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Living with IgA nephropathy (IgAN), complement 3 glomerulopathy (C3G) or another type of chronic kidney disease can be concerning and interfere with your quality of life. Current treatments can slow the progression of kidney disease, but if you're not responding to treatments, you might wonder if a clinical trial is your answer.
Clinical trials give you access to potential medicines and procedures. But there are risks involved in trying new treatments. If you're considering a clinical trial, it helps to understand the types of trials available, where to find them, pros and cons, and questions to ask.
Quite a few types of clinical trials are available. If you're looking to try something new, you might be interested in a trial that:
Other trials may follow the course of kidney disease to learn how it progresses with time or may look for genes involved in developing a chronic kidney disease.
Your health care team is a good place to start for learning about clinical trials in your area that you may qualify for. You also can find trials on government websites, such as the Food and Drug Administration's site or ClinicalTrials.gov. Patient organizations also may help you find trials.
When you're in a clinical trial, especially a phase 1 or 2 trial, the treatment isn't specifically designed to help ease symptoms. The main goal is to test whether a medicine is safe and if it works. The potential treatment may not be effective, or it may have side effects that you can't tolerate.
Some trials also include a group of people given a nonactive treatment, called a placebo. Researchers compare the active treatment and placebo groups to see how well a treatment works. In such a trial, you might receive the placebo, though you won't be told until the end of the trial.
While there are drawbacks, a clinical trial may give you the chance to try a new treatment. And even if the trial doesn't benefit you, it may help others in the future. Consider if that's a risk you're willing to take.
Don't hesitate to ask the researchers questions so that you fully understand what's involved in the trial. Possible questions include:
Talk to your health care team as part of the decision-making process. They can make sure you've considered all the pros and cons, as well as help coordinate your current care with any clinical trial treatments.
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