Park MC, Lee SW, Park YB, Chung NS, Lee SK Clinical characteristics and outcomes of Takayasu's arteritis: analysis of 108 patients using standardized criteria for diagnosis, activity assessment, and angiographic classification. Scand J Rheumatol. 2005 Jul-Aug;34(4):284-92.
Park MC, Lee SW, Park YB, Lee SK Serum cytokine profiles and their correlations with disease activity in Takayasu's arteritis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2006 May;45(5):545-8. Epub 2005 Dec 13.
Sueyoshi E, Sakamoto I, Ogawa Y, Uetani M Diagnosis of perfusion abnormality of the pulmonary artery in Takayasu's arteritis using contrast-enhanced MR perfusion imaging. Eur Radiol. 2006 Jul;16(7):1551-6. Epub 2006 Jan 14.
Tripathy NK, Gupta PC, Nityanand S High TNF-alpha and low IL-2 producing T cells characterize active disease in Takayasu's arteritis. Clin Immunol. 2006 Feb-Mar;118(2-3):154-8. Epub 2005 Dec 7.
VCRC Longitudinal Protocol for Takayasu's Arteritis
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.
