By Hilary Wright, Staff Writer
A person will be accepted into the clinical trial once
they have received a study-related medical evaluation and a
diagnosis is made. After passing the evaluation and diagnosis
procedures, it will be time for you and your loved one to ask
important questions regarding all aspects of the clinical trial.
Once enrolled, the trial will begin with a study-related physical
exam, study medication, laboratory tests, and any necessary
procedures that are required. During the course of the clinical
trial, medical professionals will meet with your loved one on a
regular basis in order to monitor their progress and to look for
signs of either improvement or problems.
Some very
important things that to remember when accepted into a clinical
trial:
-
It is
very important to take all medicine as directed by the medical staff
during the clinical
trial; even if the participant doesn't feel as though the medicine is working, encourage them to stick to the
program.
-
Make sure that he
or she is aware of all the benefits as well as the possible risks
associated with the clinical trial, and that they are able to
comprehend this information.
-
The
clinical trial will last as long as symptom do not worsen.
-
The
length of the clinical trial will also depend upon the side effects
that are experienced.
-
Once
the clinical trial has been completed, he or she will be followed by
the
clinical trial doctor and staff for updates on their overall
well-being.
-
A supply of the
study drug will be given either at their doctor's office or it can
be filled at the local pharmacy.
-
If any mental or
physical side effects are experienced, call their doctor; these
professionals can be called at any time, and it is extremely
important that they are told of any possible problems, even if you
don’t think it's related to the study medication.
-
Your loved one may
be asked to bring their bottles of medication belonging to the study
to each of their visits with the clinical trial team.
-
When
participating in a clinical trial, a "visit" schedule must be
followed where the
clinical trial team monitors the participants well-being, in order
to evaluate whether the treatment seems to be working.
-
There
will be a schedule to follow regarding when they are to have
important blood tests done; these can be weekly, or every few weeks,
and will be
monitored by both their regular doctor and by the clinical trial
doctor.
At these
scheduled visits, it’s important that your loved one:
-
report
any symptoms that have been experienced since starting the study or
any
changes in symptoms that were reported at previous visits.
-
report
any other medications taken since starting the study or any changes
in medication that were reported at previous visits.
-
complete as much
information needed on any questionnaires about health and overall
well-being.
-
expect
that blood will be drawn for routine laboratory tests.
As always, it’s extremely important that the trial volunteer
take the medication from the clinical trial as directed.
They also need to report any side effects experienced at any
time, so that the clinical trial doctor will know as soon as
possible in order to give appropriate medical attention if
necessary. If they are able to successfully stick to the
routine of a clinical trial, you may be nicely surprised to
find your loved one is receiving the most promising care
available to date, and that the schizophrenia will begin to
have less and less control over everyone’s lives.
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