Clinical studies

A clinical study researches the effectiveness of drugs or other treatments on volunteers via clinical trials or observational studies.

• Clinical trials may compare a new medical approach to a standard one that is already available, to a placebo that contains no active ingredients, or to no intervention.
• When a new product or approach is being studied, it is not usually known whether it will be helpful, harmful, or no different than available alternatives (including no intervention). ... For example, investigators may give a drug or treatment to participants who have high blood pressure to see whether their blood pressure decreases.