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The Lupus Foundation of America works with partners to provide ways to participate in clinical trials near you. There are several ways to find clinical trials, including a quick search function provided by Antidote. 

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Antidote delivers clear, unbiased information about clinical trial options. We aim to match you to the best trial, regardless of sponsor. Find their privacy policy here.

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Search these sites to find information about clinical trials near you.

ClinicalTrials.Gov - a registry of both publicly and privately supported clinical studies maintained by the US National Institutes of Health.

CenterWatch.Com - the largest online listing of industry-sponsored global clinical trials. 

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Clinical Trials Overview

UC San Francisco is committed to finding new ways to prevent and treat disease in people, and these efforts involve a form of research called clinical trials.

After a proposed treatment, drug therapy or device is found to be helpful and safe in animals in laboratories, it must also prove to be safe and effective in humans. This evaluation period is known as a clinical trial. A clinical trial also can study human behavior.

As a leading health sciences university, UCSF is actively involved in more than 1,700 clinical trials. All trials are conducted in coordination with UCSF Medical Center, which serves as UCSF's academic medical center and is consistently ranked among the nation's top hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. 

Empowering Patients

To review a list of clinical trials available at UCSF, use our Clinical Trials finder. For a summary of clinical trials throughout the United States and the world that is maintained by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), see NIH Clinical Trials.

Find a UCSF Clinical Trial

Browse available trials or search by topic area in a custom tool that collects data from UCSF, ClinicalTrials.Gov and other sources.

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While clinical trials are considered the fastest way to determine if a proposed intervention is safe and effective, they include both potential benefits and risks. A trial participant has the chance to receive a potentially promising treatment that is not available to the general public and to receive care at the nation's top academic medical centers and research institutes. Broad and diverse participation in a clinical trial also ensures that the treatment, drug or device will be effective for everyone, not just a segment of the population.

However, those participating in clinical trials face the chance that their disease or condition will not improve with the experimental treatment, and they could experience adverse side effects, among other possible drawbacks.

What is most important for patients is knowledge about and access to clinical trials, so they have the opportunity to participate if they choose and can make informed decisions about their health.

Rules on Approval and Adherence

The details of a clinical trial, including all tests and procedures used in the trial, are outlined in a research plan, usually called a protocol. Before a clinical trial can begin, the protocol must be approved by UCSF's Institutional Review Board.

After a clinical trial is approved by the IRB, a UCSF team of researchers, clinicians and other patient care specialists oversees the trial and all interactions with the research volunteers. This team follows strict rules set forth by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies regarding clinical trial processes. The rules ensure that people who participate in clinical trials are treated as safely as possible.

A clinical trial is paid for by the organization that sponsors the research, which may be a drug or medical device company, as well as by private foundations, gifts to UCSF, faculty members on the trial team or the departments of the UCSF faculty members.

Learn more about volunteering for clinical research at UCSF »

How To Find A Clinical Trial

Are you trying to find a clinical trial to enter?

Each year, researchers recruit many volunteers into such trials to evaluate new medical treatments, drugs, or devices. Ultimately, clinical trials seek better ways to treat different diseases and conditions. Not only might the trial participants benefit, but so could patients in the future.

But you (or your doctor) have to know how to find those trials.

How to Find a Clinical Trial

A good starting place is www.Clinicaltrials.Gov. This web site, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, offers information on more than 125,000 clinical trials in 180 countries. Some of those are recruiting patients; other trials are completed or terminated.

To start your search:

Go to www.Clinicaltrials.Gov.

Click on the link, "Search for Clinical Trials," on the home page.

Enter your search terms -- for example, a disease or intervention and a location: "heart attack" AND "aspirin" AND "California." Separate your multiple search terms with a capitalized "AND."

If you want to see all studies listed for your condition, see "Study Topics" on the right side of the home page. You'll find four links that allow you to list all studies by condition, drug intervention, location, or sponsor.

Studies that are recruiting will name a sponsor (for example, "University of Michigan" or "National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute"). Further down the page, you'll also find a contact person, whom you can reach by phone or email to ask about participating.

What Questions Should You Ask?

If you find a clinical trial that interests you, feel free to ask many questions so that you understand as much as possible. Here are 13 useful questions, noted by ClinicalTrials.Gov, to discuss with members of the health care team involved with the clinical trial:

What is the purpose of the study?

Who is going to be in the study?

Why do researchers believe the experimental treatment being tested may be effective? Has it been tested before? If so, in what phase is the trial (see below)?

What kinds of tests and experimental treatments are involved?

How do the possible risks, side effects, and benefits in the study compare with my current treatment?

How might this trial affect my daily life?

How long will the trial last?

Will hospitalization be required?

Who will pay for the experimental treatment?

Will I be reimbursed for other expenses?

What type of long-term follow-up care is part of this study?

How will I know if I get the placebo or the experimental treatment? Will results of the trials be provided to me?

Who will be in charge of my care?

Continued The 4 Phases of Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are carried out in phases, each with a different purpose. Here's a description of the different questions that scientists try to answer during each phase:

Phase I: An experimental treatment is given to a small group of people (usually 20 to 80). The goal is to understand the best way to deliver the new treatment, check its safety, find a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.

Phase II: The drug or treatment being studied is given to a larger group of people (100-300) to test its effectiveness and to further evaluate safety. At this stage, there may or may not be a control group. People in a control group receive standard care but not the experimental therapy; people in treatment groups get the experimental therapy. A control group allows the researchers to compare the new therapy to other treatment, a placebo, or no treatment.

Phase III: The researchers give the experimental drug or treatment to large groups of people (1,000-3,000) to confirm effectiveness, monitor side effects, make comparisons to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the experimental drug or treatment to be used safely. During this phase, there's usually a control group and a treatment group. People are randomly assigned to one of those groups; you can't choose which group you'll be in, and if there is a placebo group, you likely won't know if you're getting the placebo or the experimental therapy.

Phase IV: This research phase takes place after the study drug or treatment has received FDA approval. These post-marketing studies gather additional information, including the drug's risks, benefits, and optimal use in a larger population.

WebMD Medical Reference

Sources

SOURCES:

ClinicalTrials.Gov.

Cleveland Clinic: "Clinical Trials: What You Need to Know."

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