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What is clinical research?

Clinical research is the study of health and illness in people. There are two main types of clinical research: observational studies and clinical trials.
Clinical Trials infographic
Read and share this infographic (PDF, 317K) to learn why researchers do different kinds of clinical studies.
Observational studies monitor people in normal settings. Researchers gather information from people and compare changes over time. For example, researchers may ask a group of older adults about their exercise habits and provide monthly memory tests for a year to learn how physical activity is associated with cognitive health. Observational studies do not test a medical intervention, such as a drug or device, but may help identify new treatments or prevention strategies to test in clinical trials.
Clinical trials are research studies that test a medical, surgical, or behavioral intervention in people. These trials are the primary way that researchers determine if a new form of treatment or prevention, such as a new drug, diet, or medical device (for example, a pacemaker), is safe and effective in people. Often, a clinical trial is designed to learn if a new treatment is more effective or has less harmful side effects than existing treatments.

Other aims of clinical research include:

Testing ways to diagnose a disease early, sometimes before there are symptoms
Finding approaches to prevent a health problem, including in people who are healthy but at increased risk of developing a disease
Improving quality of life for people living with a life-threatening disease or chronic health problem
Studying the role of caregivers or support groups
Learn more about clinical research from MedlinePlus and ClinicalTrials.gov.

Why participate in a clinical trial?

Why join a clinical trial or study? infographic. Open transcript for full description
Read and share this infographic to learn more about how clinical research might be right for you.
People volunteer for clinical trials and studies for a variety of reasons, including:
They want to contribute to discovering health information that may help others in the future.
Participating in research helps them feel like they are playing a more active role in their health.
The treatments they have tried for their health problem did not work or there is no treatment for their health problem.
Whatever the motivation, when you choose to participate in a clinical trial, you become a partner in scientific discovery. Participating in research can help future generations lead healthier lives. Major medical breakthroughs could not happen without the generosity of clinical trial participants — young and old, healthy, or diagnosed with a disease.

Where can I find a clinical trial?

Looking for clinical trials related to aging and age-related health conditions? Talk to your health care provider and use online resources to:
Search for a clinical trial
Look for clinical trials on Alzheimer's, other dementias, and caregiving
Find a registry for a particular diagnosis or condition
Explore clinical trials and studies supported by NIA
After you find one or more studies that you are interested in, the next step is for you or your doctor to contact the study research staff and ask questions.
You can usually find contact information in the description of the study.

Let your health care provider know if you are thinking about joining a clinical trial. Your provider may want to talk to the research team to make sure the study is safe for you and to help coordinate your care.

Joining a clinical trial is a personal decision with potential benefits and some risks. Learn what happens in a clinical trial and how participant safety is protected. Read and listen to testimonials from people who decided to participate in research.

What happens in a clinical trial or study?

Here’s what typically happens in a clinical trial or study:
Research staff explain the trial or study in detail, answer your questions, and gather more information about you.
Once you agree to participate, you sign an informed consent form indicating your understanding about what to expect as a participant and the various outcomes that could occur.
You are screened to make sure you qualify for the trial or study.
If accepted into the trial, you schedule a first visit, which is called the “baseline” visit. The researchers conduct cognitive and/or physical tests during this visit.
For some trials testing an intervention, you are assigned by chance (randomly) to a treatment group or a control group . The treatment group will get the intervention being tested, and the control group will not.
You follow the trial procedures and report any issues or concerns to researchers.

You may visit the research site at regularly scheduled times for new cognitive, physical, or other evaluations and discussions with staff. During these visits, the research team collects data and monitors your safety and well-being. You continue to see your regular physician(s) for usual health care throughout the study.

How do researchers decide which interventions are safe to test in people? Before a clinical trial is designed and launched, scientists perform laboratory tests and often conduct studies in animals to test a potential intervention’s safety and effectiveness. If these studies show favorable results, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves the intervention to be tested in humans. Learn more about how the safety of clinical trial participants is protected.

What happens when a clinical trial or study ends?

Once a clinical trial or study ends, the researchers analyze the data to determine what the findings mean and to plan the next steps. As a participant, you should be provided information before the study starts about how long it will last, whether you will continue receiving the treatment after the trial ends (if applicable), and how the results of the research will be shared. If you have specific questions about what will happen when the trial or study ends, ask the research coordinator or staff.

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