What is a Clinical Trial?
A clinical trial (also called “medical research”) is a research study in human volunteers to answer specific health questions. The best way to scientifically evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment is to conduct a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are used to determine whether new drugs, devices, or therapies are both safe and effective. Other clinical trials compare the best known standard therapy with a newer therapy to see if one produces a better result and/or causes fewer side effects than the other. Testing is performed on people only after laboratory and animal studies show promising results. Clinical trials are conducted according to a plan, called a protocol. The protocol describes what types of patients may enter the study, schedules of tests and procedures, drugs, dosages, and length of study, as well as the outcomes that will be measured. Each person participating in the study must agree to follow the plan set out by the protocol.
A clinical trial is a research study designed to answer questions about safety and effectiveness of a drug or treatment. These trials follow a rigorous scientific process with built-in safeguards for participants who volunteer and are selected for research. Most clinical research involves the testing of a new drug progresses in an orderly series of steps, called phases. The process starts with small trials testing the safety of a treatment and then moves towards progressively larger trials. The larger trials compare the safety and effectiveness of the new therapy to the currently accepted standard of care. It is important to remember that in a clinical trial, researchers do not know if the new treatment will be more effective than the current standard of care treatment.
A clinical trial, commonly referred to as a clinical study or research study, is designed to determine if a new drug or treatment will work on a disease or will potentially be of benefit to patients. Trials allow doctors and researchers to gain information on the benefits, side effects, and possible applications of new drugs, as well as different combinations, doses, and new indications of existing drugs. As a result, the medical community may be able to determine new ways to detect, diagnose, avoid, and control clinical factors responsible for disease.
A clinical trial is a strictly monitored scientific study, in which new treatments are tested on patients in a hospital or clinic. Clinical trials determine whether a new treatment is safe, effective, and a better alternative to current standard therapy. All clinical trials involving humans must be approved by the institution’s review board. This review board is made up of physicians, administrators, scientists, ethicists, and laymen. All patients participating in a clinical trial will go through an informed consent process before starting treatment. This process will include a discussion between doctor and patient about all aspects of the investigational therapy, including possible risks and benefits of treatment. A patient can withdraw from a clinical trial at any point, for any reason, even after consent is given and a consent form is signed. Treatment found to be safe and effective can be made available for widespread use, after approval by the FDA. New investigational drugs are us
