Doctors doing research in cardiovascular medicine seem to be exceptionally ingenious in devising acronyms for their studies. ACCORD, a research project of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, stands for "Action To Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes." As in all big studies of this kind involving human subjects, a data and safety monitoring board was hovering in the background. Made up of people without any personal stake in the outcome of the project, the board meets on a regular basis and examines the interim data to be sure that participation in the study isn't harmful to its subjects. If the DSMB members become worried, they are empowered to modify or stop the study to prevent further harm, and that is apparently what happened here.