Understanding Research Helps You Sort Out the Facts

Monday, August 18, 2003

ROCHESTER, Minn. — How do you sort hype from hope in medical news? Knowledge of how research is done can help you better understand its relevance to your health, according to the August issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

Laboratory experiments help determine the benefits and pitfalls of a substance or situation by studying living tissues, cells and disease-causing agents. But, there are many steps between lab experiments and new treatments for people.

Epidemiologic studies — such as retrospective and prospective studies — are based on observations that suggest risk factors or predictors of disease. Retrospective studies look back at what's affected the health of a particular group. Prospective studies, generally more accurate, plan in advance what to look for in a group over time. The longer a study lasts, and the more participants, the more reliable the findings. However, findings aren't conclusive until further study proves there's a cause and effect.

Randomized clinical trails are the gold standard. They may involve thousands of volunteers who've been carefully screened and randomly separated into two or more groups. Often the study is blinded, meaning participants, and usually the researchers, don't know until after the study has ended who was using the new drug or therapy vs. the standard treatment.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Carol Lammers
507-284-5005 (days)
507-284-2511(evenings)
email: newsbureau@mayo.edu

Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville
Erik Kaldor
904-953-2299

Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale
Anne Tewksbury
480-301-4368

Mayo Clinic Health Letter is an eight-page monthly newsletter of reliable, accurate and practical information on today's health and medical news. To subscribe, please call toll-free 800-333-9037, extension 9PR1.

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