The Senior Center for Health & Security

Clinical Trials: Bringing Innovative Treatments to America's Seniors

Clinical trials are a crucial step in discovering innovative new treatments for the diseases that plague our aging society. They make it possible to apply the latest scientific research and advances to patient care.

What is a Clinical Trial?

A clinical trial is a research program conducted with patients to evaluate a new medical treatment, drug, or device. The purpose is to find innovative new ways of treating different disease and conditions. During a clinical trial, doctors use the best treatment available as a standard to evaluate any new treatments.

The Scientific Benefits of Clinical Trials

New treatments and medicines are first researched in a laboratory where they are carefully studied in test tubes, Petri dishes, and animals. Only treatments successful in the lab are further tested on a small group of patients before applying them to a larger clinical trial.

When a new treatment of medicine is studied for the first time in people, doctors and researchers don't know how it will work. The clinical trial process helps doctors learn:

• If the treatment is safe and effective
• If the treatment is better that what's currently available
• What the side effects are
• How well it works

The Advantages of Participating in a Clinical Trial

By choosing to participate in a clinical trial you may receive a new treatment before it is widely available to the general public. You will also provide researchers with valuable information that might lead to curing a debilitating disease. Your overall health care costs may go down as well. Most tests and doctors visits will be covered by the company sponsoring the clinical trial. You may receive more examinations and tests than are usually given to someone with your condition.

Of course, clinical trials are not without risk. You may experience known or unknown side-effects and the treatment you receive might ultimately prove to be ineffective. It's important to discuss these risks with your doctor before agreeing to participate in any clinical trial.

To learn more about clinical trials visit the National Institute of Health's site on the topic at http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov.