Can exercise improve memory?
Will a daily low-dose aspirin help prolong a healthy lifespan?
Can improving physical function and weight control result in disability-free years of life?
These are among the hundreds of clinical trials that hospitals and medical centers are sponsoring throughout the Piedmont to evaluate new medical approaches and increase scientific understanding of a wide variety of diseases.
Physicians believe that this research is key to improving health care in North Carolina and throughout the world with a goal of quickly translating research findings into clinical care that benefits everyone.
Clinical Trials Are Important
Advances in medicine come from new ideas and approaches developed through research. New medical treatments must prove to be safe and effective in scientific studies with a certain number of patients before they can be made widely available.
Benefits to Seniors
Involvement in a clinical trial is strictly voluntary, but people who participate can experience benefits such as:
- Having access to promising drugs, medical devices, or treatment approaches before the general public
- Receiving free or subsidized health care for the duration of the trial
- Taking a more active role in your own health care
- Receiving expert medical care at a leading health care facility
- Monitoring your health care and side effects
By participating in clinical trials, seniors can play an important role in advancing scientific knowledge and helping future patients.
Four Kinds of Trials
- Treatment Trials
Test new drugs, medical devices, medical procedures, or combinations of treatments. - Prevention Trials
Look for better ways to prevent diseases through medicines, vaccines, vitamins, minerals, or lifestyle changes. - Screening Trials
Look for new ways to test for the presence of a disease or health condition. - Quality of Life Trials
Explore ways to improve comfort and quality of life for chronically ill individuals.