Question: What Are Clinical Trials?
Answer: When I worked for the Alzheimer’s Association, many families asked if there were research studies that could help their loved ones with Alzheimer’s beyond what geriatric care could provide. These studies are called clinical trials, and the decision to participate in one should be made carefully.
What Are Clinical Trials?
According to NIH Senior Health, clinical trials are research studies that use people to explore whether an experimental medication, lifestyle change, medical test, or device will help detect, treat, or prevent a disease. Clinical trials only happen after years of tests that don’t involve humans to make sure trials are safe and worthwhile. As a caregiver, you know that many elder healthcare issues involve chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. There are clinical trials involving these diseases that seek to enhance geriatric care.
Risks and Benefits
It’s important to weigh risks and benefits of clinical trials before making such a decision. NIH Senior Health lists these possible benefits of enrolling in a clinical trial:
- Your relative could help scientists develop better geriatric care treatments that not only help them but improve elder healthcare for future generations.
- Your loved one may get better healthcare services because participants are often closely monitored.
- Your relative may gain access to experimental treatments for a condition before they’re approved and available to geriatric care professionals.
There are also possible risks to joining a clinical trial, such as:
- The experimental treatment may have side effects.
- There is no guarantee your loved one will get the experimental treatment as opposed to a standard treatment or inactive substance.
- If your relative does get the experimental treatment, it may not work, or if it works for some, it may not work for him or her.
Where to Find Clinical Trials
If you’re interested in finding clinical trials, talk to your loved one first (if he can still make healthcare decisions). Then talk to his geriatric care physician to discuss risks and benefits in more detail. Trials are listed at ClinicalTrials.gov and can be searched by disease, geographic location, age group, and more. Remember that not everyone will be accepted into a clinical trial.
Source:
Participating in clinical trials. NIH Senior Health. January 3, 2008. http://nihseniorhealth.gov/participatinginclinicaltrials/toc.html
