I love sharing information about family activities in Chicago, but this one is even better than usual – it’s something your family can do to help out children with rare autonomic nervous system disease and it’s easy and painless.
The Center for Autonomic Medicine for Pediatrics (CAMP) at the Lurie Children’s Hospital helps to treat children with rare diseases of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates basic life functions like breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure. In an effort to create a database of “normal” controls to better understand the disease process, they’re looking for volunteers – both children and young adults.
In particular, they are in need of African-American volunteers, but appreciate help from anyone willing to participate.
Looking for a field trip for a summer camp, enrichment program, or scout troop? Organizers of the project would love to discuss field trip opportunities where students can take a tour of the hospital, participate in interactive health lessons, and take a non-invasive test (such as measuring their eyes, monitoring their heart, etc.) that will help with this project.
Who is eligible?
Children from age 6 to 17 with parental permission, and adults 18 to 35 who:
- do NOT have a serious medical condition, and
- do NOT take heart, lung, or nervous system medication
What will participants be asked to do?
- wear non-invasive monitoring devices to record vital signs (body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate) and how your eye responds to light (60-90 minutes), and
- fill out a questionnaire specific to the autonomic nervous system (20 minutes)
Participants will be asked to come to CAMP at the Lurie Children’s Hospital at 225 E. Chicago Avenue in Chicago for one visit between now and the end of July.
All participants will be entered in a prize drawing which will take place on August 10, 2015.
For more information please contact Amy Zhou, CAMP Clinical Research Coordinator at 312-227-3300 or by email at AZhou@luriechildrens.org.
