Tag Archives: medical research

Your Cranky Baby Might Be Einstein

Okay not quite, but if you have a child that is cranky, with a little extra TLC he may just be at the top of his class when he gets to the 1st grade. I find this study interesting on several levels because I have had one of those cranky babies. But I’ll get to that in a minute. The study will be published tomorrow in the Journal of Child Development. Basically, they took approximately 1,300 families and followed the infants from 6 months of age through 1st grade. The hypothesis was that babies who were easy going would do … Continue reading →

Our Experience with Research Studies

Some time ago, Krystin wrote a blog about research studies and asked others to share their own experiences. I’ve had children in two studies, at two different departments of a major university. The first study involved me and my 11-month-old birth son. The study was on breastfeeding while taking a certain type of medication. It involved one visit. My blood was drawn and the level of medication in my blood measured, and the level of medication in my pumped milk was measured. Then I nursed my baby, who was weighed before and after feeding on scales precise enough to determine … Continue reading →

Giving of Ourselves (Ouch!) for Research

Last Wednesday, my four sons and I drove to the University of Utah Pediatric Diabetic Clinic to participate in a medical study called “The Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium.” Since two of my sons are diabetic and two are not, we are in a unique position to help researchers find clues about possible causes of juvenile diabetes. Each of our blood samples would be compared and screened for genetic markers which would indicate a risk of contracting this mysterious disease. Of course, that meant “giving of ourselves,” like our time, effort, and of course, our DNA. “It’s going to hurt…” … Continue reading →

Medical Research: Our Family’s Affair

Well, the “study folks” finally made contact with me. They had left several messages and I had intended to return their calls…sort of. I knew that participating in a research study was something our family would be asked to do. Perhaps I was intentionally not making myself very available. But I knew that eventually they would track me down, and yesterday they did. The Request “Mrs. Crow? This is Jeannie…” She went on to explain that because our family had two children with juvenile diabetes, we were eligible to participate in a study called the Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium. … Continue reading →