From bedside to bench and back.

In medicine research, two universes exist. One is the universe of clinical studies in which clinicians and patients reside. In this universe, academic and non-academic driven clinical studies are performed in which prospective or retrospective collected clinical and paraclinical patient data are analyzed. Because standardization of patients is an illusion, these studies often require a huge number of included study subjects to demonstrate clinical relevant findings. In the case of prevalent pathology and large outcome effects, clinical research is highly rewarding and relevant. In the case of more rare diseases or symptoms, clinical research is a challenge and often leads to inconclusive results.