What is a Clinical Research Study?
A clinical research study is a scientific way to improve health care. Studies can be designed to answer specific questions on how to better prevent, diagnose, or treat diseases and disorders. Clinical Trials involve the testing of new medicines or devices and are important because they contribute to the discovery and confirmation that treatments actually improve the health of patients.
- Current Asthma Institute studies can be found at this link.
- Additional information can also be found at Clinical Trials.Gov.
People volunteer to participate in clinical trials for a variety of reasons. Some volunteers may hope to improve their own health by accessing interventions before they become widely available, as well as to help science advance for the benefit of the larger population of people/patients with the disease. Experimental and sometimes established medications are provided to a qualifying participant at no cost. Finally, most participants report that their participation in these studies enhances their understanding of their disease and how to manage it.
When a participant calls for information about our studies, we strive to give them everything all the information they need to make an informed decision about their health, approach to care and benefits and risks of being in any clinical study. Asking questions is very important as well, such as: What is the purpose of the clinical trial? What can you tell me about the drug or device that will be studied? How long will the clinical trial last? What will be done as part of the clinical trial? What actions are required during the clinical trial? What are the risks? What are the possible benefits? Who will see the information that is collected? Once a participant enrolls in a clinical trial, they may also decide to leave the trial at any time and for any reason.
Safety is very important to us. Dr. Wenzel and her research staff take pride in the conduct of these studies and we do our best to provide study participants with courtesy andcourteous, excellent care. Also, the federal government has regulations to protect research volunteers. All research studies and clinical trials in the United States must be approved and monitored by an institutional review board (IRB). The IRB is made up of scientists, doctors, and community people who continuously review research studies and clinical trials to help make sure that volunteers will be as safe as possible.
Currently there are five several clinical trials being conducted at the Asthma Institute. Some are testing innovative ways to treat asthma by focusing on eosinophils or inflammation of the airways. Others look at contributing factors such as obesity. All of our studies collect information about each participant such as asthma history and even lung function. In addition, we are specifically interested in improving the lives of people with severe or difficult to treat asthma.
These studies not only help participants learn about their asthma, but also help and people all over the world with asthma by discovering how asthma works plus and helping to develop new asthma medicines. All of the medicines we currently have for asthma treatment were developed through clinical trials.
Information from these studies not only helps the Asthma Institute to develop a better understanding and treatment for asthma; the data is also used by other collaborative centers all over the nation.
To learn more about any or all of our clinical trials, please call our toll free number: 1-866-804-5278 or email us at asthmainstitute@upmc.edu.
