• Clip
• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Not taking part in a trial >> Charles - Interview 29 >> He did not mind the idea of a placebo, and would have been curious to see if he was susceptible to the placebo effect. He might have dropped out if he

Charles volunteered for two trials, but ended up unable to take part in either of them. The first time he did not meet the eligibility criteria. The second time was because of an administrative mix-up about his age, and he feels it was not well handled.

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Screening, prevention other medical interventions >> Jenny - Interview 40 >> Jenny can’t imagine any condition where she’d be willing to think about a placebo-controlled trial. She recognises the possibility of benefiting from

Jenny is in a trial of different ways of treating heavy periods at her GP surgery. The trial compares standard treatment with a new kind of coil or intrauterine device which releases a hormone in the womb.

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Long term conditions >> David - Interview 34 >> He’d have been interested to see what happened if he had been in the placebo group. Before the trial he might have felt disappointed to get a placebo

David volunteered for a placebo-controlled trial of a new treatment derived from mouse DNA to improve asthma symptoms. He later discovered he was in the group taking a lower dose of the treatment, but he would not have minded being in the placebo group.

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Not taking part in a trial >> Polly - Interview 09 >> She would probably have taken part if tamoxifen had been available only through a clinical trial. She is not against placebo-controlled trials in prin

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.

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Screening, prevention other medical interventions >> Jenny - Interview 40 >> Filling in the questionnaire about her symptoms prompted Jenny to realise that the treatment wasn’t working, so she went back to her GP.

Jenny is in a trial of different ways of treating heavy periods at her GP surgery. The trial compares standard treatment with a new kind of coil or intrauterine device which releases a hormone in the womb.

• Medical research >> Clinical Trials >> Long term conditions >> Angela - Interview 23 >> Angela would take part in a trial another time, including a placebo-controlled trial, because she feels it’s important for medical science.

Angela was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease after taking part in a trial on nerve conduction. She has since been in a randomised trial of different drugs for Parkinson’s and would happily take part in another trial, despite having had side effects.(Angela is also on our Parkinson’s disease site, Interview 10).