On the question of volunteering for a study for clinical research today we came across a concise reply:  “Every study for which you might volunteer has been carefully designed. There is a detailed written plan specifying every question you might be asked, the kind of physical examinations that might be performed, the tests that might be ordered and any treatments you might receive.  This plan must be approved by a committee called an Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB includes doctors, nurses, researchers and members of the community — none of whom is involved with the study. They determine whether the study has acceptably low risks for the participants. There are different types of studies. Observational studies simply collect detailed information from you on an ongoing basis. They do not put you at risk. Studies like this discovered that people who smoked had a much higher risk of lung cancer.  Other studies, called clinical trials, require you to have a particular ‘’intervention.’’ The intervention might be a diagnostic test, such as a colonoscopy. Or it might be a treatment — a medicine, a surgical procedure or another therapy.  By participating in a clinical trial, you may get access to a beneficial drug or procedure that is not yet on the market”.  – Dr. Komaroff for AskDoctor.com @ TulsaWorld.com, excerpted from the article, “Volunteering for a study can help both you and others“, click here to read the article in its entirety.