Monday, December 8, 1997
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
Continued from page 1A
study and are paid when they leave. Out-house participants complete a few short visits to the facility. Their checks are sent to them after the study.
"I just try to keep out of my mind that there's a needle in my arm," Heath said. "I just think of the money I'm getting."
Once a student calls, researchers begin the screening process. At check-in, participants get a set of hospital "scrubs" to wear for the duration of their stay.
"There is an initial visit," Heath said. "They do blood draws, a urinalysis, ask lifestyle questions about how much you exercise, if you smoke and so on. That takes about one hour. They also test your lung capacity in most trials."
Common drug trials include treatments for asthma, allergies, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart burn, sinusitis and even birth control pills.
"Some studies are mutually beneficial," said Randall Rock, Watkins Health Center chief of staff. "They get information and students get access to cutting edge care, or care that they wouldn't otherwise afford. Lipid, heart, and asthma studies allow that."
Women who are pregnant or at risk of getting pregnant should not participate in the studies, Rock said.
Risky Business
Even though the test trials are heavily regulated, there still are risks involved when people subject themselves to testing.
A urinalysis, Vail said, always is done on women to ensure they are not pregnant.
In the past, a couple of women ended up getting pregnant while on the test drugs, Vail said. These drugs were not the birth control pills.
"Basically they did not follow directions." Vail said. "The pharmaceutical company will follow them throughout the pregnancy to make sure the baby is OK."
The consent form test subjects sign spells out a long list of side effects they face to earn their money.
Risks often include nausea, headaches and chills. Vail said.
"In the in-patient tests, we're testing medications for the first time in humans, testing to see what the side effects are." Vail said. "That's how they find out what they are."
Despite the risks, Rock said, he can see why students would participate in the studies.
"It's a good place to study with minimal distraction and get paid for it." Rock said.
Aryeh Hurwitz, KU Medical Center physician, said that the studies can be beneficial.
"As long as it's properly monitored, which it is, and it's well performed, then it's OK," Hurwitz said. "You won't release a drug to the public before it's studied. If you have informed consent, are thoroughly advised of the risks, and are compensated for time, discomfort and risk. I have no objection to participation in that."
Costly reminders
"They hooked me up to an IV that was a saline solution," Heath said. "It was to see if you react to anything other than the drugs. Other than that, it was pretty boring. You just watch movies, do homework, read a book. They are really conscious of college students and their schedules."
But the atmosphere is not exactly collegiate or medical.
"I felt like I was in prison," he said. "The food was really bad and I was kept in there for 40 straight hours. My mom works across the street at Informix. She came to visit me a couple of times. That kind of adds to the prison feel. You can only have visitors in certain rooms at certain times."
Brian Lavid, Buffalo, N.Y. senior, also sold his body in the name of medicine.
"It is just a way of making money," said Lavid, who earned $1,100 for an 11-day, in-house visit.
Lavid, along with his older brother Eric, completed a blood thinner test at Innovex, another clinical research company in Kansas City. The purpose of the test was to see how long it took blood to clot after taking the pill. The drug eventually would be used to benefit heart disease and stroke patients.
"There were between two and seven blood draws each day," Lavid said. "They cut you and did a bleeding time test to see how long it took blood to clot."
Lavid still bears the marks of his $100-per-day job.
weird science
"They said it wouldn't scar, but it did. It's not a big deal, though. It's just my little reminder of the experience," Lavid said, as he rubbed his fingers over the small white scars that trail the inside of both of his arms.
"I felt like I was a heroin addict or something when I left because my arms were all purple and cut," he said. Lavid did not think his side affects were serious, but Rock said that some side affects could be.
"Those students who have special health care needs or concerns should touch base with their regular doctor before they participate in these studies," Rock said. "If there is a negative effect or loss of control for illness or medications, then the person goes back to their health care provider to deal with side effects. It's better that they know that ahead of time, and anticipate for it."
Beyond blood tests, Lavid's clinical trial was pretty boring, he said.
Lab life
"We were just hanging out until they needed you," he said. "We started with five people. One left because he was going crazy. The four of us were really lucky we all got along well. We played hearts and spades all day long and watched a lot of movies."
The participants in Lavid's study could not shave and were not allowed to exercise to the point of perspiration. An extra cut from shaving would have altered the study results. Lavid said.
"They collected all of our urine," Lavid said. "We had to ring a doorbell to go into the bathroom with a jug. We couldn't get into the bathroom unless we showed them theug."
Ringing a doorbell to use the restroom and not shaving are not the only common clinical trial rules, said Vail, the recruiting manager.
"We have a dorm where the women are separated from the men if it is a male/female study," Vail said.
"For the blood draws, you have to be at your bed. Everything is timed to the second."
Patients are given clipboards marked with the times to be at their beds as well as meal times and other activities.
Chad King, Overland Park senior recently completed an asthma study at IMTCI.
"We were required to eat at the same time and all at the same stuff," said King. "That way they could tell it it was the medicine or if it was the food. Also, we had to take a dose at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. everyday."
King was urged to do the study by Heath, his roommate.
"I talked it over with my mom beforehand and she didn't think there would be anything too bad for you." King said. "I didn't really have any side effects. I was always light headed after I took the medication because there was a lot of medication in my system that normally is not there. There weren't any other side effects."
Guinea Pig, Inc.
Heath, who has participated in more than five stud. a.
less paid taxes on close to $3,000 last year. *
"It's almost like being self-employed." Heath said "They need your social security number and they turn everything in to the IRS. The tax filer set it up and labeled me self-employed."
The name of Heath's company?
"Guinea Pig," he said.
The money made from these studies has helped Heath pay for school expenses, buy computer equipment to supplement his Web site building business and has financed some entertainment, as well."
King used the $1,100 he earned to pay school expenses and other bills.
"I'm not sure that I would want to do it again," Fing said. "Some of the people there are just weird. One guy lived off of studies for a year, no other jobs. He bought a car, paid his rent, everything from studies."
King had an opportunity to make another $150 last summer, but did not think the study was worth it.
"It was a ragged study," he said. "They wanted to put me in a tent full of ragweed for a day and test a drug. I didn't know if I would get the placebo or the real thing. I thought I would get too sick in that one I didn't deem getting sick for that kind of money worth it."
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