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★ Breakthrough Medical Research • 15 Landmark Multi-Trial Guides • 6,255 Indexed Studies

Gut Health, Pain Relief, Dermatology & Autoimmune Trials — Clinical Trial Breakdowns & PubMed Evidence

Pharmacokinetic crossover trials on GelShield Extended-Release Metformin gut tolerability, topical Diclofenac patch RCTs for targeted joint relief without GI bleeding, and Phase 3 biologic clearance trials in psoriasis and autoimmune disease. Explore 545 indexed studies and multi-trial syntheses with verified PubMed PMIDs, participant sample sizes (N), and Absolute vs. Relative Risk numbers.

★ #1 Lead Breakthrough Study • NEJM SURMOUNT-1 (176 Weeks) N = 1,032 Adults • p < 0.001

Once-Weekly Tirzepatide Cuts Type 2 Diabetes Progression by 94% Over 3 Years—With a 22.9% Sustained Weight Reduction

The Plain-English Receipt: Only 1.2% of prediabetic adults on Tirzepatide progressed to Type 2 diabetes over 3.4 years vs. 19.3% on placebo (Absolute Risk Reduction = 18.1% • Number Needed to Treat = 6).

Read the Full Breakthrough Breakdown → Jump to All 15 Landmark Breakthroughs ↓
Two biomedical scientists in white lab coats inside a sunlit medical research laboratory pipetting clinical assay samples and reviewing trial results
Inside the Clinical Evidence Lab: Our research desk audits 6,255 human trials from NEJM, The Lancet, JAMA, and NCBI PubMed—reporting true Absolute Risk Reduction (ARR) and sample sizes (N) without pharma spin.
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1. Major Clinical Breakthroughs & Deep-Dive Study Breakdowns (1 Guides)

Gut, Pain & Autoimmune: Landmark Study Breakdowns

Plain-English breakdowns of the most important human trials—showing actual benefit percentages (ARR/NNT), dosing rules, and who should be careful.

Pharmacokinetic & GI Tolerability Crossover Trials N = 1,680 Patients Across 4 Trials

Why Metformin (Glucophage & Glycomet) Upsets Your Stomach—and the Extended-Release (ER) Switch That Cuts GI Side Effects in Half

Bottom-Line Trial Result: GI Adverse Events: 26.3% -> 11.7% After IR-to-ER Switch (ARR: 14.6%, RRR: 55%, p < 0.001) • Diarrhea 18.4% -> 6.9%

A clinical synthesis of human pharmacokinetic crossover trials (Timmins et al., PMID: 16176111), GI tolerability cohorts (Blonde et al., PMID: 15140331), and dose-response studies (Garber et al., PMID: 9428832) explaining why unabsorbed gut Metformin triggers diarrhea and how GelShield ER matrices resolve it.

Rx: Metformin ER Condition: Type 2 Diabetes
7 Min Read • ~1,150 Words Read Study Guide →
3. All Indexed Clinical Studies (545)

Gut, Pain & Autoimmune — Clinical Trials & Study Reports (545)

Page 1 of 19 • Sorted by Participant Sample Size (N)
Randomized Controlled Trial N = 4,219

Physiotherapist-led care for musculoskeletal conditions in the emergency department (RESHAP-ED): a randomised controlled trial with economic evaluation.

Between Nov 22, 2023 and March 29, 2025, 4219 patients were screened, 2728 were deemed ineligible for inclusion, and 1491 participants were randomly assigned (746 assigned to the physiotherapy-led intervention group and 745 assigned to the physician-led or nurse-led practitioner

Lancet • 2026-11-07 Read Study
Randomized Controlled Trial N = 2,047

Retatrutide in adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes (TRIUMPH-2): a double-blind, parallel-group, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial.

Between July 11, 2023, and Nov 1, 2024, 2047 participants were screened, and 1152 (mean age 55&#xb7;1 years [SD 10&#xb7;8], 554 [48%] females and 598 [52%] males, and 672 [58%] of White ethnicity) were randomly assigned to retatrutide 4 mg (n=292), 9 mg (n=284), or 12 mg (n=287),

Lancet • 2026-11-06 Read Study
Meta-Analysis N = 1,074

Meta-Analysis: Comparative Effectiveness of Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Management of Post-Orthodontic Pain (N = 1,074)

Acupressure and music therapy were consistently ranked among the top two at most time points, except at 24 h when CBT ranked first. Given inter-study heterogeneity and sparse evidence at certain time points, these findings warrant confirmation in large-scale, rigorous RCTs.

Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE • 2026-11-03 Read Study
Randomized Controlled Trial N = 770

Randomized Controlled Trial: Thoracic epidural versus paravertebral blockade for reducing chronic post-thoracotomy pain (TOPIC-2): open label, parallel group, superiority, multicentre, randomised controlled trial (N = 770)

Paravertebral blockade did not reduce chronic post-thoracotomy pain at six month follow-up compared to thoracic epidural. Thoracic epidural provided marginally better acute pain relief one day after the operation, but showed no difference thereafter. Postoperative complications were comparable between groups.

BMJ (Clinical research ed.) • 2026-11-05 Read Study
Phase 3 Randomized Trial N = 337

Phase III Randomized Trial: Coronary artery calcification is not associated with survival in advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer: a secondary analysis of the EXPAND trial (N = 337)

CT-defined CAC scoring has no relevant prognostic impact in advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer undergoing first-line chemotherapy. The present study cannot confirm the promising results for CAC scoring in lung cancer patients.

Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology • 2026-11-03 Read Study
4. Quick Guide • Never Get Fooled by a Headline Again

How to Read a Clinical Study in 30 Seconds

Read FDA Bioequivalence Guide →
1. Relative Risk (RRR) vs. Absolute Risk (ARR)

If a drug drops heart attack risk from 2.0% to 1.0%, headlines scream “50% Relative Risk Reduction!” The real Absolute Risk Reduction (ARR) is 1.0%—meaning 100 people must take the drug (NNT = 100) to prevent 1 event.

2. Double-Blind RCT vs. Observational Association

Food questionnaires and observational cohorts can only show correlation (often confounded by wealth or exercise). Only a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) can prove that a drug or supplement actually caused the outcome.

3. Statistical p-Value vs. Clinical Meaning

In a massive 10,000-person trial, a blood pressure drop of 0.8 mmHg can achieve p < 0.05 (statistically significant) while having zero meaningful benefit in your daily life. Always look at the actual effect size.

4. Surrogate Lab Markers vs. Hard Outcomes

Raising HDL cholesterol or tweaking a single lab biomarker does not automatically prevent strokes or extend lifespan. Prioritize trials that measure hard patient outcomes (survival, remission, sleep latency, or GI tolerability).

Evidence Methodology, PubMed Verification & YMYL Standards

Frequently Asked Questions About dotMD Clinical Trial Breakdowns

Why does dotMD report both Absolute Risk Reduction (ARR) and Relative Risk Reduction (RRR) on clinical trials?

Traditional health headlines often exaggerate findings by reporting only Relative Risk Reduction—for example, claiming a drug cuts risk by 50% when the event rate dropped from 2% to 1% (an Absolute Risk Reduction of just 1.0 percentage point, meaning 100 patients must take the drug for 1 person to benefit, or NNT = 100). On dotMD, every flagship study breakdown reports both Relative Risk and Absolute Risk alongside the exact sample size (N) and trial duration.

How does dotMD separate human randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from animal or observational studies?

Every study on dotMD displays its exact Study Design Tier at the top of the card (Phase 3 Randomized Trial, Randomized Controlled Trial, Meta-Analysis & Systematic Review, Multi-Trial Clinical Evidence Synthesis, Journal Watch Cohort, or FDA Safety Alert) along with the human participant count (N). Preclinical mouse or cell-culture data is never presented as human clinical proof.

Why did dotMD replace synthetic "Study Rigor Scores" with primary PubMed PMIDs and trial metadata?

Arbitrary 0-to-100 rigor scores obscure what actually makes a study trustworthy. Instead of synthetic scores, dotMD surfaces the verifiable primary evidence signals: exact NCBI PubMed IDs (PMID), ClinicalTrials.gov registration numbers (NCT), double-blind vs. crossover design, sample size (N), p-values / Hazard Ratios, and study limitations.

How do dotMD Research Breakdowns connect to Conditions, Medications, Supplements, and Specialist Doctors?

Medical research is only useful if you can act on it safely with your clinician. Every flagship research synthesis links directly to the parent Condition diagnostic cutoff guide, the Medication FDA DailyMed & CMS NADAC wholesale price ledger, the Supplement elemental weight decoder, and our High-CPT-Volume Specialist Directory.