Clinical Trials from Home

There is an interesting new opportunity from WEGO Health for at-home clinical trials. Now, some of you might not be interested in clinical trials or might be skeptical so I am only passing along this information to those that are interested in learning more. Also, you need to register and pre-qualify for these trials so there is no guarantee you can participate. Please read on for more information from WEGO Health.

We all know clinical trials are an important part of the online health community but people struggle with distance and time limitations. Through WEGO Health, I recently learned about a new type of clinical trial that can be completed by patients from the comfort of their own home. I wanted to make sure to share it with my readers and fellow community members. 

First some background: For those of you who aren’t familiar with WEGO Health, they’re a different kind of social media company focused on helping Health Activists – folks like me who use the internet and social media to connect with others around health topics. WEGO Health’s mission is to empower Health Activists to help others, and they offer Health Activists the chance to get involved with video through WEGOHealth.tv, to learn and connect through webinars and chats, and to gain a voice in the healthcare industry through insight panels and the Health Activist Speakers Bureau. 

Now, WEGO Health is working with Mytrus – an innovative clinical trials company that is working to make clinical trials more accessible, convenient, and available to a much larger audience with more representative results. WEGO Health is working to bring these new trials to Health Activists (What is a Health Activist? You can find out here!) and to give us a way to share them with our larger online community. I’m participating in a new Referral Program that rewards Health Activists for participants in the clinical trial. 

The benefits of at-home trials:

• Participants can join from anywhere in the country allowing trials to be run with a larger and more diverse group of patients

• Participants can join from their home so are not limited by health issues or transportation issues that keep them house-bound

• Trials can be run more quickly and efficiently because of a reduced recruitment period

• Patients are given more of a chance to affect the course of their own treatment

If you’re interested in participating in clinical trials run at home and online and in impacting the course of new medications and treatments, take a brief survey to see if you qualify for any of the active trials. If not, you’ll be notified as new opportunities come up. To see if you qualify, visit this page: At Home Clinical Trials.

I’m excited by the new option of participating in clinical trials from home (and online!) and I’m excited to share it with you. I hope you’ll take a minute to see if you qualify and share this opportunity with others. To share the program, you can use this link.

Celiac Disease Clinical Trial

How do you feel about celiac disease clinical trials?

I got an email today announcing a Celiac Disease clinical trial. I have very mixed feelings about this kind of study. I do appreciate that researchers are trying to work to make the life of a Celiac more "normal" but the idea of eating controlled amounts of gluten during this trial makes me very nervous. After being on a gluten-free diet since 1981, I don't think I could knowingly sit down and eat food that I know will send me to the bathroom and then the bed in less than an hour. Also, don't trials usually consist of a control group and another group that is taking a placebo? What if you are in the placebo group? Here, take this pill that might not do anything but eat gluten anyway. No thanks. In addition, I wonder if this pill will mask the side effects of gluten like Lactaid does for someone that is lactose-intolerant. That might be nice but isn't the gluten still damaging you on the inside?

In the grand scheme of auto-immune diseases I think we are quite lucky that we can control our disease by a diet. We aren't dependent on medication like my friends with thyroid diseases, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis are on a daily basis. We are not getting nurse-administered IV drips every six weeks like my friend with Lupus. We are going to a grocery store, shopping for food, and then being cautious of what we ingest. Simple. (Yes, I do realize that to many people that are newly diagnosed with Celiac Disease that it is not that simple. But look at the alternatives I listed above)

My sister and I often talk about if we would eat gluten if a pill became available. Right now I can honestly say that I would not take this which is why I am not a good candidate for the clinical trial. You might be though, so here is the trial information.

Alba Therapeutics Corporation Announces the Next Clinical Trial of its Lead Compound, Larazotide Acetate and Promotions

BALTIMORE, MD. March 17, 2009/PRNewswire - Alba Therapeutics Corporation announced today it will initiate further clinical studies for patients diagnosed with celiac disease with their lead compound, larazotide acetate. “Our most recent Phase IIb study, the largest trial with an investigational medication conducted in patients with celiac disease, was a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, dose ranging, multicenter study to determine the safety, tolerance and efficacy of larazotide acetate in 184 adults with controlled celiac disease during a gluten challenge. The data are promising and will be publicly presented at upcoming scientific meetings this spring,” said Bruce Peacock, CEO of Alba Therapeutics. “Recently, Alba restructured to concentrate its efforts on advancing the clinical program for larazotide acetate and we are now moving forward with initiating our next clinical trial in patients with celiac disease.”

If you are age 18-72, have proven Celiac Disease, and have had relief from your systems on a gluten-free diet you may qualify. There are trials in 11 states and two Canada locations. Please visit www.NAceliactrials.com to see if you are qualified to participate in this survey. If you have any questions please call Bob Farley at 1-800-342-9102.