Understanding Clinical Trials

What are Clinical Trials?

A clinical trial is a research study to determine whether new drugs or treatments are safe and effective in humans. Carefully conducted clinical trials are the fastest and safest way to find treatments that work.

Here are some terms that you need to know as you learn about clinical trials:

• Placebo
  A placebo is an inactive (or “dummy”) pill, liquid, or powder that has
  no treatment value. In clinical trials, experimental treatments are often compared with placebos to assess the treatment’s effectiveness.
• Control Group
  In many clinical trials, one group of patients will be given an experimental drug or treatment, while another group, the control group, is given the conventional treatment.
• A Blind Study
  A blinded study is one in which participants do not know whether they are in the experimental or control group in a research study.
• A Double-Blind
  Study A double-blinded study is one in which neither the participants nor the study staff know which participants are receiving the experimental treatment and which ones are getting a standard treatment. These studies are performed so neither the patients’ nor the doctors’ expectations about the experimental drug influence the outcome.
• Side Effects
  Side effects are any undesired actions or effects of a drug or treatment. Such effects may include headache, nausea, hair loss, skin irritation, or other physical problems. Experimental treatments must be evaluated for both immediate and long-term side effects.

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