More Issues in BE Research – When is a Treatment Experimental?
One of the readers (AL) asked whether the HALO 90 and 360 are considered experimental.
The HALO 90 and 360 are FDA approved for sale and use. There are still lots of studies ongoing, which is not uncommon for new technologies in medicine – when any drug, treatment, or device is approved, studies continue to be done after approval.
There are several types of studies that get done after approval. Here are a few types of studies that get done after approval:
1. Studies to confirm the initial results (yes, drug A does work)
2. Studies too look for long term issues related to treatment – these are longitudinal studies or registry studies (what happens 10 years after drug A is given)
3. Studies of the cost of care and treatment (does drug A save money in the long run if compared to other treatments?)
4. Studies using the drug/device in a new patient population or for a new disease (are the results of treatment with drug A the same in patients over age 80?)
So defining whether a treatment is still experimental isn’t always clear as research continues for many new drugs and devices. It’s always worth talking with your own physician to get her/his opinion about new medications and treatments.
- posted by Kerry Dunbar, MD
March 24th, 2009 at 7:46 am
I have Barrett’s Esophagus and wonder if you could send me information
about what I could do now to keep my esophagus from becoming worse or
at least stay the same. Any information would be of help. I just had a
scope done at the Mayo Clinic and trying to find out any information that
I can. Please. thank you. Lorraine
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:56 am
We’ll keep posting information on the website. Other Johns Hopkins sources for Barrett’s information include:
1. The Johns Hopkins Gastroenterology Division Website, which has a link on the left for ‘Diseases and Conditions’ under ‘Health Information’. Here’s the web address:
https://gi.jhsps.org/JHGI_Home.aspx?SS=&CurrentUDV=31
2. The Johns Hopkins Department of Pathology Barrett’s Esophagus website, which also contains alot of information about BE. Here’s the web addresss:
http://pathology2.jhu.edu/beweb/
September 17th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
I’m a 22 year old female and was diagnosed with severe barretts. I wanted to know if anyone had good dietary information. The doctor gave me a list of things to avoid but its only one page of a packet and its very hard to get a follow up appointment. Does anyone have a good website? I also want any information on medication that may help me out. They just put me on Nexium.