Epidemiological Concepts in Clinical Pharmacology

Clinical pharmacology is not primarily characterized by a particular methodology, but rather by the aims it pursues. Cooperation with scientists in other fields is thus essential. The symposium "Epidemiological Concepts in Clinical Pharmacology" (November 28-29, 1985) was organized by the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology of the Free University of Berlin to acknowledge the increasing impact of epidemio logical methods and thinking on clinical pharmacology. The editors are glad that all the presentations of the leading experts can now be made available to a broader rea dership. Neither the symposium itself nor publication of the proceedings would have been possible without the generous support received from the Paul-Martini-Stif tung and from the Free University of Berlin. To these institutions we owe deep grati tude. The expert guidance we received from Dr. Ute Heilmann of Springer-Verlag is also gladly acknowledged. Berlin, November 1986 H.Kewitz I. Roots K. Voigt Contents Opening Remarks 1 H.Kewitz ..... The Thalidomide Hypothesis: How It Was Found and Tested W.Lenz ............................. . 3 Reasons for the Successes and Failures of Specific Models in Drug Epidemiology S. Shapiro ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 11 . . . Methodological Concepts: What Could We Know and What Should We Know in Drug Epidemiology K. Obeda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 . . . . . . The Design of Case-Control Studies H.J.Jesdinsky ............ . . ........ 34 Methodological Evaluation of Studies in Drug Epidemiology O. P. Heinonen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 43 . . . . . Problems with International Evaluation of Drug Risks A. Liljestrand ....................... . . . . . . .. . . 50 Drug Utilization Studies -an Instrument in Drug Research P. K. M. Lunde, M. Andrew, I. Baksaas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 57 . .