SEP 9, Limerick-Uke-Saga: "CLINICAL TRIAL", prevention and cure

UKE-SONG, derived from lyrics of a multi-verse limerick.


MUSICAL UNDERPINNINGS: These verses can be sung to "The Limerick Song", as per YouTube HERE.


ORIGINAL POETRY LYRICS: Original verses were composed by registered pseudonym Giorgio Coniglio, November 2016. After undergoing their rigorous collaborative editing process, these have been published as a "brief saga", a poetic entity of three or more stanzas, on the poetry website OEDILF (Omnificent English Dictionary In Limerick Form); they have then been displayed as poetry lyrics on our blog "Daily Illustrated Nonsense". Click HERE to review Giorgio's blogged poem.

SETTING WORDS TO MUSIC: Readers might be interested to know that of more than 1000 short poems that we have published, only 50 or so would qualify as "brief sagas". Although almost any limerick verse (e.g. the "Nantucket limericks") can be set to music, we were particularly interested in exploring this transitiioning for these multiverse poems that warrant the time to pick up your ukulele.

The tunes we have exploited in this effort include, not surprisingly "The Limerick Song". But on occasion we have also used (minor modifications may be required) "Up", "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?", "The Anniversary Song", "Summertime" etc.

SONG-LINKS: Check out all of Giorgio's blogposts on health and medical issues, as summarized HERE.

 

first stanza:/ In my dream, a vast clinical trial/ (And the concept might cause you to smile),/ To assess ILLS’ prevention,/ And their cure, by extension — / Pharma’s magic, a drug in a vial. 

second stanza:/ First, a dose-finding intro we’ve got,/ With a single-dose, double-blind shot./ Near the onset: detection/ Of effective protection/ With one gram — so we’ve filled in that slot. 

third stanza: Active-drug group: all symptoms aborted,/ But placebo-arm (duly cohorted/ Volunteers): some turned ill;/ Now a double-blind pill/ Is provided for them, as reported.

fourth stanza:/ So each day they receive just one gram — / Oral magic, or (randomized) sham,/ In a month, half are cured./ Half stay sick (get inured!)/ ’Til the trial’s unblinded, then Wham!

fifth stanza:/ In the open phase, where it is needed,/ True “prevention” or “cure” is repeated./ Controlled treatment phase: mean/ Days of dosing — sixteen./ Plus, low dose for prevention’s conceded. 

Author's Note: The conclusion of this imaginary placebo-controlled trial of magic in the prevention and treatment of ILLS can be stated as follows:

Parenteral administration of a low dose (1 gram) was found uniformly effective in prevention. For treatment of later established cases, the dosage requirement was found to be higher by a factor of 16 times (95% confidence interval: 9 — 25).
The above conclusion could, with inherent limitations of proportionality, be converted back to older units --  "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

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