Clinical trials

One way in which Fibromyalgia Syndrome (Fibro) patients can help further knowledge of the condition, and sometimes also get access to medications that they would not be prescribed otherwise, is through participating in a clinical trial.

Research into Fibro and treatment for it is going on all the time, and although much of the clinical trials are carried out in the US, some are carried out in the UK as well. Finding out about clinical trials can be difficult unless you know where to look. If you are interested in seeing what research into treatments is being carried out, here are some sources of information on clinical trials in the UK:

The British Medical Association (BMA) has got an article here on how to find about clinical trials that is a useful overview, including how to find information on how clinical trials are run.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinical Trials Unit's website here has information about the studies being run by the MRC.

The UK Clinical Research Network (UKCRN) was established to support clinical research and to facilitate the conduct of trials and other well-designed studies across the UK. It is building a complete picture of the clinical research which is currently taking place across the UK and the portfolio of trials is searchable via the UKCRN website here. However the search function is not user friendly - you can't just search for a keyword for example.

One good site is the IFPMA Clinical Trials Portal here. Although you have to register (for free) it is simple to use. However, the location search function has some problems - for example, it recognised UK but didn't recognise USA as the American studies are listed by state.

Another good site is Current Controlled Trials, here, which allows you to search from multiple registers of trials easily and quickly. To do so you simply click on 'Search across multiple registers' under 'Search for trials', input your search criteria, select the registers you want to search (or all of them) and hit Go.

One of the best websites for searching clinical trials generally is clinicaltrials.gov, here, which, although it is an American site, provides information about ongoing clinical trials around the world. When comparing it to the other search websites listed here, it managed to come up with ongoing trials that didn't come up in the other searches. Using the Advanced Search function, you can choose your country and whether to only include Open Trials, as well as being able to enter multiple keywords.

These links are provided for information only. FibroAction does not recommend or endorse any clinical trial. Participation in any trial is entirely at the participants risk. FibroAction aims to include links to websites that provide relevant and useful information for people living with and interested in Fibromyalgia Syndrome. We will not knowingly provide links to sites that contain illegal, offensive or misleading information. Links will be provided based on the above criteria and at the discretion of FibroAction. Although we endeavour to check sites for high quality, accurate and appropriate information, FibroAction does not endorse nor accept any responsibility for the content of other websites. Please see our Disclaimer for more information.