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How can we more quickly reclaim motor skills lost to stroke? Will patients with Alzheimer’s disease benefit from a new drug that stimulates production of a specific brain chemical? Are there more effective treatments for breast cancer, melanoma, and lymphoma? What new tools can our healthcare team use to treat asthma, heart disease, diabetes, and sickle cell anemia? These and thousands of questions yet to be asked will be answered through clinical research. Through clinical research, physician-investigators translate laboratory discoveries into better treatments and therapies to improve the nation’s health. Supporting this leading-edge clinical research is the sole mission of the NIH Clinical Center and drives all aspects of its operations.
While the number of patient visits remained relatively flat in 2000, there was a marked increase in clinical activity. Growth in research areas such as transplantation, gene therapy, oncology, and skeletal and connective tissue diseases has resulted in dramatic increases in operating room cases, platelet and plasma transfusions, blood testing for transplantation, intensive care admissions, and MRI and CT scans. The sections in this site profile the work carried out at the NIH Clinical Center. |
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Introduction
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More than one-quarter million patients from across the nation have participated in clinical research studies here since the first patients were admitted in 1953. In 2000, their care accounted for more than 50,000 inpatient days and nearly 70,000 outpatient visits at the 14-story, 280-bed hospital.