Sperimentazione e comitati etici in Italia

[Autom. eng. transl.] Ethics Committees (EC) had a sudden and rapid development in Italy in the early 1990s when the European Directive had made their opinion mandatory before the start of clinical trials. The organization and significance of these bodies have subsequently been defined as the National Bioethics Committee and the Ministry of Health with its operating bodies have issued opinions and decrees. Over the years, however, the CEs have evolved into rather bureaucratic organisms and the establishment of small or large-scale experimentation in each structure has contributed to considerably increasing the number. The recent normative orientations, however, while they foresee a drastic cut, relating the number to the population, have not yet well defined their organization and doubts and perplexities appear on the horizon about their functioning.