Community September 01, 2008
Clinical research opportunities: The latest health care available
Patients who participate in clinical trials and other research at Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital may find hope for better outcomes when existing treatments fall short. Yale-New Haven physicians and researchers are looking at treatments for asthma, diabetes, heart disease and many other conditions. The new Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI) offers promising clinical trials to New Haven area residents — and beyond — looking for hope and help with their illnesses. YCCI has a new outpatient facility at 2 Church Street South and an inpatient facility in YNHH. Yale Cancer Center also has clinical trials available for the treatment of more than 15 diseases.
- Obesity and the type 2 link — Children from New Haven and beyond can benefit from the TODAY (Treatment Options for type 2 Diabetes in Adolescent and Youth) study, which is looking at lifestyle changes and medications in response to the child obesity epidemic and a related increase in type 2 diabetes. TODAY is the first clinical trial of its kind, sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at 13 medical centers around the country. YNHCH has enrolled 40 children in the TODAY trial.
- Asthma and the environment — Researchers from Yale School of Public Health are participating in a major study of 1,400 asthmatic children from Connecticut and Massachusetts that is looking in detail at common air contaminants to see if they are related to increased asthma severity in children. The study is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.
- Vitamin D and urban toddlers — Pediatricians in New Haven see a surprising incidence of rickets, a pediatric disease that disturbs normal bone formation and is rare in industrialized nations. Results are pending from a study of 800 infants and toddlers attending wellchild visits in New Haven health clinics to identify incidence of vitamin D deficiency and examine other markers in the blood that might give an early indication of rickets.
- HEROS Clinic — Health Education Research Outcomes for Survivors of Childhood Cancer is the only clinic in Connecticut and one of the few clinics in the country devoted to survivors of childhood cancer. The HEROS Clinic has the dual mission of providing both high quality care and a productive environment in which to conduct survivorship studies. The clinic’s multidisciplinary team includes a pediatric oncologist specially trained in survivor care, a pediatric endocrinologist, a neuropsychologist, a social worker and a nurse. They focus on prevention, detection and treatment for complications from cancer treatment in childhood.
In the photo: Children and adults with cancer, cardiovascular disease and strokes are able to take advantage of clinical research opportunities available at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
