title: The vulnerability of the very sick.
abstract: When seriously ill patients for whom existing treatments are inadequate are invited to participate in clinical trials that offer a new treatment, should those persons be considered "vulnerable"? And if so, what additional protections should they be accorded? This article attempts to provide some answers.
authors.affiliation: Office of Human Subjects Research, National Institutes of Health, USA.
authors.forename: Jerry
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Menikoff
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D033161:Government Regulation; D006805:Human Experimentation / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D016743:Mental Competency; D018579:Patient Selection; D035842:Research Subjects; D014481:United States; D035862:Vulnerable Populations