Fluoroquinolone Academic Research Update – Dr. Beatrice Golomb UCSD

Research is vitally important to the fluoroquinolone community. Although many lament the current flaws in the medical system today, it is vitality important to have professionals on your team that know the ins and outs of working in that system. Researchers that have a true desire to see quality science performed, free from corrupt influences, in addition to having an altruistic nature to help those harmed by that system are rare. Dr. Beatrice Golomb is one of those researchers.

Myself, and three other floxies, form a team that have been reaching out to researchers, media and other professionals for seven years. In the area of research our goal is an attempt to get quality fluoroquinolone academic research done looking into to various aspects of FQ toxicity depending on the researcher’s strengths. Although getting doors slammed in our face is a common occurrence, Dr. Golomb was one of three major academic researchers that saw the true impact of FQ toxicity and agreed to work with us on behalf of the FQ community. We have been loosely working with her for many years now.

The four of us recently held a phone conference with Dr. Golomb to get an update on where her research is leading her in the fight against FQ Toxicity. Dr. Golomb has been tenaciously trying to get a paper of case studies published on a group of floxies for several years. Her attempts have been met with rejection. She acknowledges that the rejection comes from the nature of questioning pharmaceuticals in the current research environment, but she remains undaunted and will continue.
She is still collecting data from those who have been affected by FQ toxicity through her UCSD Fluoroquinolone Effects Study located at http://fqstudy.info/Fluoroquinolone_Effects_Study/Welcome.html. The data that she is collecting is vitally important not only to FQ research but other research as well. She wholeheartedly believes that in the future we will see biological markers in the FQ community that will benefit those with gulf war syndrome and vice versa. Dr. Golomb fully acknowledges the severity of the adverse effects that FQ’s have on the lives of sufferers.

There have been some in the community that have been critical of such surveys, believing that they do not lead anywhere. On the contrary, similar to reporting adverse drug reactions to the FDA, surveys collected by academic researchers working with us represent the solid initial step that leads to more research. This is what will happen with Dr. Golomb’s survey. In the future study participants will be selected from survey responders depending on factors listed in the surveys.

Another important aspect is funding. It is important to note that Dr. Golomb accepts no financial support for her research from pharmaceutical companies. Because of that, funding is limited for FQ research. So, if you know someone who wants to contribute to a worthy FQ research goal, donating to the “Fluoroquinolone Effects Study” care of UCSD is the way to go. To learn how to donate to Dr. Golomb’s work you can go here: http://fqstudy.info/Fluoroquinolone_Effects_Study/Contribute.html Instructions on how to contribute are listed. Donations should be tax deductible but please check with your tax advisor for specific questions.

Just like the recent media upsurge on FQ toxicity, research is one of several vital areas to support, if we are to get the acknowledgement we need from the medical community. Research, for us in general, has positive broad spectrum effects providing factual data for other medical professionals, media stories, disability claims, and even lawsuits.

Our FQ team will be working closely with Dr. Golomb as she takes research to the next level in the near future. Stay tuned here as I will be sure to inform the FQ community of any pertinent developments with her, along with developments with other researchers that we work with. It is important for our community to have timely, consistent, and factual updates, and I will do my best to fulfill that need.