Scientific Work
PatientsLikeMe has an in-house team of research scientists led by Research & Development Director Paul Wicks, PhD. Since 2006, the PatientsLikeMe research team has authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed published scientific articles. In addition, PatientsLikeMe has been cited by others in more than 1,000 published scientific articles.
In 2008, a small Italian study was published suggesting that lithium carbonate could slow the progression of ALS. In response, hundreds of members of the site with the disease began taking the drug. Using the self-reported data of 348 ALS patients and taking just nine months to complete, PatientsLikeMe conducted a study which demonstrated that lithium did not slow the progress of the disease. The team suggested that online collection of patient self-report data was no substitute for randomized placebo-controlled trials, but it might be a useful new form of clinical research in certain circumstances.
In keeping with the company’s openness philosophy, PatientsLikeMe has several collaboration partnerships with research and academic institutions. To date, the company has shared patient data with researchers including Oxford University, the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins University, King's College London, The Pew Internet & American Life Project, the University of Wisconsin and Palo Alto University.
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