Author: Vijay Vikram

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Health and Wellness

Staying Supportive Through Chronic Illness: Lupus Dos and Don’ts

If you can imagine your entire world being upended, you might begin to understand what being diagnosed with a chronic illness would feel like. Now mix in dealing with unwanted symptoms, new medications, and a plethora of other emotionally-impacting changes – that is the reality for many people diagnosed with a chronic illness, like lupus.

When a person is diagnosed with lupus, they will likely be going through various symptoms— taking time to do research on their condition can help you to understand what they may be experiencing. The more you know about lupus and how to cope with it, the better prepared you will be to be a supportive friend.1

Here are some essential Dos and Don’ts for supporting a friend or loved one with lupus

DO take time to do some research on their illness.

Not only will taking time to do some research on your own provide you with an in-depth understanding of the condition, it will also show your friend or loved one how committed you are to understanding and supporting them through lupus.

DON’T automatically assume you know and understand how they feel.

Unless you have lived through their same circumstance, it is a good idea to avoid phrases like, “I totally understand!” or “I know what you mean, I’ve been there before!”. Even if it comes from a good place and you are trying to relate, it may may come across as slightly insensitive. 

DO ask how they are.

It can be common for people to stop asking, “how are you doing”  in fear of what the answer might be. It can show immense compassion and support when you continue to ask how someone is and genuinely listen to their answer.

DON’T feel like you have to give advice.

Sometimes, it is hard to know what to say without giving advice. But unless prompted, try to simply listen to how your friend or loved one feels. Or try talking about everyday things, like that new recipe you just tried, or a new coffee shop you want to visit together!

DO ask directly how you can help.

Any help offered is always appreciated! Ask your friend or loved one what, if anything, they need and allow them to guide you in how you can help. 

DON’T diminish their experiences.

You may be trying to comfort them, but expressions like “it could always be worse” or “at least you don’t have…” won’t help. Imagining someone else’s pain doesn’t make their pain any better.

DO keep trying!

It can be frustrating to deal with canceled plans, ER visits, or missed calls and texts. You may find that your friend or loved one can go days and weeks without reaching out! This doesn’t mean that they don’t care about you. No matter how you offer your support, your good intentions are always appreciated-and it won’t be long until your call gets returned!

For more information about Lupus Clinical Studies in your area, please visit lupus.autocruitment.com

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Health and Wellness

Eating Out with GERD

It isn’t easy to have to turn down an evening out with friends or your favorite brunch spot because of Acid Reflux or Heartburn (GERD). Restaurants can be minefields of GERD triggers, and trying to make healthy choices with limited options can be frustrating.

Luckily, with a bit of knowledge and planning, it is possible to enjoy a meal out without regretting your decision!

Know Your Triggers

Different food and drinks can cause various symptoms, meaning that no two people experience GERD in the same way. It is especially important to identify which type of foods cause Acid Reflux or Heartburn for you so that you can make healthy choices while eating out. If you can commit to keeping a food diary for a few weeks to track your food intake, you will be able to identify your Heartburn triggers accurately.

Be Picky

When it comes to choosing where to head out to dinner, consider the type of food on the menu. Different types of cuisine can trigger Acid Reflux or Heartburn (GERD) more than others. For example, crunchy tacos, cheesy nachos, and a salty margarita may sound like the perfect meal at a Mexican restaurant! However, acidic salsa, fried tortilla chips, and margaritas with citrus lime and alcohol could have you paying the consequences. Fortunately, you can usually find options that are more GERD-friendly while also adjusting the spice level of your dishes. Instead, opt for dishes like fajitas, burritos, and grilled meat or fish!

Substitutions and Requests

You don’t have to entirely forego your favorite foods just because of Acid Reflux or Heartburn! Many dishes can be tweaked to be more GERD-friendly; all you have to do is ask. For example, fried dishes can be baked or broiled, pasta dishes can be made with broth rather than tomato sauce, and most restaurants have the option to adjust the spice-level in their food.

Timing is Everything

Going right to sleep after a big meal is not ideal for anyone, but especially for those who suffer from Acid Reflux or Heartburn (GERD). The longer you can stay vertical after a meal, the less of a chance Acid Reflux or Heartburn symptoms will affect you. Between three to four hours of digestion time after a meal, before going to bed is the “sweet spot” to aim for when planning your evening out.

Making healthy and informed choices is the key to avoiding Acid Reflux or Heartburn while still enjoying your favorite restaurants, experimenting with new cuisines, and embracing your inner-foodie!

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Health and Wellness

The Depression Diet: The Connection Between Mood & Food

Food is a powerful fuel that our bodies require to operate, and depending on what we put into our bellies, our fuel-choice can significantly affect how we feel and go about our daily lives. Although there is no specific diet proven to relieve the symptoms of depression, there is evidence to show that certain foods can affect our mood and well-being.

Fermented Foods

Research has shown that gut bacteria play a crucial role in mental health and wellness. Although the connection isn’t yet well-understood, we know that fermented foods such as kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut, and miso can influence the health and diversity of the gut microbes.

Vital Vitamins

Vitamins are crucial to maintaining both physical and mental health. Incorporating vitamin-rich foods such as eggs, meat, fish, and leafy green vegetables and supplementing with oral vitamins when needed is shown to reduce the risk of mood disorders, like depression.

Smart Carbs

Recently, research has shown a connection between low serotonin and carb-cravings. Carbohydrates are linked to serotonin, a mood-boosting chemical present in the brain. However, it is essential to choose carbs wisely, as too much of a good thing can quickly turn bad! Stick to fruits, legumes, and vegetables, while avoiding “complex” carbs like grains and pasta.

Powerful Proteins 

Similar to carbs, protein also contributes to the production of serotonin levels in the brain. Try to incorporate high-protein foods, like chicken and turkey, white meat, beans, legumes, and yogurt, throughout the day, to boost your mood and clear your mind.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants occur in a ton of every-day foods that you may not even be aware of! They are responsible for removing free-radicals, which are waste-products that can build up in the body. If there is too much of a buildup, oxidative stress can develop which can cause a number of health issues, one being depression.

Eating fresh, plant-based foods can up your antioxidant intake. Stick to easy, yummy fruits like blueberries, raspberries, cabbage, and even dark chocolate!

Although food cannot magically cure depression, eating a healthier diet full of foods that are not only delicious, but nutritious and specifically chose for your wellness can greatly improve the way you feel and function mentally. 

If you are struggling with depression, visit depression.autocruitment.com to learn more about depression research studies that you can take part in.

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Health and Wellness

Working Out with Atopic Dermatitis

Whether you’ve had eczema for as long as you can remember or are just noticing your newly acquired skin condition, you are likely all too familiar with the struggles that everyday activities can bring.

Exercising and working out is just one of the many struggles that people who have atopic dermatitis or eczema have to deal with. From avoiding irritation, overheating, and flare-ups all while trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, working out can be a chore.

The reason that some people seem to flare-up following a workout is due to the rapid change in skin temperature, accompanied by liquid (sweat) hanging around on the skin for a prolonged period. Sweat primarily contains water and minerals; when these minerals are on the skin for too long, it can dry out the skin – causing eczema flare-ups!

Luckily, you don’t have to give up exercising entirely. There are a few modifications that you can make, and tips you can follow, to aid in avoiding pesky atopic dermatitis flare-ups.

Easy, Breezy Clothes

Breathable, soft, and ideally, cotton clothes are vital to avoiding irritation. Despite what great marketing leads us to believe about “sweat-wicking” fabrics that are supposed to draw away and absorb moisture, they are typically rough garments that can irritate the skin. Synthetics like Spandex and polyester are also on the list of clothing to stay away from since they don’t allow the skin to breathe.

Instead, opt for loose-fitting, cotton clothing that can promote circulation and that won’t irritate the skin!

Keep Cool and Carry On

Keeping cool and dry is easier said than done when it comes to an intense workout. Having a towel nearby and wiping off any sweat as it happens can keep your temperature down and help you avoid any skin irritation. 

Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate.

We should all be drinking our fair share of H2O daily – but drinking water while working out is incredibly important! Dehydration can have a damaging effect on your body and skin, even if you don’t have eczema. During a workout, we sweat and lose fluid. Water intake is critical to replenish the lost fluid from exercising.

Not Too Hot!

Showering after your workout can be relaxing and useful for preventing flare-ups, but the temperature of the water matters more than you’d think! Hot water can irritate the skin, leading to dryness, itching, and flaking, as well as removing significant moisture barriers that protect your skin from the elements.

Instead of cranking the heat, try starting with a warm shower, and gradually lowering the temperature – cold showers are not only great for your skin but are also known to kick-start your immune system.

By implementing these few simple suggestions, working out doesn’t have to come with an atopic dermatitis flare-up sentence. Stay hydrated, cool, and aware of your symptoms to make the most out of your workout!

For more information about Eczema Clinical Studies in your area, please visit eczema.autocruitment.com

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Corporate Blogs

AutoCruitment LLC Announces Canada Expansion

AutoCruitment LLC, a leading Clinical Trial Online Patient Recruitment company with a direct-to-patient, web-based technology platform, announces their expansion into Canada with the incorporation of AutoCruitment Canada Ltd.

November 20th, 2018 – AutoCruitment LLC, a leading Clinical Trial Online Patient Recruitment company with a direct-to-patient, web-based technology platform, announces their expansion into Canada with the incorporation of AutoCruitment Canada Ltd.  AutoCruitment Canada will operate under AutoCruitment to strengthen corporate growth, technology operations and client relations.

The opening of the AutoCruitment Toronto office will mark the third office location for AutoCruitment with other locations including New York, NY and Atlanta, GA. 

“We are excited at the opportunity to expand into Canada and the opening of a third office location,” said Bethany Bray, Chief Executive Officer of AutoCruitment, “this additional growth will allow us to expand our Technology, Operations, Leadership, Digital Marketing, Site Engagement, Patient Engagement and Project Management teams to support our growing patient network and increased client base as we continue to develop and enhance the AutoCruitment Platform.

AutoCruitment is committed to supporting their global clients by continuing to optimize and accelerate clinical trial patient recruitment, reducing the time it takes to get therapies to market. With the addition of the Toronto, ON location AutoCruitment remain focused on this mission.

For more information email info@autocruitment.com or visit www.autocruitment.com.

About AutoCruitment

AutoCruitment is an industry leader in clinical trial patient recruitment, offering online recruitment services and use of the web-based AutoCruitment Platform globally.

AutoCruitment was founded in 2014 by Bethany Bray, MBA MRes (Imperial College London), Ben Cooper and Chris Klaus (founder of Internet Security Systems; now part of the IBM Group). The leading, web-based recruitment company is headquartered in Technology Square, Atlanta GA with Project Management and Operations located in New York, NY and Toronto, ON.

AutoCruitment has assisted in the recruitment and automated screening of patients for all therapeutic areas and is currently working with 4 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies, 9 of the largest CROs worldwide, numerous hospitals and research sites to reduce the time it takes to get lifesaving therapies to market; through the use of their platform which recruits and matches qualified patients to the correct trials and clinical programs, automatically.

AutoCruitment’s targeted, metrics-driven approach and web-based technology closes the enrollment gap and accelerates patient recruitment by an average of 72%.

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AutoCruitment Corporate Blogs

Patient Recruitment A Focus of DIA 2016

ATLANTA, GA – July 20, 2016: Bethany Bray, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of AutoCruitment recently presented at the DIA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA.

Drug Information Association (DIA) is the only global forum for knowledge exchange that fosters innovation to raise the level of health and well-being worldwide and has become an essential resource that provides opportunities to extend debate and discussion to advance scientific and medical innovation.

The session entitled “Patient Recruitment in Rare Diseases: Ideas and Framework for out-of-the-Box Exploration”, explored the challenges of recruiting patient participants in clinical studies involving rare diseases where populations are small and geographically dispersed. The aim of the session was to “catalyze unconventional thinking and to provide a framework to organize innovative recruitment ideas.” The discussion focused on patient recruitment, retention, engagement and clinical trial designs.

Bethany’s presentation, “Direct-to-Patient Digital Recruitment: A Targeted Approach to Recruitment Enrollment and Retention”, addressed how targeted digital marketing techniques can be used to target, engage and recruit the right patients in the external patient population; improving recruitment, enrollment and retention problems in clinical trials. An Oncology and Neuroscience Researcher, Entrepreneur and Technologist, Bethany founded AutoCruitment to fulfill a vision of utilizing the power of the internet to address patient recruitment, enrollment and retention problems in clinical trials.

“It was an honor to be asked to speak at DIA. As a company we were impressed with the number of sessions that discussed how Sponsors and CROs approach patient recruitment, highlighting that typically Sponsors and CROs will rely solely on research sites or key opinion leaders (KOLs) to recruit patients from existing databases, which creates a bottleneck. We couldn’t agree more.” comments Bray. “There is a need to devise strategies to reach out to patients in the external community directly. A targeted digital recruitment strategy allows us to attract the right patients in the external community, screen them online and automatically and immediately refer them to the KOLs or contracted research sites; removing the bottleneck and ultimately accelerating the trial timeline.”

AutoCruitment is able to provide a path to effective digital marketing presence through a proprietary and targeted, direct-to-patient, online marketing platform that targets, recruits, screens and automatically refers new patients for clinical trials or specialty medical procedures. By streamlining the recruitment process, AutoCruitment helps accelerate the commercialization of safe, effective new treatments for devastating diseases and conditions and directs patients to new and suitable providers.

“DIA was an excellent opportunity for AutoCruitment to highlight the innovative strategies that we are employing to accelerate patient recruitment. Getting the buy-in from CROs and Sponsors is incredibly important in adopting new digital technologies to improve not just patient recruitment but the overall outcome of the clinical trial or specialty study.”

To learn more about how AutoCruitment can develop unique strategies to support your clinical trials, contact AutoCruitment at info@autocruitment.com or visit www.autocruitment.com

About AutoCruitment

AutoCruitment is an industry leader in clinical trial patient recruitment, offering online recruitment services and use of the web-based AutoCruitment Platform globally.

AutoCruitment was founded in 2014 by Bethany Bray, MBA MRes (Imperial College London), Ben Cooper and Chris Klaus (founder of Internet Security Systems; now part of the IBM Group). The leading, web-based recruitment company is headquartered in Technology Square, Atlanta GA with Project Management and Operations located in New York, NY and Toronto, ON.

AutoCruitment has assisted in the recruitment and automated screening of patients for all therapeutic areas and is currently working with 4 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies, 9 of the largest CROs worldwide, numerous hospitals and research sites to reduce the time it takes to get lifesaving therapies to market; through the use of their platform which recruits and matches qualified patients to the correct trials and clinical programs, automatically.

AutoCruitment’s targeted, metrics-driven approach and web-based technology closes the enrollment gap and accelerates patient recruitment by an average of 72%.