Clinical Trials
for Diabetes
Diabetes clinical trials study new treatments for Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes, including insulin therapies, diet interventions, and islet-cell transplants.
Diabetes clinical trials: what to expect
Diabetes is one of the largest areas of clinical research, and the trials differ a great deal by type. Type 2 studies most often test new glucose-lowering or weight-reducing medicines, once-weekly insulins, and combinations with GLP-1 drugs, in people whose A1c is above goal on their current treatment. Type 1 studies test automated insulin delivery systems, immune therapies for people recently diagnosed or at high risk, and cell-based approaches. Others focus on the complications: kidney disease, eye disease, nerve pain and foot ulcers.
Who diabetes trials usually look for
Type 2 trials typically ask for a confirmed diagnosis, an A1c in a stated range (often between 7 and 10.5 percent) and a stable dose of your current medicines for at least a few months. Many exclude recent insulin use, a recent heart attack or stroke, or kidney function below a cut-off. Type 1 trials are often limited by time since diagnosis and by age, and some enroll children and teenagers with a parent's consent.
You do not need to know your A1c or kidney numbers to ask about a trial; the site measures them at screening.
What taking part involves
Screening includes blood work and a review of your history. Medicine trials usually last six months to three years with visits every one to three months, and many provide a glucose monitor and supplies for the duration. Some compare a new drug with a standard one rather than a placebo, so everyone receives active treatment; others include a placebo arm, and the consent form says which. Study drugs, devices, visits and labs are provided at no cost, and most trials pay for time and travel.
Questions worth asking the study team
Whether you would stay on your current medicines; whether there is a placebo group; how often visits are and whether any can be done remotely; and whether your own doctor will receive the results of study labs. If you have type 1 diabetes, ask whether the study uses your own pump or monitor.
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