Kids and Clinical Research: One size doesn't fit all

By: Nicole Martino

Episode # 30
Uploaded: October 23, 2009
Running Time: 3:41

MARTINO: From the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, this is CLINICAL CENTER RADIO. Sometimes it is easy to view children as miniature adults who require much of the same care, treatment, and resources that adults do -- just in smaller doses.   But the fact of the matter is, when it comes to clinical research, one size does NOT fit all! Dinora Dominguez, Chief of the Patient Recruitment Office at the NIH Clinical Center explains.

DOMINGUEZ: Children are not little adults and a lot of time we may think that way but they are different in how the medication works, how much medication they need, how they react to different things. Also it is important because there are so many symptoms or syndromes that we are seeing now like autism, we need to look at the healthy kids to figure out if there is a link between that and the kids that might have some kind of condition.

MARTINO: Different from standard medical treatment, clinical research is done to gain information about a disease, condition, drug or treatment that may benefit us or our children in the future. In the case of children, participation in clinical research can help future generations and provide an opportunity to learn about illnesses that affect children alone.

DOMINGUEZ: This is an opportunity for you and your child to make a difference.

MARTINO: While the importance of kids in clinical research can not be overstated, it's important for parent considering enrolling their children to be aware of potential risks.  At the NIH, Institutional Review Boards, or IRBs, are tasked with the chore of ensuring that all clinical trials -- whether they involve children or adults -- are conducted as safely as possible. In addition to IRBs, children above the age of six are required to weigh in when asked to participate in a clinical research study.
 
DOMINGUEZ: Basically they do have the same rights as anybody else that's participating regardless of the age but parents and guardians have to be on board and understand the process.

MARTINO: In addition to the benefits to medical science from kids participating in clinical research, Dominguez said there were some possible side benefits.

DOMINGUEZ: In my mind I look at kids participating in research particularly healthy volunteers not only as an opportunity to help us and learn about things but hopefully to ignite a science interest in them. You know it is pretty cool when you are in an MRI and the doctor takes the time to say this is your language center and it lights up when you are reading in your head or this is your eye center so I would think that part of it would also be to hopefully ignite that desire to create another generation of scientists.

MARTINO: In response to a growing need for young research participants, the NIH Clinical Center has launched a new website to help parents learn about kids and clinical research. On this site, clinicalcenter.nih.gov/kidsinresearch, you can find information about the role of children in clinical research as well as risks, benefits and safety information and instructions on how to sign up for a protocol. To learn more about the Kids in Research program, or to receive updates from the NIH Clinical Center, including news about the medical research going on here every day, log on to http://clinicalcenter.nih.gov.  From America’s Clinical Research Hospital, this has been CLINICAL CENTER RADIO.  In Bethesda, Maryland, I’m Bill Schmalfeldt at the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

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