Mayo study shows value of social media in clinical research

The use of social media and online networking promises to be important both in clinical trial recruitment and in clinical discovery. Down the line, it might even prove valuable in comparative effectiveness research. A new Mayo Clinic study shows that social media can help researchers find patients with rare diseases who are candidates for clinical trials more quickly than conventional methods of recruitment.

Using patient-run websites dedicated to heart conditions and women's heart health, a team of cardiologists led by Sharonne Hayes, MD, is reaching out to survivors of spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), a condition that affects only a few thousand people a year, but can be fatal if it leads to a heart attack...