15% of our Objective Achieved - "Nearly 3,000 participants aged 40 to 69 have
already answered our call" - Doctor Claude Laberge
"Since the middle of the 2009 summer, nearly 3,000
This resource for research will consist of a biobank and a health information database. Upon request, CARTaGENE will supply data and samples in coded form to researchers, provided they meet scientific and ethical criteria. Researchers may also gain access to coded information from government health databases, if needed.
Bulletin CARTaGENE: (http://files.newswire.ca/837/Bulletin_Cartagene.pdf)
CARTaGENE seeks to improve our understanding of health and of disease by accelerating the realisation of many studies or by making them possible, and, in the medium to the long term, allow for better adapted interventions, as well as more accurate diagnostics and prevention.
The CaG-RAMQ Service (an office set up by the Régie d'Assurance Maladie du Québec and CARTaGENE) randomly selects potential participants from four of the census metropolitan areas in the province of
The Importance of Participation
"The success of this study depends on the response of participants says
Participants going to recruitment sites will be asked to complete a health questionnaire and to give a sample of urine and blood, a fraction of which will be used for analyses, while the remaining samples are stored in the GQ-CAURC Biobank. Specially trained registered nurses will accompany them through every step of the process. They will take some physical measurements, such as height, weight, waist and hips circumference, arterial pressure, and pulse. Following the measurements and interview, participants will be given a questionnaire evaluating their satisfaction, which they may fill out at home. This concludes the "active" participation part of the study, and lasts two and a half hours on average. Participants are also invited during the consent process to indicate if they want to be contacted again or if they wish to participate in the CARTaGENE genealogical option, in association with the BALSAC Project, by answering another questionnaire at home.
Targeted Regions
"Our objective is to create a public resource for research projects," says
Confidentiality Guaranteed by Coded Samples
"We are most proud of the fact that participant confidentiality is guaranteed every step of the way," adds
The Importance of teamwork
Many public institutions, organisms and projects are actively involved in the CARTaGENE project. The Université de Montréal is responsible for the project as a whole. Financial support for CARTaGENE is mainly provided by Genome
The Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) BALSAC Project will keep genealogical information and ensure its confidentiality.
CARTaGENE is a project of national scope, due to its association with the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project (CPTP), which aims to create a research platform involving a cohort of 300,000 participants from across
CARTaGENE is also a project of international scope as a founding member of the Public Population Project in Genomics (P3G), which coordinates collaboration between more than 25 similar projects around the world.
/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/
For further information: Pierre Leduc, Press Relations, (514) 343-7703, extension 0229, (514) 465-0337 (cell), [email protected]
Share this article