Want to know what clinical trials are all about? Open your own medicine cabinet! You can find all kinds of medicines and treatments that contribute to your health and well being. There are probably over-the-counter medicines, like aspirin and cough syrup, or maybe prescriptions for diabetes and hypertension. If you have friends or family members who have survived a serious illness, such as cancer, stroke, or a heart attack, it’s very likely that they owe their lives to drugs developed in clinical trials.

Read on to learn more about clinical trials. Click here to be contacted about clinical trials that might help or be of interest to you, or to someone you know.

Some people fear clinical trials. They may not know there are ways in which a trial can help them or someone close to them –ways like accessing a new drug before it is available in the marketplace. People may also think a clinical trial is their last hope to cure a disease. But nothing could be further from the truth! Clinical trials are an important part of preventing disease, as well as finding cures for disease.

Clinical trials depend upon not only researchers, but on the help of volunteers like you. It is important to make sure we understand how to use drugs to get the best results for all people.

What is a clinical trial?

A clinical trial is a test or experiment that is conducted in people to learn whether a drug, a change in lifestyle, or other action your doctor may recommend is safe and effective for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of human illness.

Why is it so important for Diversity to be in clinical trials?

Patients should receive treatments for their illness that are proven to work. We call this evidence-based medicine. Clinical trials are the way we develop the evidence of safety and benefits of treatment. That evidence relates specifically to the type of people who participate in the trial. If there are no ethnic populations in the trial, it raises questions regarding the best way to use the medicines we have available for treating these populations.

Why can’t I just use the medicine after someone else participated in the trials? If the treatment works for them, won’t they work for me?

You can use those medicines and most often you do. However, our individual response to a drug is based on a lot of things that include, but are not limited to, our genetic ancestry, our life experiences, our environment, our past illnesses and injuries (recognized or unrecognized), our lifestyle and our nutrition. These factors differ, sometimes by ethnic groups and communities in the population, leading to differences in responses to drugs. Additionally, patients in clinical trials are tested and watched very closely and carefully, at no additional cost to them, for signs of any unexpected affects.

Who actually does these clinical trials?

Clinical trials are conducted under the supervision of a doctor with a lot of help from other health care workers. They may be sponsored by government, universities, or drug companies. In the past, many of these clinical trials were conducted by doctors in a university, but now many more community doctors are getting involved in order to understand safety, and the benefit of treatment in a routine community setting. Unfortunately, not enough American physicians and patients are involved – which leads to many trials being conducted outside of the United States – for drugs that will be prescribed to Americans! This causes concerns about the relevance of the results and the possibility for poor outcomes for American patients. This does not mean you should stop taking your medicines, but it may mean when you are prescribed a new medicine for the first time, your doctor may want to know whether American patients, like you, were included in its evaluation.

So does this mean you want me to be a guinea pig? Isn’t this what happened to those men in the Tuskegee experiment?

The Tuskegee experiment was a tragic event in American history. The fortunate things that came from it were the laws and ethical requirements that provide protections in the clinical trial process, so that something like the Tuskegee experiment can never happen again. You have rights, and it is important that you know those rights. For instance, you must be told about the risks as well as the benefits involved, from your participation – a process called “informed consent”. You cannot be put in a trial against your will. You must sign a consent form to participate, but that consent form does not sign away any of your rights. You can withdraw your consent at any time, and stop participating in the trial, without penalty.

Why can’t I just use old brands or kinds of medicines that have been out on the market for a while and not use anything that is new?

That certainly is within your rights. However, the purpose of clinical trials for new drugs, is to find and learn to use the best treatments that work for YOU – with fewest side effects. Continuing to use some older medicines that may not work as well, may contribute to differences in life expectancy and disease or health outcomes. It is a fact that African-Americans and Hispanics have worse outcomes for many diseases, and we believe the lack of clinical trial participation contributes to this circumstance.

Check this page frequently for information regarding upcoming Health Events and opportunities to contribute to a healthier future.  If you’re interested in learning more about all of the clinical trials taking place throughout the world, then visit www.clinicaltrial.gov.

*some text provided by NMA Project IMPACT