Monday, February 8, 2016

The Drug, The Company, The Life: A Review

Abstract
Drug becomes an essential 'tool' to reduce pain in daily life. However, religious perspectives are less 'positively agreed' in drugs usage especially towards company production for medicine purposes. However, medicine had successfully save thousands of life in reducing pain suffering. Therefore, drug is important for patients to continuing survivor.

Keywords: Drug, Medicine, Religious, Patients, Survivor.


Citation of Article:
Hua, A.K. (2016). The Drug, The Company, The Life: A Review. International Journal of Scientific Research in Science & Technology, 2(1), 1-5.


Introduction

Drug is very important in our daily life to treat the disease. Drug can kill the germ or virus in the body that may cause sick, or pain with the drug digest by the antibody. However, some drug may bring bad impact towards the human, especially children. Paroxetine is 1 of 6 drugs in the class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs; may cause the risk of suicide. This can be prove in the year of 1998, where the antidepressant paroxetine had no beneficial effect in treating adolescent. However, the company and the medical center will plays a big role in facing the problem; but they try to withhold the data about the SSRI use in the children. So, this actually are against the rule in the research field, especially involve the medical research. Actually, the drug should undergo the test to confirm that the benefits of the drug still out-weigh its potential risk before its can be use by public.

When we are looking forward to the problem, Paroxetine was no more effective than placebo in treating pediatric depression, a study in 1993-1996 conducted in US. So, the Paroxetine are believed to have no effect in treating the depression. Paroxetine (also known by the trade names Aropax, Paxil, Pexeva, Seroxat, Sereupin) is an antidepressant drug of the SSRI type. Paroxetine is used to treat major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder in adult outpatients. From the information, taking Paroxetine may cause adverse effect like contraindications, suicide, discontinuation syndrome, interaction, and also overdosage. Britain‟s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) advised doctors in June 2003 that the paroxetine should not be prescribed to patients under the ages of 18 because evidence from various clinical trials showed that episodes of suicidal behavior were between 1.5 and 3.2 times higher in children taking drug than in those receiving placebo. From the prove show that, when the drug test are undergoes among the children during 1993-1996, the clinical trial result were, according to the document, “insufficiently robust” to support an application to regulatory authorities for a label change approving Seroxat for use in pediatric depression. The drug test is actually fail for use in the children, however, the company are trying to withhold the data from public so that they can find another way for treating the paroxetine for children.


Methods and Materials

The purpose of drug is to help human in curing and surviving the life. So, if the drug are never give any response to the victim, then it may bring the harm to the user of the drug. “In medical research on human subjects, consideration related to the wellbeing of the human subject should take precedence over the interests of science and society (WMA, para5).” From the paragraph above, show that we must very concern on the human life when taking human as a subject for any research. So, the medical center or the researcher should know the situation of human subject before undergo for the drug test or drug study. The researcher must know “Is the trial on the children will give any effect?” or “This test will save the depression children?”. However, when the result on drug test are announce, either a positive impact or negative impact; the company and the researcher must need to be transparent and honestly with the result to the parents. The company plays an important role in treating the data to the public. Moreover, if the result is bad news or negative impact, this will lead to the depression on life to be continuing more worst and even may bring death. The company and the medical center will bring harm to the public especially to the patients.

Secondly, if the patients agreed to undergo for the drug test; and in the process, the test seem to be fail, the patient parent or native have the right to cancel the drug test. If the test continues, then the human will become a victim as the company and the medical center doing the research is just for the sake science breakthrough. As Fernandez et al (2003) argue, the principle of respect for persons „requires that individual who capable of making decisions for themselves be accorded high regard, and this is embodied in the concept and practice of free and informed consent‟. So, human have the right to stop any kind of treatment if there will bring more harm to the patient. It also follows from principles of justice and fairness that those who are not competent to consent should not be exploited as prime candidates for research. So, both parents for children that having the illness on the depression, they need to know the rule before they send their children for drug test.


Discussion

When the drug test on mice succeed, but the drug test are need to go for the human as a subject. In religious perspective, especially in Islamic view, Al-Quran; state that “Then, eat of all fruits, and follow the ways of your Lord made easy (for you).” There comes forth from their bellies, a drink of varying colour wherein is healing for men. (AN NAHL, ayat 68-69), means Allah wants people to seek for cure even if it come in the mysterious way (as long as the method is not harm). In Hadith, from Jabir bin Abdullah, Muhammad (phuh) said : There is a remedy for every sickness, and when the remedy is applied to the disease it is cured with the permission of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious. (Narrated by Muslim and Ahmad). In this paragraph, it means that everybody have obligation to find cure. In the Quran, Holy book of Islam, God has said; “God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing justly with those who not fought you about and have not driven you out of your homes. God loves just dealers.” (Quran, chapter 60/ verse 8). From the paragraph above, we know that God is the creator of anything, and God wants human to love and respect each other, and not trying to take advance on each other just because of the luxury property. So the company should not be selfish just because of the money and never concern on the children life.

In Buddhism view, Buddhism provide guidelines for the village justice, namely in the form of the five basic moral prohibitions (the Pancha Sila, or the five precepts for the laity), which is refrain for taking life, don‟t steal, avoid illicit sexual activity, don‟t speak falsely, and refrain from consuming inebriating substances. These guidelines are supposed to be followed by the lay people and monks.(from the Buddhism And Views On Morality, Desire, And Violance). The religious historian I.B. Hunter wrote: “The criteria of Buddhist morality is to ask yourself, when there is one of three kinds of deeds you want to do, whether it will lead to the hurt of self, of others, or of both. If you come to the conclusion that it will be harmful, then you must not do it. But if you form the opinion that it will be harmless, then you can do it and repeat. A person that torments neither himself or another is already transcending the active life.” So, in such a way, the company should follow the teach, which they should not trying to cheat in any sense just because to get more benefits on other people. Moreover, the cheat towards the data will bring bad impact especially death to the children when the company withhold the data. The company should not practice bad habit in treating bad to other and harm to other people. Moreover, the Great Buddhist said; “So come what may, I‟ll never harm; My cherry happiness of mind. Depression never brings me what I wants, My virtue will be warped and marred by it”, means that there are happiness in every person live, for a freedom person. When there is someone or something that depress on the situation, than this will never bring the freedom and may cause sadness in the person. So, this situation can be view in children itself. When they are forces to get the drug test and, may cause pain to them, thus the children will never have a happy life in their own.

In Hinduism perspective, they teach that cheating is very bad attitude. In a universal sense, cheating and other forms of immoral behavior are accepted as necessary for the Divine Play to unfold. Futhermore, everything that is done anywhere at any time is accomplished by Shakti-Prakriti –“He sees [truly] who sees that all actions entirely are being performed by Prakriti, and that the Self is not the Doer.” (Gita 13: 29). Therefore, who is there to blame? And who is to blame whom? “Deluded by ego, a person thinks,” I am the Doer.” (3: 27). In a personal sense, however, cheating or lying creates obstacles to spiritual unfoldment. Therefore, it is not condoned, but rather it is recommended that individuals interested in attaining enlightenment and liberation, the ultimate Goal of all Hindus, should conform to ethical behavior as much as possible. So the company or the researcher should not practice in cheating when involve with the life. If there are happened, this may cause harm to the children. Moreover, Ghandi also concern in the human right in human live, by saying that “I learnt from my illiterate but wise mother that all rights to be deserved and preserved came from duty well done. Thus, the very right to live accrues to us only when we do the duty of citizenship of the world. From this one fundamental statement, perhaps it is easy enough to define the duties of Man and of Woman and correlate every right to some corresponding duty to be first performed.” So when the statement is applied in this situation, where the children are actually have the right to argue with their parents when they are scare to undergo for the drug study. The children have the right to live in a freedom, happy and the normal life. The holy prayer of Hinduism from time immemorial has been state that “Let all be happy, Let all be free from disease, Let all see auspicious things, Let nobody suffer from grief.” From the statement, can show that how important in life with living happily with free of disease and no people suffer when the pain can be treat. So, if the company is no effort to cure the depression, then it is better not cheating the public and the children by changing on the data.

From the previous view above, if the company is selfish, this will lead to the failure in the research. The company should practice the value of disinterestedness, which is the company supposed to act the benefit for the public good rather than for personal gain. Taking as an example, in the journal of Industry-Sponsored Clinical Research, if there are involve a large of funding in the drug test, the bias will on the result will be the problem. The investigator designed the studies, analyzed and interpreted the data, wrote the papers, and decided where and how to report the results. Generally, the investigator nor their institutions had other financial connections to sponsoring companies. So, in addition to grant support by the company, faculty investigators often have other financial ties to the sponsors of their research. Clinical research that is published is often biased, usually by designing the studies in ways that will almost inevitably yield favorable results for the sponsor. From the point, means the data may be bias towards to the company, and the result may change from negative to positive. So, this will give the harm to the children and make more advantages to the company and the medical center. Since the drug may cause death or bad impact, the company should practice the value of organized skepticism. The company should transparent about the data and expose on the result, so that they get criticize on the drug test before it can be sell or use by public. Changing the result of data is not scientific method to practice. However, the journal on “scientists behaving badly” may cause the data to change in short-time. Taking for an example, in 2000, the US Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) defined research misconduct as “fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism (FFP) in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results”. The modern scientist faces intense competition, and is further burdened by difficult, sometimes unreasonable, regulatory, social, and managerial demands. This mix of pressures creates many possibilities for the compromise of scientific integrity that extend well beyond FFP. When the situation exists, together with the problem that faces in this paper, the scientist or researcher may tend to change the result just because of pressure from the company and also the public. So, that‟s important for the company to expose the result to the other researcher to make a criticism on the result that may cause harm to the children. Moreover, the company and the researcher should know that the scientific results are the common property of the entire scientific community, which involve with the value of communalism. The success of the drug test will be benefits for sharing among the community. The duty to participate in research is not a duty to enable industry to profit from moral commitment or basic decency, and that fairness and benefit sharing as well as the widest and fairest possible availability of the product of research is an essential part of the moral force of the argument for the obligation to pursue research. Benefit sharing must be part of any mechanism for implementing the arguments on the research of science.

The drug study is actually trying to save the people from being pain. The researcher is demonstrating in a term “mandatory contribution to public good”. (Harris,J. 2012). From the sentence, lifesaving is a major product of science research. So, once the drug test is success, the children are believed to have a happy and good life, but before they did, the company should not involve or disturbing into the research when the result are announce. And the researcher also must realize that their role that changing the result will never change the good things except bad things. The Declaration of Helsinki states: “Medical research is only justified if there is a reasonable likelihood that the population in which the research is carried out stand to benefits from the results of the research”. (WMA, para 19). The research is not directly beneficial to the patients but also to the public good when the drug test is success, where the disease can be cure from being depression on the children. The company and the researcher need to be responsible and honest when preferring with the drug test. Both parties should undergo the consequentialism and deontology. They cannot lie by changing the data; because when they lie, this will kill the children that suffering in the depression illness.


Conclusion

As a conclusion, Depression is “a mental state or chronic mental disorder characterized by feelings of sadness, loneliness, despair, low self-esteem, and self-reproach.” There are some treatment like exercise, taking right nutrition, having more sleep, and social support that can help in reduce depression. However, there will involve a long term to overcome the depression. So, the only way to overcome it fast is by medical treatment; but the company or researcher, or even the medical center must concern on the important of the life. When researcher are being ask whether there is a moral obligation to support and even to participate in serious scientific research, that‟s need first to be clear that the scientist are talking of research directed towards preventing serious harm or providing significant benefits to humankind. In all cases, the degree of harm or benefits must justify the degree of burden on research subject, individual, or society. The research must surely be serious in the sense that the project is well designed and with reasonable prospect of leading to important knowledge that will benefit persons in the future.


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