ennis Furbert said she was prepared to be a guinea pig in the scientific effort to help fight the effects of diabetes.

Ms Furbert was one of the Bermudians who took part in the DREAM trial study that sought to determine if the pharmaceuticals Rosiglitazone and Ramipril could prevent type 2 diabetes.

?I used to tell Dr. Marshall (KEMH cardiologist Dr. Shane Marshall) that I was his guinea pig,? she said, ? and he would say that I should not think of it that way.?

Ms Furbert had been a part of a local epidemiology study on preventing diabetes. That was to be a ten-year study but ended after five to facilitate the DREAM trial. As part of the original study she and others in the group followed a healthy program that concentrated on proper nutrition and exercise.

?All of us who were in that programme were tested for our suitability for the DREAM trial and I was the first one chosen,? she said. ? In the very beginning I was scared because everyone else was called into a room except me and one other man. But then I learned that I was selected. He was selected too but I was called in first so I was the first one told.?

Ms Furbert said because diabetes runs in her family she was concerned that she would contract the disease.

?I was a little wary about taking a pill,? she admitted. ? But if they were doing a study to prevent it (diabetes), then I was willing to pay the price.? As she had spent five years in the epidemiology study, Ms Furbert had grown very comfortable and trusted the KEMH staff carrying out the DREAM trial.

?I had been treated good the previous five years so I felt why not venture out and try this out,? she said.

Ms Furbert noted that as part of the study she received regular check ups on her blood pressure, heart, kidney function and other vitals. ? I was very comfortable and with the regular testing, if anything went wrong they would have stopped,? she said.

After meeting the requirements for the trial, participants had only to take two pills every day. Ms Furbert said participation did not disrupt her life. ?I never found it an inconvenience,? she said. ? I didn?t have to come into the hospital every day, not even every week. We had yearly checks, three-month checks, six-month checks and maybe just a few others. I was able to juggle my schedule if there were conflicts,? she added.

In fact the only unpleasant aspect Ms Furbert experienced was having to drink a sugary solution after fasting. ?I called it yucky stuff,? she said, ? Drinking it on an empty stomach was just yucky.? She felt no ill effects from taking the two pills.

?I was on it for four to five years and I didn?t feel any different at all,? she said.

Of course it could be that Ms Furbert did not have any drugs in the pills she was taking, as some of the participants would have to be given a placebo. None of the participants nor any of the local team conducting the trial would know who, how many, if any, of the participants had placebos. In fact Ms Furbert said she is still anxious to know just what she took.

?We had a big close out party and dinner at BUEI on September 1 this year and we thought we would find out then what the drugs were,? she said. ?I was disappointed when they said we had to wait. I think it?s that they need to have in the results of all the participating countries before they reveal that information. We should know in December.?

Enthusiastic about her participation Ms Furbert said she feels ?grateful and thankful? to have been a part of the trial. ?I?m sure something can be learned about diabetes and hopefully how to fight it, through the study,? she said. Last October while on the study Ms Furbert actually developed diabetes. ?I had to come out of the program because I had crossed over,? she said. ?They said I could continue to take the medication so I did.?

She?s confident the pills she took on the program did not cause her to develop diabetes. ?In fact I think it was because of my involvement in the program that we were able to detect it immediately and it has not had a chance to get out of hand. I?ve met with the dietician regularly and I am fine,? she said.

Ms Furbert said she believes her own complacency led her to develop the disease. ?I knew better,? she said. ? I had not been exercising as much. I had been having sodas and tonic water -which is very high in sodium. I had been label reading for the longest time and then I stopped. I let my guard down and I got it.?

?I believe that were I not involved in the DREAM trial I would have become a diabetic long ago.?