Reports are that immunosuppressed patients have a higher risk for infection, but the frequency of colds and flu should not be much elevated. Patients should tell the doctor about chicken pox or tuberculosis (active or not as it could reactivate),…
Monthly Archives: January 2007
Does prednisone affect my lab test results?
Prednisone may distort lab tests. Allergy tests and tuberculosis tests will be invalid. Pap smears may be misinterpreted as cervical dysplasia. Test results for tuberculosis and cancer may also be affected. Other medications may also interfere with medical test results. If…
Posted in Treatment and Medication
Is Clinical Trial Participation Right for You?
While current therapies for some autoimmune diseases may be adequate to keep your disease in balance, advances in biotechnology research may revolutionize the future treatment of these potentially debilitating conditions by more specifically attacking the cause of the autoimmunity. Drug…
Posted in Clinical Trials
What is the drug development process?
Following is a summary of the clinical trial process which we hope you find useful in your journey towards understanding if clinical trial participation is right for you and/or someone you care about. It is our hope that by providing…
Posted in Clinical Trials
What are clinical trials?
Clinical trials are studies using the drug in humans, designed to identify new and better treatments for diseases. Clinical trials determine if a drug is safe and effective, at what doses it works best and what the side effects are.…
Posted in Clinical Trials
Who sponsors clinical trials?
Clinical trials may be sponsored by pharmaceutical and/or biotechnology companies, but are administered at hospital and/or research institutions by physician experts in the disease field. Each site (hospital and/or research institution) is required to receive approval by an IRB (institutional…
Posted in Clinical Trials
Should I participate in a clinical trial?
As a volunteer in a clinical trial, you are participating in the development of new medical therapies – therapies that may offer better treatments and even cures for life-threatening and chronic diseases. The hope of personally benefiting from a new…
Posted in Clinical Trials
Why are human volunteers necessary?
Without individuals with these diseases willing to participate in clinical trials, safer, more effective therapies than existing ones would never make it to the clinic. Although participation in a clinical trial may not benefit you directly, and is associated with…
Posted in Clinical Trials
A study of patients with PV using Infliximab
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of patients with PV using Infliximab The purpose of this trial is to determine the safety of infliximab (Remicade) for the treatment of patients with pemphigus vulgaris. Secondary clinical endpoints include the number of days…
Posted in Clinical Trials
Northwestern University: Immunotherapy
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s Division of Immunotherapy is utilizing methods that allow the safe isolation, manipulation and preservation of population of stem cells and immune cells for therapeutic purposes. Currently DIAD collaborates with the Divisions of Rheumatology, Nephrology,…
Posted in Clinical Trials
