Clinical Trials

Human clinical trials are a critical phase of researching new drugs before they become available to patients, and new ways of managing diabetes. Many tests are conducted before the clinical trial stage to determine whether potential treatments are appropriate for testing in people. It is through clinical trials that new drugs, therapies and ultimately, a cure for type 1 diabetes will be discovered.

By participating in a JDRF-funded clinical trial, you play an important role in the fight to treat and cure type 1 diabetes. The decision to participate, however, is very personal and should be made only after speaking with your health care provider and other individuals you trust. You can stop participation in a clinical trial at any time if new concerns arise or you lose confidence that its potential benefits outweigh its risks. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) ClinicalTrials.gov Web site answers some of the most frequently asked questions about these studies.

Clinical Trials Connection: Be a Part of the Cure

To help you better understand what is involved in participating in a clinical trial, and to simplify the process of finding trials that are of interest to you (or your child), JDRF has created an online customized clinical trials listing service – the JDRF Clinical Trials Connection. Clinical Trials Connection is for people personally affected by diabetes and its complications, looking to be up-to-date on research progress and opportunities.

The JDRF Clinical Trials Connection is an online service that allows you to “opt-in” to get information about trials, and access to them. It contains information about all currently active diabetes trials in the U.S. You can sign up at https://trials.jdrf.org/ and provide some basic information. The service then gives you access to customized information about clinical trials, the option to sign up for monthly emails with up-to-date information about newly launched trials, and contact information for the researchers conducting the trials you are interested in.

To learn more about the JDRF Clinical Trials Connection or to sign up, click here.