Health notes: clinical trials, weight loss and mood
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 15:45 A couple items that I read today in the Johns Hopkins Medical Letter ‘Health After 50’ that were of interest to me:
Willingness to simply take part in a clinical trial - whether you actually do or not - seems to make a difference in your future good health. I found this interesting since, during my treatment for cancer at the University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, I participated in every clinical trial they offered. I was getting writers’ cramp. Not really, but you get the idea.
According to British researchers,when they studied over 2,000 heart patients who had been asked if they wished to participate in a clinical trial, after 55 months, those who said ‘yes’ were half as likely to have died as those who were not interested. They think this might be because those who express more of a willingness to try a trial might be more compliant regarding their doctors’ instructions in regard to treatment, and more accepting of their condition.
Having been there, done that. this sounds very plausible.