were made in the following century, e.g. 1722,
1760,and 1766. We have now the whole gamut of pharmacovigilance techniques
save for pharmacoepidemiology.