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Multiple Sclerosis Study

Purpose

To add banked biological samples to an existing longitudinal multiple sclerosis study and examine links between biomarkers (e.g. hair cortisol and DNA variation) and symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Research Participants

To our research participants, thank you for not only your contributions to our study but also for advancing knowledge. 

 

   Research Participant Expectations 

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Hair Sample

  • 1 cm section of hair cut close to the scalp.

  • All instructions and supplies (except for scissors) are provided. 

Saliva Sample

  • 1 saliva sample in a sample kit​

  • All instructions and supplies are provided in the sample kit. 

Total $25 Compensation

Questions? 

You may contact the Principal Investigators, Dr. Osier and Dr. Stuifbergen

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          512-232-4755                                512-471-4100     

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          nicoleosier@utexas.edu            astuifbergen@mail.utexas.edu

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 This study has been reviewed and approved by The University Institutional Review Board. The study number is 2018-04-0018. 

For questions about your rights or any dissatisfaction with any part of this study, you can contact, anonymously if you wish, the Institutional Review Board 

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           512-471-8871

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           orsc@uts.cc.utexas.edu

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Research Methods

Dean Stuifbergen has been working with a cohort of people with longstanding multiple sclerosis for 23 years but had never included biological outcomes into her study until Dr. Osier came along.

 

We are so fortunate to be able to collaborate on this project with the dean and her team starting in year 22 when we asked them about the acceptability of providing biological samples for our biobank.

 

Now we are in year 23 and we are actively collecting hair and saliva from these individuals. The response rate has been overwhelmingly positive and we are excited to be optimizing our research methods and preparing to analyze the banked samples.

 

Hair will be analyzed for cortisol levels on our Bioplex200 and saliva will be used for DNA extraction and analysis using qPCR

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