Clinical research is used to help with understanding how to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. This may involve comparing treatments or looking at new ones. Often this is looking at the effectiveness of specific medications but it may also be about other medical treatments.
Some research may be about observing people when they are receiving certain treatments, compared to those with the same disease who are not receiving treatment, or who are receiving a different treatment.
In order to test the different treatments some research studies will involve giving a blood sample or may involve undergoing x-rays or other types of scan. You would always receive full information about any trial before agreeing to take part and you are always free to opt out at any time when taking part in a trial.
A good information source about Clinical Research can be found at the UKCRC website.
