Clinical trials are meant to determine whether various treatments are effective. It's called "evidence-based medicine" and it's the main thing that separates medical doctors from witch doctors. The medical researchers involved in these studies put tremendous effort into them and enjoy giving their studies ACRONYMS that gives their study a short catchy name that's pronounceable. The term ACRONYM is derived from the Greek 'acro' (top or front) and 'nym' (word). Besides WHI, here are some of the many ongoing studies that you may or may not want to know about, along with their sometimes-tortured ACRONYMS.

WHI: Women's Health Initiative. WHY should or shouldn't women take postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy? The results from this study are still being analyzed, but WHI has dramatically changed the way we look at menopause, since women in their 60s taking chronic oral conjugated estrogens (Premarin 0.625 mg) plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (Provera) have an increased risk of developing breast cancer and blood clots. Many women are miserable from symptoms of estrogen deficiency and I treat such patients with transdermal estrogen as Vivelle-Dot (a very tiny patch) or Estrogel (no patch) at the lowest dose that relieves symptoms. The transdermal delivery bypasses the liver and thus does not increase clotting factors. The lowest doses protect bone and need only intermittent progestin...I favor natural progesterone. It appears that keeping the doses as low as possible minimize the breast cancer risk. For symptoms of vaginal dryness, there are vaginal creams, gels and gel tablets that reduce systemic absorption of estrogen. There's much more to WHI, which I encourage you to GOOGLE.

SWAN: Study of Women's health Across the Nation.

CHARISMA: Clopidogrel for High Atherothrombotic Risk and Ischemic Stabilization, Management, and Avoidance.

ExTRACT: Enoxaparin and Thrombosis Reperfusion for Acute myocardial infarCtion Treatment.

TROPHY: Trial Of Preventing HYpertension with candesartan.

CURE: Clopidogrel in Unstable Angina to prevent Recurrent Events.

ACTIVE: Atrial fibrillation Clopidogrel Trial with Irbesartan for prevention of Vascular Events.

STAR: Study of Tamoxifene And Raloxifene.

LIFE: Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction in hypertension study.

HOPE: Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation study.

CREDO: Clopidogrel for Reduction of Events During Observation.

COMMIT: ClOpidogrel and Metoprolol in Myocardial Infarction Trial.

CLARITY: CLopidogrel as Adjunctive Reperfusion TherapY.