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Who may participate in the study?
The current goal of the Genetics of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Study is to recruit approximately 5,000 Cases (persons affected with psoriasis) and a matching number of Controls (persons not affected with psoriasis). At this time we will only be able to accept participants living in the United States and Canada.
Criteria for participating in the study as a Case. You must have a reliable diagnosis of psoriasis established by your dermatologist and be willing to donate approximately one ounce (30 ml) of blood. If collecting blood samples is difficult due to distance from a clinical lab or other reasons, you can provide saliva samples instead of blood. About 1 teaspoon of saliva will need to be spit into a special collection tube containing a preservative solution and sent to our lab. Once you contact us, discuss details, and agree to participate, we will send you detailed instructions and sample collection supplies. The first step is reading the Consent to Participate in a Research Study document. If you have any questions, our study coordinator or a doctor will be glad to explain details. You will need to sign the Consent Document before participating in the study. For diagnosis, we will rely on the diagnosis already made by your dermatologist and your responses to a short questionnaire. For blood sampling, we will ask you to go to a nearby clinic or blood drawing lab (which we will help you identify) and take along the blood collection supplies. The blood or saliva sample will be sent to us overnight either by you or by the clinical lab. We will pay any blood drawing charges and all shipping expenses. You will also be sent a check for $25.00 as a token of appreciation for participating in the study. You will not receive any treatment as part of this study.
The study also needs Controls. Your spouse or a friend can participate as a "control" in the study if he or she meets the following requirements:
1. At least 18 years of age.
2. Does not have a blood relative affected with psoriasis.
3. Is not a blood relative of another control in the study.
Additionally, this type of genetic study requires that the cases and the controls have a similar ethnic makeup. Therefore even if you meet the above criteria for a control subject, we may not be able to enroll you as a control because we may have already collected enough controls of your ethnicity to match the number of cases enrolled.
The Control also will be required to read and sign the Consent Document and provide blood/saliva samples. Upon receipt of the signed consent document and the blood/saliva sample, controls also will be paid $20.
This study has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board for human subject research at the University of Michigan (IRBMED No. HUM00037994) and adheres to all applicable regulations.