What is a Clinical Trial?

Clinical trials are generally considered to be biomedical or health-related research studies in human beings that follow a pre-defined protocol.  Clinical trials may include both interventional and observational types of studies. Interventional studies are those in which the research subjects are assigned by the investigator to a treatment or other intervention, and their outcomes are measured. Observational studies are those in which individuals are observed and their outcomes are measured by the investigators.

For definitions and explanations of common clinical trial terms try the Clinical Trial Definitions.