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• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Screening, prevention other medical interventions >> Amanda - Interview 22 >> Amanda describes a double-blind trial of pro-biotic yoghurt to control irritable bowel syndrome. She felt the research nurse wanted a particular resul

Amanda has taken part in a trial of pro-biotic yoghurt for irritable bowel syndrome, and withdrew from a trial about early interventions to prevent diabetes. She is setting up a website for the public to design their own trials.

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Long term conditions >> Phil - Interview 11 >> Phil explains how the cholesterol-lowering drug and placebo were blinded, but he guessed he might be taking the active drug because his cholesterol le

Phil took part in a trial of medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol. He had some side effects early on, so the medication was changed. He has been very happy with the care provided as part of the trial.

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Organising trials >> Sir Richard Doll - Interview 31 >> Sir Richard Doll explains why it can be useful for trials to compare several things at once and why it is important to have enough participants to get

Sir Richard Doll was one of the doctors who first demonstrated the link between lung cancer and smoking. He was Warden of Green College, Oxford. He was interviewed shortly before his death, in 2005.

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Long term conditions >> Kate - Interview 13 >> Kate and her husband guessed correctly that she was getting the active injection and he was getting the placebo, because they reacted differently.

Kate and her husband took part in a trial comparing injections of grass pollen antigen against a placebo as a way to reduce hay fever. Kate was in the experimental group and her husband in the placebo group.

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Screening, prevention other medical interventions >> Amanda - Interview 22 >> She wonders if the nurse didn’t want her doing anything extra that might affect the diabetes trial results. But it shouldn’t matter in a randomised tr

Amanda has taken part in a trial of pro-biotic yoghurt for irritable bowel syndrome, and withdrew from a trial about early interventions to prevent diabetes. She is setting up a website for the public to design their own trials.

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Screening, prevention other medical interventions >> Rosamund - Interview 18 >> Rosamund would not have agreed to take part in a study which did not use randomisation to make the groups comparable – it is the only way to get a rel

Rosamund is taking part in a large trial testing the effectiveness of screening for ovarian cancer. She is in the control group, so she has no screening tests but completes regular questionnaires.

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Cancer drugs and radiotherapy - randomised trials >> Jayne - Interview 03 >> Jayne explains that blinding to patients and staff is not always possible, but you can still make sure the person analysing the results is blinded to

Jayne had breast cancer aged 33. She wanted to join a clinical trial but her consultant was not interested, so she transferred to another hospital and took part in a trial comparing tamoxifen with tamoxifen plus goserelin (Zoladex).

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Cancer drugs and radiotherapy - randomised trials >> Jayne - Interview 03 >> Jayne explains the need for randomisation to have comparable groups of people in each arm of the trial.

Jayne had breast cancer aged 33. She wanted to join a clinical trial but her consultant was not interested, so she transferred to another hospital and took part in a trial comparing tamoxifen with tamoxifen plus goserelin (Zoladex).

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Not taking part in a trial >> Polly - Interview 09 >> Polly wonders if we could run trials where people could choose a treatment rather than being randomised without biasing the results.

Polly was invited to be in a trial comparing tamoxifen against a placebo for breast cancer in the 1990s. She decided not to take part, because she felt there was already good evidence to support the use of tamoxifen.