Interesting Clinical Trial Studies Worth Reading About

Clinical drug trials are an opportunity for research teams to test the efficacy and side effects of a variety of things. These studies are important to understanding how medicine can most effectively help those who are suffering. These studies can range from epidemics like Alzheimer’s and cancer to something as seemingly harmless as a headache. Here are the top four interesting studies to know about right now.

Migraine Relief

Many people suffer from head pain and other symptoms caused by migraines. And although this affliction may not be as severe as something like cancer, pain is still pain. These people have long relied on triptans to relieve their pain, although this drug does not help everyone and is known to have adverse side effects. Doctors have recently discovered a new drug called Gepants that work in a different way to stop head pain. The author of the first study Richard B. Lipton, a professor and vice chair of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, claims “people with migraines not helped by existing medications may have a new option to find relief during attacks.” This will be a huge relief (pun intended) to such a common problem.

Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) study testing Seladelpar

Primary Biliary Cholangitis is a chronic inflammatory liver disease that destroys the bile ducts in your liver. This autoimmune disorder is common in middle-aged women and there is currently no cure available to patients. Eventually, the disease results in liver failure and is fatal. The only FDA-approved medication for first-line therapy for PBC is ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Approximately 40% of patients don’t respond to this medication and roughly 5% have negative side effects that force them to stop treatment. Obeticholic acid (Ocaliva) is FDA approved as a second-line therapy for patients who don’t respond or have negative side effects from UDCA. Around 50% of patients don’t respond to this either and the medication is known to worsen pruritis, a common symptom of PBC.

The ENHANCE study is testing the efficacy of seladelpar, an experimental drug therapy for PBC. The first and second phases of this study went well and they are recruiting patients for the third phase of the trial now.

Peanut Allergy Discoveries

The American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI) reports that almost 2.5 percent of children in the U.S. may live with a peanut allergy. And these children, as well as future generations, shouldn’t have to suffer from the humiliation of sitting at a separate lunch table at school, let alone fearing for their lives every time they sit down to a meal. Luckily, scientists have discovered a treatment that aims to build up a tolerance to peanuts so that people who are allergic can survive accidental exposure. Study author Dr. Stephen Tilles, the previous president of the ACAAI, is hoping the FDA will approve this treatment within 2019.

Easing Opioid Withdrawal

Opioids have been all over the news lately. And many people are suffering from opioid withdrawal due to its epidemic status. Scientists are working on a new experimental drug that could make the withdrawal process more tolerable in the future. The new drug is called Rapastinel and was originally created to help those with depression disorders. Researchers found it wasn’t effective in treating depression, but that it did show the rodents who received the drug showed fewer signs of withdrawal than those that did not. As of now, this study is only being conducted on rodents, however, it is showing success and may enter human trials in the future.

Clinical trial studies are essential to advancing science and knowledge, as well as helping the endless number of suffering people. A participant can enter knowing they are contributing to positive change in the medical world, and plus, most of them pay big bucks. Simply staying informed about current studies can also have a huge effect on people. After all, knowledge is power.