Find Your Own Medical Breakthrough

Tips for finding clinical trials and new treatments for your condition

AARP The Magazine, October 10, 2017 | Comments: 0

Pioneering drugs that remedy once-intractable diseases; clever products that make everyday living easier for people with injury or illness; innovative technologies that provide relief at a touch of a button — by all measures, 2017 has been a year of astounding health care advancements.

Here are some tips for finding your own breakthrough treatments for medical conditions:

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Credible online resources are available to help connect you with research opportunities.

1. Ask A Specialist

If you have a challenging injury or disease, you’re likely working with a doctor specialist who knows about promising new treatments. Ask whether any might be available to you. Check with your health insurer, too, about availability and coverage of new treatments.

2. Explore Clinical Research Trials

Tomorrow’s breakthroughs are being researched today. Here’s how to learn about clinical trials that might align with your medical needs:

• ClinicalTrials.gov

The National Institutes of Health’s searchable database covers more than 250,000 public and private studies around the world; about 45,000 are actively recruiting subjects. The NIH does not vouch for the quality of the studies listed.

• ResearchMatch.org

This site, funded in part by NIH and operated by Vanderbilt University, matches researchers with volunteers. At press time, some 120,000 volunteers were signed up for 565 studies.

• ClinicalStudies.info.NIH.gov

Discover active trials at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md., and learn how to get involved.