Allergic Diseases, S.C. Steven H. Cohen, M.D.
Home Doctor First Visit Office Policies Medical Info Clinical Trials Why Participate Current Trials Contact Us FAQs Links	Why Participate Why participate in a clinical trial? Clinical trials of medications or devices are done to prove that they are safe and effective in treating certain illness or disease states. All the benefits we have seen in the treatment of diseases like leukemia, other malignancies, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cataracts, organ transplant and virtually every other area in medicine, come from carefully controlled clinical trials. Current state-of-the-art treatments are compared with newer and hopefully even better forms of medical care to improve the human condition. Volunteers are able to try new medications several years before they become available to the general public. It's like being asked to drive a prototype car that may be years from production and having the engineers ask for your opinion of the performance. It truly is being on the cutting edge of medicine. Volunteers in clinical trials receive medical evaluation and care appropriate to the study. During the evaluation to determine if a person qualifies other undiagnosed illness may be discovered and the patient can seek care that may prevent more serious problems or complications. In our experience, a patient had a silent retinal hemorrhage diagnosed and was able to have it treated before it became a more pressing problem. If any other significant findings are discovered, the patient and their physician will be informed and proper measures can be taken. If patients meet all of the inclusion criteria and have none of the exclusion criteria, specific testing will be done to see if they qualify for the study. If they enter into the study, they will receive study medication and, in many cases, other medications to treat symptoms if they are not controlled. Being uncomfortable is not part of any clinical trial, and the Institutional Review Board monitors the study to ensure the safety of the participants. Patients may also receive a financial benefit from participating.      11121 W. Oklahoma Avenue    West Allis, WI 53227    Tel: 414.545.1111