South Coast Clinical Trials Expands its Patient Care Expertise to Help Americans With Schizophrenia

Nov. 3, 2009 - PRLog -- ANAHEIM, Calif. – More than 3.3 million people in the United States, or about 1.1 percent of the population, suffer daily from the debilitating effects of Schizophrenia. But South Coast Clinical Trials in Anaheim and San Bernardino is working diligently with pharmaceutical companies to improve the lives of those affected.

“We are partnering with many pharmaceutical companies as part of the research and development process for finding new treatments for people with Schizophrenia. With our experienced staff we are able to provide proper care for the patients enrolled in the research studies we conduct at our Anaheim and San Bernardino offices,” said Dr. Adonis Sfera, MD, founder of South Coast Clinical Trials. “We really want to help find a way to beat this illness and let victims live their lives again.”

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that usually strikes its victims – an equal population of both men and women – in young age. Typically the disease is characterized by positive symptoms not seen in healthy people such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and even movement disorders. Some of the common negative symptoms disrupting emotions and behavior include lack of pleasure in everyday life, speaking in a flat or monotone voice, speaking very little while in a conversation and even lack of caring about one’s self being.

“This disease decreases the ability to function in today’s society,” said Dr. Johnny Edrozo, a board certified psychiatrist who also functions as a principal investigator for South Coast Clinical Trials. “Finding the perfect way to help each individual is very difficult and takes a combination of social and pharmaceutical treatments. Therefore it’s very important to have a wide variety of treatments available to combat the positive and negative symptoms of Schizophrenia.”

While pharmaceuticals can help individuals cope with the positive symptoms of the disease, South Coast Clinical Trials is lending its expertise in first-rate patient care to assist in the management of the negative symptoms. By connecting patients with case managers, social workers, support groups, day treatment centers, and group homes the measures are already in place for the transition from a clinical trial to the rigors of everyday life.

“We have found that our after care program helps in reducing the stigma of clinical trials as the patient has the support necessary before, during, and after a trial. By establishing relationships with case managers, social workers, day treat programs, group homes, and support groups the benefit is two fold as the patient receives the support they need and we receive many referrals for our trials,” said Don Walters with South Coast Clinical Trials.

For more than ten years, Walters has been working directly in the community to help people suffering from Schizophrenia. He started his efforts in Orange County and recently expanded his outreach efforts to San Bernardino where South Coast Clinical Trials opened their second site.

For more information about South Coast Clinical Trials, Inc. or to get more information about their ongoing Schizophrenia trials and the after care program, please visit them on the web at www.southcoastclinicaltrials.com or call 888-269-5759.

About South Coast Clinical Trials

South Coast Clinical Trials, Inc is a dedicated Southern California research facility founded in 2001 by Dr. Adonis Sfera, MD that specializes in psychiatric and neurological clinical trials.

We are dedicated to assisting in the process of developing and implementing new study drugs to the marketplace, while maintaining participant safety and satisfaction exceeding the industry standard. We specialize in central nervous system disorders, which include Schizophrenia Bipolar Disorder, Major Depression, and Alzheimer’s Disease etc.

To date, we have worked with various sponsors including AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Merck, Solvay, Johnson & Johnson, Quintiles, Kendle, Myriad, PPD, PRA, DSP, Takeda, UBC, Wyeth, and Novartis, among others.

For more information about South Coast Clinical Trials, please visit us on the Internet at www.southcoastclinicaltrials.com.

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Media Contact:

Dan Sfera
South Coast Clinical Trials, Inc.
Email: dan@southcoastclinicaltrials.com
Phone: 888-269-5759

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