Vape study at Boston University

[UncHellMatt]

(not sure if this is the appropriate section for this post, so in advance, sorry mods if I'm in the wrong play pen!)

BU is doing a study on the effects of vaping, and its efficacy in helping people quit smoking. I submitted my name, did a phone interview today, and will likely be selected based on my general good health, long time smoking, and being a current, active vape user. Another thing which will likely make me a candidate for their study my having had a checkup about 3 months prior to my giving up analog where my blood's oxygen saturation was checked, as well as lung capacity. At that time, I was 44 and had the lung capacity of a 50 year old, after having smoked for ~30 years.

From the sounds of it, this is going to be pretty extensive. They're going to check my blood, my lung capacity, and if I agree to it, put a camera down my throat and into my lungs, as well as take a small swab while they're at it. Personally I'm kinda psyched for the idea of a camera going into my lungs, as long as they let me keep a copy. You know. Show friends around the dinner table.

Or when I meet someone new. I hear chicks dig lung videos. (could be wrong)

If anyone in the Boston area is interested in trying to get involved, shoot me a private message and I'll give you the contact info.

I'm actually quite pleased that more studies are being done on the subject. There is still an over abundance of misinformation about ecigs, both good and bad, and it's important for studies like this to happen. The ones performed by the NIH were pretty impressive, but few anti-vape people are even aware that they happened.

 

[pianoguy]

Very cool - keep us posted!!

 

[rothenbj]

Very nice. Do you know if Dr Siegel is involved with this study. He hasn't mentioned anything, but it sounds like something he'd be interested in pursuing.

 

[UncHellMatt]

Very nice. Do you know if Dr Siegel is involved with this study. He hasn't mentioned anything, but it sounds like something he'd be interested in pursuing.

Negative. As yet, I have no idea who is involved.

I'd heard about the study from the guys at my local, Eastern Vapor, and submitted my name maybe a week ago. Yesterday I did the phone interview with someone, probably a grad student, and all I got for info was descriptions of what sorts of testing they'll do.

Oh yeah, they'll also reimburse you for your time. If you do the whole study, including the Roto-Rooter of your lungs, you get enough for a high quality mech-mod. I'm not sure, though, who exactly is running the study. As I get more information, I'll pass it along.

 

[wv2win]

Let us know if Dr Siegel is involved. I would have to think he is, since he is a professor of Public Health at Boston University.

 

[rothenbj]

Negative. As yet, I have no idea who is involved.

I'd heard about the study from the guys at my local, Eastern Vapor, and submitted my name maybe a week ago. Yesterday I did the phone interview with someone, probably a grad student, and all I got for info was descriptions of what sorts of testing they'll do.

Oh yeah, they'll also reimburse you for your time. If you do the whole study, including the Roto-Rooter of your lungs, you get enough for a high quality mech-mod. I'm not sure, though, who exactly is running the study. As I get more information, I'll pass it along.

Do that. In the meantime, I'll approach it from the Doc's side.

 

[rothenbj]

Dr Siegel is not involved in this study but said he'd check to see if he can get any information on it. If we had a study director's name, it would possible help.

 

[UncHellMatt]

Dr Siegel is not involved in this study but said he'd check to see if he can get any information on it. If we had a study director's name, it would possible help.

I received another call yesterday. The first phase I'll be doing is scheduled for the 28th of this month, and while I'm there I'll ask questions about who is running the show.

 

[UncHellMatt]

Well, the second phase was pushed back, so I completed it today. On the 28th, when I'd been scheduled to go in, it turned out that a patient with TB was examined in the room, and with the tools, which they were going to use on me and it would take several hours to not only disinfect everything, but fumigate the room.

Now, if you've ever said to yourself "Self, I wonder how much fun it might be to have someone take a long, small camera inserted down my throat and into my wind pipe", allow me to give you the answer: Not at all.

When I look back on my life at what I have found to be my most pleasurable moments, this morning will certainly not be on the list. In fact, it would rank somewhere below breaking a bone in my hand and resetting it myself (I wasn't the most ... wise youth in the world), and maybe just above my tonsillectomy. That said, once I'd gotten relaxed and my throat wasn't desperately trying to make them stop, it was really cool to look up on the camera and see what they were seeing. They didn't actually go into my lungs as I'd thought, only at the split in my bronchial tube before the lungs. Still, it was really neat.

There were two doctors, I don't remember both their names but I believe one was named Dr. O'Connor. Older gentleman, beard, and very cool. Actually all the people involved were exceptionally nice. The woman who scheduled me and asked me a lot of the questions, Audrey, is very sweet and a pleasure to work with. When I asked the doctors what they thought of the appearance of my bronchial tubes, compared to say a very active smoker, they said everything looked absolutely normal, ditto my chest x-rays.

So all done. If anyone else in the Boston area decides to do this, I found it very interesting, but I will admit the whole tube down my throat was very uncomfortable. If I could go back in time and tell myself how it was going to be, would I still do it? Yes, absolutely. Because science.

 

[AgentAnia]

Pictures, or it didn't happen.

(Sorry, my evil twin made me say that... )

Seriously, tho, I'm proud of you for volunteering to go through that and hope you'll keep us posted on future developments. Any idea how many participants there are, or when the results will be available?

 

[rothenbj]

I was in the UK working on a Sales Force automation project when the salesman said he had a real treat for me. He had scheduled a trip to the hospital to sit in on a colonoscopy. Boy was I excited (not)

Anyway, if you could ignore the moaning coming from the patient, watching the TV screen was rather interesting. The patient saw none of it and there were no pictures at 11. Lol

I feel your discomfort.

 

[Kent C]

Pictures, or it didn't happen.

(Sorry, my evil twin made me say that... )

Seriously, tho, I'm proud of you for volunteering to go through that and hope you'll keep us posted on future developments. Any idea how many participants there are, or when the results will be available?

 

[UncHellMatt]

Pictures, or it didn't happen.

(Sorry, my evil twin made me say that... )

Seriously, tho, I'm proud of you for volunteering to go through that and hope you'll keep us posted on future developments. Any idea how many participants there are, or when the results will be available?

Oh believe me, if I could have gotten a copy of the whole video on DVD or even just pics, I totally would have. Though things didn't look quite as alien landscape as I'd hoped. Much of the first half of the time, I had my eyes shut as I was trying to focus on my breathing and resist the urge to cough.

I'm not sure how many are participating, however it's a joint effort with UCLA, so I'm guessing they have quiet a few. They also told me that, after talking to me and other participants, they're changing the questions they asked. For example, the original questions they asked, one of them was "What brand do you use?" Meaning Blu, etc, and I told them that for most people who vape, that's not something easily answered. I showed them my Vanilla mod, the modded Kayfun, and explained how there are a multitude of juice vendors out there, that most people don't use a single "vendor" of e-cig, it's a conglomeration of parts. This time, the doctors and Audrey were all talking about and asking me about RDAs / RBAs, about risk factors of going too low in resistance, etc. In just a few months, they'd really done their homework.

 

[AgentAnia]

....They also told me that, after talking to me and other participants, they're changing the questions they asked. For example, the original questions they asked, one of them was "What brand do you use?" Meaning Blu, etc, and I told them that for most people who vape, that's not something easily answered. I showed them my Vanilla mod, the modded Kayfun, and explained how there are a multitude of juice vendors out there, that most people don't use a single "vendor" of e-cig, it's a conglomeration of parts. This time, the doctors and Audrey were all talking about and asking me about RDAs / RBAs, about risk factors of going too low in resistance, etc. In just a few months, they'd really done their homework.

Now that's what I like to hear! Well done, UncHellMatt!

 

[rothenbj]

In some way it's scary to allow researchers to know the truth about how experienced Vapers are vaping because of all the ANTZ out there.

I want to know what's "relatively" safe but I don't want some ANTZ "studying" safely.

 

[aikanae1]

Wouldn't this be listed on a clinical trials website? It might be interesting to know all the locations this was being done at in case other's wanted to get involved.

 

[DrMA]

Well done, UncHellMatt! and thanks for the update.

 

[UncHellMatt]

Wouldn't this be listed on a clinical trials website? It might be interesting to know all the locations this was being done at in case other's wanted to get involved.

I don't know if they list it as a study anywhere, but it wouldn't be a clinical trial. That's if, say, they had a particular product they were testing the efficacy of. This study, according to the people there, was to see what physical effects vaping has on a person.

My understanding is they had multiple sample groups: People who had never smoked or vaped, people who had never smoked but did vape, people who use to smoke but now vape, and people who are still active smokers. They perform the exact same tests on each group, taking samples from the cheeks and nose, blood samples, and finally if the person agrees and passes all criteria, samples from the wind pipe.

Anyone interested who is in the area, I believe they're still looking for subjects. Send me a private message and I'll give you the info, or drop in to Eastern Vapor in Brighton. They have info in there as well.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Looking forward to reading their forthcoming study.

Please note, however, that most of the government funded e-cig researchers who have misrepresented their study's findings in their abstracts and press releases, who have urged FDA to ban/regulate e-cigs and/or urged cities and states to ban vaping have also been very nice to the participants in their studies.

But overall, the more contact and communication researchers have with vapers, the more they'll understand the benefits of vaping.