Skin research study: patients STARTING GLP-1 agonists (Ozempic/Wegovy) (San Francisco)
compensation:$500 Visa gift card
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We are looking for volunteers who are about to begin GLP-1 agonist treatment for a clinical research study. The purpose of this study is to better understand how GLP-1 agonists may affect skin health and inflammation through molecular profiling.
Participation in this research study involves attending two in-person visits at UCSF (before starting treatment and after at least 3 months on a GLP-1 agonist). At each required visit, a small skin biopsy and a blood draw (up to 60 mL) will be performed.
For the skin biopsy, a small area of skin will be cleaned with an alcohol pad and numbed by injecting an anesthetic into the skin. Afterwards, up to a 6 mm punch biopsy will be removed, and then the resulting break in the skin will be stitched which will need to be removed in 1-2 week’s time. A punch biopsy is where a small, tube shaped piece of skin and some other tissue underneath are removed using a sharp cutting tool. A skin biopsy is a common diagnostic test in a dermatology clinic; however, in this case, your skin biopsy will be used for research purposes.
A blood draw (up to 60 ml) will also be performed at each visit using standard venipuncture. These procedures together will take a total of about 40 minutes per visit. Molecular experiments (such as looking at skin cell gene expression) will be performed on these samples to evaluate how GLP-1 agonists may affect skin biology and inflammation. ~ 2 weeks later, for removal of stitches, we can either use absorbable sutures which will not need removal (does not need follow up visit), can offer you a suture removal kit (to remove stitches at home yourself), or have a follow up in-person visit lasting a few minutes for us to remove the stitches.
For your inconvenience, you will receive a $250 Visa gift card at each visit where the biopsy and blood draws are performed (up to $500 total).
A skin biopsy is a generally safe procedure, but complications can occur, including bleeding, bruising, scarring, infection and allergic reaction to the anesthetic. Donating specimens may involve a loss of privacy, but information about you will be handled as confidentially as possible.
These specimens will be used for genetic research (about diseases that are passed on in families). Even if we use the specimen for genetic research, we will not put the genetic research results in your medical record. The research will not change the care you receive. Your specimen and any information about you will be kept until it is used up or destroyed. It may be used to develop new drugs, tests, treatments or products. In some instances, these may have potential commercial value. Your personal health information cannot be used for additional research without additional approval from either you or a review committee. Genetic information (also known as genotype data) and the medical record data (also known as phenotype data) may be shared broadly in a coded form for future genetic research or analysis. We may give certain medical information about you (for example, diagnosis, blood pressure, age if less than 85) to other scientists or companies not at UCSF, including to a public access government health research database, but we will not give them your name, address, phone number, or any other identifiable information. Research results from these studies will not be returned to you.
There will be no direct benefit to you from allowing your specimens to be kept and used for future research. However, we hope we will learn something that will contribute to the advancement of science and understanding of health and disease.
Interested participants must undergo a short screening process to qualify. You must be at least 18 years of age. Participants are NOT eligible if any of the following apply: have a history of eczema or other chronic rashes, have had an infection in the past 2 weeks, have had a vaccine in the past 2 weeks (for inactivated vaccines) or past month (for live vaccines), have been taking systemic immunosuppressives in the last 12 weeks, are pregnant, have major medical comorbidities, or have a severe immunodeficiency.
TO APPLY: Please email RASHES [at] UCSF.EDU with "GLP-1 Skin Study" in the subject line. Please include your phone number and the best time to reach you for a brief screening call.