We have a very exciting announcement for the AIP community today! In January we ran an enormous survey asking Autoimmune Wellness fans all sorts of questions, not only about your experiences with us, our site, and our social media channels, but also about your challenges, questions, and what you wanted to see more of in the future. We had thousands and thousands of responses (thank you all so much!), but one answer we saw frequently was, “I want to see more studies and a strong push for research.”
We heard that loud and clear! Today we are announcing that we’ve teamed up with Rob Abbott, M.D. to conduct a small pilot medical study and have had our application approved by an institutional review board.
The study is entitled, “Efficacy of the Autoimmune Protocol Diet for Hashimoto’s Thyroid Disease.” That’s right! In deciding our next steps with research, we put our focus on the autoimmune diagnosis that is by far the most common in our community and arguably in the country.
Our hope is that the results of this study will allow us to move beyond the anecdotal evidence of AIP’s impact on Hashi’s, so we can make AIP a bigger part of the conversation in the conventional medicine world.
We Need Your Help!
Genova Diagnostics, led by their Director of Clinical Evidence, Lihong Chen, MD, PhD, has generously offered to supply nutritional and gastrointestinal health status testing for each participant prior to study start and at completion, utilizing their NutrEval FMV Organic Acid Test and their GI Effects Comprehensive Stool Analysis Test, as well as, one-time testing for a small group of comparative healthy controls.
The cost of this testing alone is well into the tens of thousands of dollars and will provide so much insight into how AIP can impact the health of those with autoimmune disease.
However, there are other basic laboratory tests and costs associated with the study that will need to be covered.
That’s where you come in! We are crowdfunding the remaining money needed to conduct this research. We have a goal of $10,000 and our hope is that this supportive community is ready to pitch in and help us pull this off.
To put this number in perspective, most research studies of this scale if conducted at a major academic institution would easily cost $25-50,000, and we’re attempting to pull it off for $10,000! We feel that more research is an important investment in the AIP movement and the team at Autoimmune Wellness is beyond dedicated to doing everything in our power to advance the future of autoimmune treatment and we know you are too!
CLICK RIGHT HERE to be taken to our IndieGoGo campaign page. You can contribute and learn about perks for helping!
How Will This Study Be Conducted?
This study will be very similar to the study of AIP for inflammatory bowel disease that we were privileged to be a part of in 2016. You can read about that study and the awesome results here. Dr. Abbott will be heading up the medical side of the study, using surveys focused on quality of life and symptom burden, laboratory testing (including thyroid function), and dietary assessments to gather data about the outcomes for a small group of participants.
Angie and her team, including Kerri Cooper, RD, will use the SAD to AIP in SIX program to walk participants with Hashimoto’s thyroid disease through the transition to AIP and then help them during a maintenance period.
When Can We See the Results?
If we are able to raise the money needed and find suitable participants in time, Dr. Abbott hopes to begin statistical evaluation by the end of this year and make a submission to a peer reviewed journal by early 2019. Our past experience is that it can take roughly one year until publication, so everyone be patient with us!
Thank You!
In answer to your call for more research we are offering this tangible way for you to take an active role in the grassroots effort to push for the study process. We are hopeful that it will produce solid, scientific, peer-reviewed data and help us form stronger partnerships with the conventional medical community. We believe this style of collaboration will spark the paradigm shift we are all working toward in the AIP movement. This is an exciting step and we are thrilled to take it with your support! Thank you!
11 comments
Great news! Can’t wait for the results–but will wait as long as it takes!
Thanks for the support Jen!
I have Hashimoto’s thyroid disease and would love to volunteer to participate in this study.
Are you looking for volunteers?
If you still need participants, let me know! I have hashis and haven’t done AIP yet. I’ve done some paleo and am gluten free and mostly dairy free but eggs and nuts were always so hard for me to give up. Let me know! I’d love to participate.
Hi Jenne, we are still looking for participants, the eligibility survey can be found in the “updates” section of the Indiegogo page. Thanks!
When will participants be chosen for the study?
Hi Casie, I believe they are being chosen this week!
Hi there, are they still looking for participants for the study? If so, could you direct me to who I would need to communicate with? Thank you!
Hi Micah! Participants have already been enrolled and the study has started, but you are welcome to join Angie’s next group of SAD to AIP starting in January. Sign up for our email list to get full details!
Great news! How do I go about requesting to be enrolled in the study?
Hi Heidi, participants have already been selected and the study is underway!