Eligibility for Study Participation
In order to ensure volunteer safety and "clean" results and outcomes, we take eligibility for research participation very seriously. Potential participants are screened carefully and thoroughly prior to participating in any of our studies.
Who can participate?
We typically recruit two types of volunteers for research participation:
- Adults diagnosed with a chronic multisymptom illness such as fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome or TMJD
- Healthy adults who are free of chronic illnesses/medical conditions and take no prescription medications. This group of individuals is called the "control" group and provides comparison with the patient group.
Who cannot participate?
Some people are not eligible for our studies because:
- They may have certain pre-existing illnesses that may confound the research findings
- Their current treatment regimen should not be altered for purposes of voluntary research participation
- They would be physically unable to engage in some of the activities required by our studies.
A few of the more common reasons we find people to be ineligible are listed below:
- Concurrent autoimmune disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus
- Chronic medical condition such as heart/respiratory disease, diabetes
- History within the last two years of psychiatric hospitalization, drug/alcohol abuse, and/or cancer diagnosis
- Use of certain prescribed medications
- Excessive body weight (Body Mass Index greater than 30)
Given the design of most of our studies, we also recommend that candidates live within a reasonable commuting distance to our research center in Ann Arbor, Michigan (see Map & Directions). Research participants are not compensated for travel expenses. However, individuals enrolled in research are generally provided with financial compensation for time and effort and should not incur study-related costs or medical billing of any kind.
