What is Clinical Research

You never know until you trial.New medicines or therapies must first undergo rigorous testing for safety and effectiveness in clinical trials before they are approved for use by the FDA. These trials allow researchers to determine what types of interventions might have benefits for people living with Alzheimer’s, identify the optimal dosing of new drugs and compare how well the interventions work with what's already available. Clinical trials usually involve a large number of participants with a medical concern or diagnosis and are followed very closely by medical experts while trying new medications. Different trials are designed to treat individuals at mild, moderate or advanced stages of the disease, during the pre-dementia phase (mild cognitive impairment) or even for cognitively normal older adults to prevent the disease. The first person to be cured of Alzheimer’s will be in a clinical trial. In addition, participants in clinical trials often receive extra clinical evaluation throughout the trial. All trials are conducted without cost to the participant. Only a small fraction of the drugs developed in laboratories ever make it to the clinical trial stage. Before a clinical trial begins, the drug must be evaluated in pre-clinical laboratory studies and/or in animal studies.

General information regarding the benefits and risks of participating in clinical trials can be found on the NIA website and WebMD.

 

Find currently enrolling clinical trials around the state of Michigan: