Welcome to MEBO Research
MEBO Research, Inc. is a sufferer-founded, patient advocacy international campaign to research systemic body odor and halitosis. It is a non-profit, company registered in the State of Florida and is aiming to soon become a 501(c)3 Charity in the United States with pro-bono services and donations awarded by the legal, financial, education and scientific/medical community as well as from the community of individuals affected by this condition. Once MEBO Research, Inc. becomes a registered charity, it will be in a better position to pursue research grants and endowments from private foundations and governmental agencies in multiple countries in order to further its research efforts to find the proper diagnosis to all systemic body odors and halitosis conditions, and to find a cure.
Mission
MEBO Research, Inc. primarily aims to raise funds through an organized grant-seeking campaign by its Board Members and by other volunteers of the international body odor community who regularly meet in the various support online forums, to support scientific and medical communities to perform formal professional research into body odor and halitosis conditions. In addition, small informal, sufferer-driven studies will be carried out from time to time in an attempt to detect and establish patterns in symptoms amongst the various conditions. With the recognition that society at large is uninformed of the existence of uncontrollable body odor conditions, it is one of MEBO’s chief objectives to raise social and political awareness through public education endeavors, consisting of mail and email campaigns, advertising, public speaking in schools, and other similar avenues, with co-operation from the online international body odor community and MEBO’s Board Members, and to also complement similar independent campaigns.
Accounting Transparency
As a beneficiary of the Community Development Clinic at Florida International University, MEBO Research, Inc. has enjoyed the benefits provided by the Legal Clinic by receiving pro-bono legal counsel and transactional legal services in the registration of the company in the State of Florida, and is currently in the process of filing for a 501(c)3 status. As a participant in the CDC program, MEBO will also pursue advisement in business planning, accounting practices, and hopefully, grant-proposal writing techniques from the School of Business. It is MEBO’s goal to provide its supporters in this website with as much financial transparency as functionally feasible so that the international community of participants and any other affected individuals will have a clear representation of from where all funds are originating and where they will be invested.
Strategies
MEBO's three main strategies are :
1. Self-help : The self-help strategy involves informal ways in which sufferers can research the problem as a group under the expert direction of Board Member and Expert Consultant, Dr. Irene Gabashvili, PhD. An example would be sufferer-funded informal studies through MEBO to actively look for a profile of systemic body odors, as well as to promote a test culture in the community.
2. Professional help : Proactively pursue, encourage and support scientific and medical research with an organized grant-seeking and fund-raising campaign carried out by Board Members of MEBO Research, Inc. and other volunteers. Some of the scientific and medical experts who may carry out research projects could include, but not limited to, those who have participated in interviews for MEBO’s blog. Proposed topics for research could be as follows:
Research MEBO would like to see done by experts
Intended to give experts ideas for research:
* Genetic testing to determine the yet to be identified causes of some of the various body odor conditions,
* A thorough investigation of all the various malodorous compounds, and classification of each with its respective body odor condition,
* Explore the feasibility of developing genetically modified probiotic enriched with FMO3,
* Utilize Service Dogs to play a role in assisting sufferers and researchers in odor detection, identification, classification, and management
* To develop helpful ways of coping with the problem, such as hand-held portable smell-checker devices,
* Arrive at an agreed international testing standard for TMAU (currently each lab has its own standards that differ from each other),
* Establish an International Database of TMAU results with the assistance and cooperation of experts,
*How does hormonal changes affect odor levels, particularly in the female menstruation cycle, and during stress,
* Are all women with lower functioning FMO3 enzyme prone to Bacterial (Gardnerella) Vaginosis ?
* Add and include the trimethylaminuria phenotype and/or genotype test to the newborn screening program,
* Malodorous volatile organic compounds testing possibly including a study of 1 person or more to have their urine tested over a month for Volatile Organic Compounds,
* Test for odorous chemical compounds, such as the TMAU tests, those 'diagnosed' as 'Olfactory Reference Syndrome' for TMAU and other types of body odor conditions, as an ORS diagnosis is rarely based on the results of these tests,
MEBO'S focus is primarily on systemic body odor, since this seems to be the most common form amongst the online community. Special attention is placed on odors such as fecal body odor, gas sulfur/rotten egg, garbage, sewage, and TMAU fish odor, since TMAU may not be a final diagnosis as often affected individuals say they smell of other scents.
If you are an interested expert with any ideas, feel free to contact MEBO
3. Raising awareness : With the recognition that society at large is uninformed of the existence of uncontrollable body odor conditions, it is one of MEBO’s chief objectives to raise social and political awareness through public education endeavors, such as mail and email campaigns, media advertising, working with public school boards to promote awareness of body odor conditions in educational curriculum, hold public speaking sessions in schools, and other similar avenues, with co-operation from the online international body odor community and MEBO’s Board Members, and to also complement similar campaigns.
The alternative is to maintain the status quo, i.e., waiting for the scientific / medical system to come up with significant funding and research for us on its own initiative, which is a very unrealistic possibility.
MEBO's short term goals
*To do informal case studies using available tests on volunteers,
*To post the results in this website,
*To develop relations with experts.
MEBO's long term goals
*To become a charity,
*To encourage professional research into metabolic body odor,
*To develop helpful ways of coping with the problem, such as portable smell-checkers.