BOSTON and LOS ANGELES (PRWEB)
March 06, 2023

The Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO) at Boston University, which investigates environmental influences on fertility and miscarriage, expanded its protocol this year to offer at-home biospecimen collection to participants across 48 states. The PRESTO research team is conducting a sub-study called the Environmental Pregnancy Study Online (E-PRESTO), using biospecimen analysis to learn if certain chemicals in the environment are harmful to reproductive health. To encourage participation of couples across a wider geographical area, the researchers are offering a mail-based E-PRESTO option, shipping sampling kits to participants’ homes. Trajan’s Mitra® devices are included in the mailed kits for remote self-collection of blood samples using a quick finger-prick method. The kits also include collection cups to facilitate urine collection at home. All samples are mailed back to BU for storage and analysis at various external laboratories over the next 2 years. After analysis, participants receive a report of their exposure to chemicals and how to reduce exposure levels.

“Our early study results revealed that several socio-demographic and lifestyle factors (e.g., short sleep duration, greater intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, obesity, stress) can hinder conception. In addition, there is growing evidence that certain chemicals in the environment adversely affect fertility and healthy pregnancy, yet there has been less research on the effects of environmental chemicals,” said Lauren Wise, ScD, professor of epidemiology and principal investigator of the School of Public Health-based PRESTO at Boston University.

The team received additional NIH funding to launch the E-PRESTO sub-study to examine potential environmental effects among PRESTO participants. Analytes of interest for E-PRESTO include endocrine disrupting chemicals (e.g., PFAS, PCBs, phthalates, phenols, heavy metals), and vitamin D. The mail-based protocol helps the team reach more volunteers.

“Blood sample analysis is a key component of the E-PRESTO study, and remote Mitra® devices from Trajan enable us to offer convenient at-home blood sampling to a larger study cohort of couples who live across the United States,” said Dr. Wise.

The E-PRESTO researchers encourage study participants in the Boston or Detroit areas to participate in traditional venipuncture blood draws in their respective clinics. E-PRESTO participants living outside those areas can receive mailed kits containing the remote Mitra devices and other sampling supplies. The Mitra devices are designed to allow virtually anyone, anywhere to collect a precise blood sample for mailing to a designated lab for analysis.

If interested in the E-PRESTO sub-study, visit the web page: E-PRESTO | PRESTO (English Language Version) (bu.edu). To enroll in PRESTO & E-PRESTO, click on the study invitation link or contact the BU research team at: bupresto@bu.edu or 617-358-3424.

About Trajan Scientific and Medical & Neoteryx Microsampling Solutions by Trajan

Neoteryx, a leader in microsampling devices, was acquired by Trajan in 2021. Today, Trajan’s full line of Neoteryx microsampling solutions provide precise, quantitative remote specimen collection. They are easy to use and amenable to automated analysis in the lab, easing workflows and enabling decentralized research and healthcare models. Products include the Mitra® device based on VAMS® technology and the hemaPEN® that advances capillary and dried blood spot (DBS) technologies, with more microsampling products in the pipeline. For more information on Trajan’s Neoteryx range of microsampling solutions, visit http://www.neoteryx.com or http://www.trajanscimed.com.

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Jillian P. McKoy, MPH, Sr. Writer/Editor, BU Office of Communications and Marketing

(617) 358-3453, jpmckoy@bu.edu

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