Do you have numbness and tingling or pain in your feet from diabetes?
Do you have pain after shingles (postherpetic pain)?
The Translational Pain Research Group at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, is seeking volunteers who have diabetic nerve pain or pain following shingles to participate in a research study. Volunteers who qualify for the study will be reimbursed for their time.
The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy is pleased to share the following information about this research on the Group’s behalf:
What the Translational Pain Research Group Is Studying
The purpose of the study is to try to find out why some people with nerve disease or dysfunction develop pain and some do not, to determine those possible factors that may cause nerve pain, with the long-term goal of developing treatments to target these factors to treat pain.
The Translational Pain Research Group would like to use samples of your blood to study how your genes work. Genes are the parts of each living cell that allow parents to pass on things such as hair color, eye color, and body height to their children. Your genes have been producing certain chemicals and proteins since your nerves were injured. We want to compare how genes work in people with pain and without pain. One way to do this is to look at how some of your blood cells express these genes.
They would like to know how the behavior of genes can lead to pain or prevent pain in people who have suffered from nerve injury. In this study, we will not focus on your genetic make-up (which particular genes you have), but how your genes work. To do this, we have chosen to see if there are any differences in the genetic markers of people with nerve damage from other conditions, and healthy volunteers.
Who Can Participate
Male/Female, 18-70 years, with one of the following:
• Painful nerve damage in your feet caused by diabetes
• Numbness and tingling in your feet from diabetes
• Pain following shingles, also known as postherpetic neuralgia
The Translational Pain Research Group is also accepting healthy volunteers with no chronic pain.
Who Cannot Participate
Because of the genes they are looking at, patients with the following conditions are asked not to participate:
• Pregnant women or women who are breast-feeding
• HIV or any current infections
• End-stage kidney or liver disease
• Other conditions to be determined upon screening
What You May Be Asked to Do
At different timepoints throughout the visit, the following may be performed: medical history and physical exam, questionnaires, sensory testing, blood draw and urine tests, electrocardiogram (ECG), skin biopsy.
Estimated Time Commitment
3 hours over 1 visit
What You May Get
You will receive $75.00 for completing all of the blood draws, questionnaires and sensory testing if you are not participating in a study that includes this procedure.
You will receive an additional $50 for each skin punch biopsy that you complete.
The Translational Pain Research Group will reimburse you up to $15.00 per visit for parking in the hospital garage or local public transportation to study visits. To be reimbursed, you will need to give them an original receipt from your purchases. All your travel expenses must be preapproved by the study team.
Study Contact:
Translational Pain Research
[email protected]
(617) 525-7246
Principal Investigator: Christine N. Sang, MD
Location: Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115
Funding Source: Industry
Website: https://paintrials.org