Wanted: Teens who use marijuana

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By Ann McGlynn | Monday, January 22, 2007 10:57 AM CST | () comments

(Updated 10:48 a.m.) IOWA CITY — Robert Block is trying to find a dozen teenage pot smokers.

But the University of Iowa researcher says there is a catch. The kids’ parents must know about the marijuana use and sign a consent form.

“No one is going to tell their parents to be in the research,” he said while talking about his decision to advertise in newspapers in the Quad-Cities and throughout the state for possible subjects after getting a meager response from a drug treatment program in Iowa City. “It’s only going to be those who have parents who already know about it.”

Block is one of several University of Iowa researchers who turn to the Quad-City area in hopes of finding subjects.

They seek babies who are bottle-fed and breast-fed, problem gamblers, women entering menopause, stroke patients and a variety of others. They like the Quad-Cities for reasons as varied as the subjects who are sought: It is a metropolitan area within easy driving distance of Iowa City, has a diverse population and has readily available legalized gambling.

Some studies offer compensation, require travel to Iowa City or a trial use of a medication. Others offer no pay, filling out a survey at home or a chance for a new treatment.

All have specific criteria that potential subjects must meet.

For example, Mali Bunde searched for women who made a decision in the past six to 12 months about managing their menopause symptoms. A doctoral candidate in the university’s psychology department, she needed 200 women to fill out a survey about their choices to bolster her dissertation research.

About a fourth of the women who filled out that questionnaire live in the Quad-Cities, she said. Questions included: What treatments are they using? What do they think about what is available? What are they experiencing?

“I tried to hit different parts of the state,” Bunde said of her decision to recruit from Waterloo and Des Moines as well.

The money invested in research at the university is growing, posting a $90 million jump between 2001 and 2006, university statistics show. Researchers landed $276 million in projects during 2001 and almost $365 million in 2006.

The majority of the money is in the form of federal grants. State and local governments, businesses, foundations and individuals also fund the research.

Stephanie Rosazza is a senior research coordinator in a lab studying a National Institute of Health-funded protocol for depression that occurs after a stroke. The lab, in the psychiatry department, also studies depression that has been difficult to treat, she said.

She not only advertises in newspapers but also posts notices with a variety of organizations and works with Genesis Medical Center to recruit potential subjects. She conducts a telephone interview with each individual before asking them to come to Iowa City for a visit.

“Many, many of our research subjects come from the Quad-Cities,” Rosazza said, adding that she especially appreciates the diversity the area offers.

Martha Shaw, who researches problem gambling, said the Quad-Cities is a good place to recruit for the lab she works in because it is relatively close to Iowa City and is home to three riverboat casinos.

One study examines the use of a medication to quash the urge to gamble, she said. Others look at whether pathological gambling runs in families and whether there are differences in the brains of gamblers and non-gamblers.

The effect of teenage marijuana smoking on the brain is the focus of Block’s research. He has found differences in similar studies on adults and now plans to discover the impact on teens, whose brains are still developing, he said.

Block hopes to find 12 male teens between 12 and 17 years old who are either current or former marijuana users. He also is recruiting teens who never have used the drug. They will undergo tests for attention, memory and reaction speed, among others, and also will undergo brain imaging.

There is one more catch, he noted.

The participants are asked not to use marijuana during the study.

Ann McGlynn can be contacted at (563) 383-2336 or amcglynn@qctimes.com.

The University of Iowa’s studies recruiting now

Male adolescents ages 12 to 17 who are current or former marijuana users are invited to participate in a University of Iowa research study examining the effects of marijuana use during adolescence on brain structure and function, and mental abilities. For further information, call Megan Becker at 319-384-4157 or megan-m-becker@uiowa.edu, or Jordan Zuccarelli at 319-335-6907 or jordan-zuccarelli@uiowa.edu.

In an effort to ensure that flu shots will continue to be widely available in the future, we are seeking participants between the ages of 18-49 to take part in a medical research study to evaluate an influenza vaccine (Fluviral/Flulaval) for efficacy in protecting against flu illness and to learn more about its possible side effects. This study is conducted by Dr. Gregory Gray (College of Public Health) and will take place in the Preventive Intervention Center. To pre-qualify, you must be in good health. Reimbursement for time and travel will be provided. For more information, call toll-free 1-866-589-4358 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. (Eastern) Monday through Friday.

Effect of dietary fat on sympathetic nerve activity. Volunteers 30 to 60 with normal body weight are invited to participate in a research project involving test of nerve function. Compensation available. Please call 319-335-7626 and leave a message.

Healthy postmenopausal women and healthy women with type 2 diabetes mellitus, ages 40-75 are invited to participate in a research project involving tests of blood vessel function. The study involves three visits to the General Clinical Research Center, each visit lasting between 1 and 4 hours. Screening tests will be at no cost to the participant. Compensation provided. Please call the Human Cardiovascular Physiology Laboratory at 319-384-8320.