Trials Today

Background: Shingles is a painful, blistering rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. Shingrix is a vaccine approved to prevent shingles in healthy adults over age 50 and in immunocompromised adults over age 18. Researchers want to learn more about how people with HIV respond to Shingrix. Objective: To learn how Shingrix affects the immune response in people with HIV. Eligibility: People aged 18 years and older with HIV. Healthy people aged 50 years or older are also needed. Design: Participants will have at least 4 clinic visits in 1 year. Participants will be screened. They will have a physical exam with blood and urine tests. At their first visit, participants will receive Shingrix as a shot in the upper arm. They will have a rectal swab; a cotton swab will be inserted into the rectum and rotated gently to collect bacteria. Participants will receive a second shot of Shingrix 2 months after the first one. They will visit the clinic again 3 and 12 months after the first shot. Participants will receive a 28-day memory tool. They will write down their symptoms between clinic visits. They will have up to 4 phone calls to talk about side effects of the shot. Participants may undergo apheresis: They will lie still while blood is drawn from a needle in one arm. The blood will pass through a machine that separates out the white blood cells. The remaining blood will be given back through a second needle in their other arm.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2023

open study

Background: DNA is a structure in the body. It contains data about how the body develops and works. Telomeres are found on the end of chromosomes in DNA. Some people with short telomeres or other gene changes can develop diseases of the bone marrow, lung, and liver. Researchers want to see if low doses of the hormone drug danazol can help. Objective: To study the safety and effect of low dose danazol. Eligibility: People ages 3 and older with a telomere disease who have either very short telomeres and a specific gene change. They must also show signs of aplastic anemia, lung, or liver disease. Design: Participants will be screened in another protocol. Participants will have: - Medical history - Physical exam - Blood tests - Lung exam. They will breathe into an instrument that records the amount and rate of air breathed in and out over a period of time. 6-minute walking test. - Abdominal ultrasound and liver scan. These tests use sound waves to measure the fibrosis in the liver. Some participants will have: - Pregnancy test - Small sample of the liver removed - Bone marrow biopsy. The bone will be numbed and a small needle will take a sample of the marrow. All participants will have hormone levels checked. All child participants will see a pediatric endocrinologist. Children may need to have a hand x-ray. We will monitor patients for 6 months before starting danazol. Participants will take danazol by mouth twice a day for 1 year. Participants must return to the clinic at 6 months and 12 months while on danazol and 6 months after stopping it. They will have blood and urine tests, a lung exam, abdominal ultrasound, and liver scan.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2018

open study

This study will examine the safety of giving the experimental drug, resiniferatoxin (RTX), to treat severe pain in patients with advanced cancer. RTX is a chemical extracted from a cactus-like plant. It is similar to capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot pepper. RTX has relieved pain and reduced the need for pain medication in several animal experiments. It works by destroying nerves that transmit pain information. People at least 18 years of age with severe pain from advanced cancer at or below the level of the chest that cannot be controlled with standard treatments may be eligible for this study. Participants undergo the following procedures: Pretreatment Visit Before beginning treatment with RTX, patients give a medical history and undergo a physical examination that includes: - Electrocardiogram (EKG) - Blood draw - Urinalysis - Neurological examinations - Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) - Eye examination - MRI - Urology assessment - Pregnancy test, when appropriate - Questionnaires to collect information on health, personality, mood, pain levels and symptoms. 2-Day Hospitalization Patients are hospitalized for 2 days for RTX injection and monitoring, as follows: - RTX injection: RTX is injected in the operating room under general anesthesia. It is given through a catheter placed in the patient s spine. The catheter is also used to obtain samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) the clear fluid that bathes the spinal cord. The fluid is examined to assess drug effects and side effects, chemical changes in the content of the CSF associated with RTX, and how RTX is handled by the body. - Post-injection monitoring, including: - Surveys about symptoms such as pain or weakness - Neurological examinations - Blood and CSF sampling - EKG - AEs Outpatient followup - Vitals - Blood draw, Urinalysis, neurological and sensory testing, EKG on days 7, 14 and 30 after the injection - MRI scans of the head and back, Urology assessment and PEFR on day 15 after the injection - Eye examination - Follow-up phone calls monthly for 6 months

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2009

open study

Several studies have reported that diabetic subjects have lower plasma vitamin C concentrations than non-diabetic subjects. Although urinary vitamin C loss in diabetic subjects was reported to be increased in two studies, these are difficult to interpret due to lack of controlled vitamin C intake, inadequate sampling, lack of control subjects, or methodology uncertainties in vitamin C assay and sample processing. Consequently, it is unclear whether diabetic subjects truly have both low plasma and high urine vitamin C concentrations. We propose that low plasma vitamin C concentrations in diabetic subjects are due in part to inappropriate renal loss of vitamin C in these subjects but not in healthy controls. We will study nondiabetic controls and cohorts with diabetes. Vitamin C concentrations in plasma, RBCs, and urine will be measured in outpatients. In those willing to be admitted to the Clinical Center, we will measure vitamin C pharmacokinetics to determine the relative bioavailability for vitamin C in individuals with and without abnormal urinary loss of vitamin C (or renal leak). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) will be determined in genomic DNA responsible for the two proteins mediating sodium dependent vitamin C transport, SVCT1 and SVCT2. We will also explore mechanisms underlying abnormal urinary vitamin C loss....

Type: Observational

Start Date: Apr 2006

open study

Background: Negative emotional states can affect a person s behavior as they make decisions. For example, hunger may make people more impatient; they may then make riskier choices. Other negative emotional states that can change behavior include stress, pain, and sadness. By learning more about how emotions affect thinking and behavior in healthy people, researchers hope to better understand how to identify and treat people with mental disorders. Objective: To learn how negative emotions affect the brain and decision-making behavior. Eligibility: Healthy people aged 18 to 55 years. Design: Participants will have 3 clinic visits in 3 weeks. Participants will fill out questionnaires. They will be asked about their personal history, their personality, and state of mind. For 2 visits, participants will be assigned to different groups. Each group will experience 1 type of emotional stressor: Some participants will watch a video. Some will have to do arithmetic problems. Some will have heat applied to an arm or leg. Some will experience cold by immersing their hand in ice water. For a snack craving test, some will be tempted by food after a 4-hour fast. During these tests, participants will have sensors attached to their bodies. They will be videotaped. Saliva samples will be collected. After the stressors, participants will do tasks on a computer. They will need to make choices. Some participants will perform these decision-making tasks while lying in a brain scanner for functional magnetic resonance imaging. The brain scan involves lying on a table that slides into a cylinder that takes images of the brain. ...

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2023

open study

Background: - Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, is a chronic skin disorder. Patients sometimes have infections with S. aureus bacteria. Researchers want to study how eczema treatments affect the number and the type of bacteria on the skin. Objectives: - To study the effect of eczema treatments on skin bacteria. Eligibility: - Individuals between 2 and 25 years of age who have moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. - Healthy volunteers between 18 and 40 years of age with no history of eczema. Design: - Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical history. Research samples will be collected. Skin biopsies may also be performed. - All participants will be assigned to one of several study groups. - Healthy volunteers must not have taken antibiotics in the year before the start of the study. - All participants will have regular study visits during their 1-year participation. More research samples will be collected at these visits. - Healthy volunteers may be asked to come in for a one-time follow up after the 1 year mark.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2012

open study

GoFreshSE is a randomized control trial, testing the effects of a home-delivered, dietitian-assisted, DASH-patterned grocery intervention on blood pressure in adults with high blood pressure in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2025

open study

Anxiety disorders commonly begin during adolescence, and are characterized by deficits in the ability to inhibit or extinguish pathological fear. Recent research has provided new understanding of how fear is learned and can be regulated in the adolescent brain, and how the endocannabinoid system shapes these processes; however, these advances have not yet translated into improved therapeutic outcomes for adolescents with anxiety. This study will test whether a behavioral intervention, acute exercise, can help to improve fear regulation by enhancing brain activity and endocannabinoid signaling. This line of research may ultimately lead to more effect treatments for adolescent anxiety, and to new preventive strategies for at-risk youth.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2024

open study

A Prospective, Multicenter, Randomized, Pivotal Study of the May Health System in Transvaginal Ablation of Ovarian Tissue under Ultrasound Guidance in Women with Infertility due to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2024

open study

The swallowing muscles are prone to decreased strength and function as part of the natural aging process which can lead to difficulty swallowing, malnutrition, and frailty. Exercise and nutrition are powerful stimulators of muscular change. The proposed research will investigate the effectiveness of a 12-week proactive regimen of swallowing exercises (with or without daily protein supplement drinks) to improve the composition, force, and physiology of the swallowing muscles and explore the relationship to overall health and physical function in 80 community-dwelling older adults. Each participant will serve as their own control for 12 weeks before being randomized to complete swallowing exercises alone or swallowing exercises with protein drinks.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2024

open study

Tobacco use disorder is a chronic, relapsing health condition that necessitates a chronic care approach. However, traditional smoking cessation treatment programs allocate nearly all their resources only to those smokers who are willing to set a quit date. This is problematic because few smokers are ready to set a quit date at any given time, and a smoker's stated intention to quit can change rapidly. One novel potential treatment strategy is to foster practice quitting (PQ), defined as attempting to not smoke for a few hours or days, without pressure or expectation to permanently quit. Although a growing body of evidence supports the role of practice quitting in fostering permanent quit attempts and cessation, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding which treatment strategies should be used to engage smokers in practice quitting. The proposed study will test the role of PQ counseling vs. Motivational Interviewing (MI) counseling, and NRT sampling (four-week supply of nicotine lozenges and patches) vs. none.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2023

open study

Cognitive decline in dementia is considered irreversible, however episodes of paradoxical lucidity (PL) in severe dementia suggest other mechanisms may be in play. Beyond anecdotal reports of transient PL events occurring in patients predominantly in late-stage dementia and typically lasting anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, little is known about PL. The study team proposes to develop and conduct a mixed methods prospective study of PL during end stage advanced dementia, creating a definition and measurement scale for PL in advanced dementia, and identifying the potential electro cortical biomarkers of PL in advanced dementia. This study will be divided in two phases: Phase I and Phase II. During Phase I, the study team will collect sufficient and necessary data through an online survey and focus groups as well as assess the safety and feasibility of using symptom diaries (also known as daily trackers or journals) and real-time video EEG monitoring (vEEG). After preliminary review of the study procedures, the PI will decide whether to move onto the Phase II. The second phase will aim to expand the study population and refine study methods as well as create a definition and measurement scale for PL in advances dementia.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jun 2022

open study

The UAB Institute for Arts In Medicine (AIM) is currently implementing an expressive emotional writing pilot project for adults with paralysis caused by neurological conditions such as traumatic head or spinal cord injury.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Sep 2020

open study

Background: Researchers use mixed meal tolerance tests (MMTTs) to look at how people s bodies respond to eating a meal. However, researchers do not agree on how to decide the number of calories to give in each meal. Some use fixed meals, which are the same size for everyone, and some use adjusted meals, based on the size of the person s body. Researchers want to know which MMTT is best to use for future research. Objective: To learn how fixed vs adjusted meals affect blood glucose levels in healthy people. Eligibility: Healthy people aged 18 years or older. Design: Participants will have 3 or 4 clinic visits of up to 8 hours in 8 weeks. Participants will have baseline tests: Their height, weight, and waist size will be measured. They will have an oral glucose tolerance test: A needle attached to a tube (IV) will be inserted into a vein in the arm. They will have a sugary drink. Blood samples will be taken from the tube at intervals up to 3 hours after the drink. They will have a body scan. Participants will have 2 MMTT visits. One will include a fixed meal and one will include an adjusted meal. They will have tests at both visits: Resting metabolic rate: A clear hood will be placed over the participant s head while they rest for 20 minutes. This will measure the oxygen they breathe in and out. MMTT. Participants will have 5 minutes to drink a liquid meal. Blood samples will be taken at intervals for the next 4 hours....

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2024

open study

There is evidence that early and aggressive treatment with antiretroviral drugs can prevent the loss of immune cell function that accompanies HIV infection. This study will use leukapheresis (drawing blood, separating out the white cells and returning the blood to the patient) to obtain blood cells from HIV-infected patients in either the acute or chronic stage of infection who are being treated with early highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Leukapheresis is necessary to obtain enough cells to delineate the response of B cells to CD4+ T cell help, the CD8 factors associated with suppression of viral replication and normalization of immune function, and natural killer function relative to HIV disease. Study participants will be adult (older than 18 years) HIV primary or acutely affected patients (those with a history of exposure to HIV but not yet showing chronic symptoms of HIV disease) and HIV chronically infected patients (those infected with HIV for longer than 12 months or showing other symptoms of HIV disease) who are not receiving HAART at the beginning of the study. The study seeks to enroll 30 primary and 30 chronic patients. Pregnant women will not be enrolled in the study; women who become pregnant will be dropped from the study. Leukapheresis will be performed on each patient before HAART therapy begins and then three times a year. Each session will take between 1 and 3 hours. This longitudinal study will enable researchers to examine the function of certain B cells, natural killer cells, and CD8+ T cells in people who do not have chronic HIV disease and in those who do have the disease and are treated with HAART.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jul 2002

open study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of using wearable digital health technology for continuous monitoring of physiological, sleep, and physical activity data in adolescents with chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. This research aims to develop objective digital endpoints of the pain experience to improve diagnosis, prevention, and treatment outcomes.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Feb 2025

open study

This project will determine the clinical utility of non-surgical spine decompression for chronic low back pain (LBP). LBP is one of the highest incidence medical conditions that contributes to disability, decreased activities of daily living, decreased quality of life, and inability to work. LBP affects ≈70-85% of people during their lifetime, with ≈20% becoming chronic by age 20-59 years. Many current LBP therapeutics have detrimental long-term effects, undesired side effects, are invasive procedures with low success rates, and do not fare better than conservative care. Further, many chronic musculoskeletal pain patients do not respond to surgery, and many develop dependence on opioids. This project will implement a small-scale double-blinded, randomized proof-of-concept clinical trial to gather biomechanical and MRI data that will objectively determine the effectiveness of non-surgical spinal decompression (NSSD) over a 12-week longitudinal timeframe. The potential to provide a non-invasive alternative to chronic LBP via NSSD is innovative and addresses the pressing need for safer, more effective pain management options with fewer negative sequelae. NSSD has the potential to greatly improve lives, offering a new paradigm for chronic pain management.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2025

open study

Stage 2 Type 1 Diabates (T1D) is an early stage of T1D characterized by dysglycemia but not yet leading to clinical symptoms. Progression of the disease to Stage 3 (clinical T1D), leads to overt hyperglycemia requiring eventually exogenous insulin. TZIELD® (teplizumab-mzwv) has been approved to delay onset of stage 3 T1D, by the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for adults and children aged 8 years and older with Stage 2 T1D. The purpose of this study is to collect general information on patients with stage 2 T1D and further information on the long-term effects of TZIELD® in patients with Stage 2 T1D, treated as per standard of care.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Sep 2024

open study

Early Age-Related Hearing Loss Investigation (EARHLI) is a single site study that will randomize late middle age adults to either a hearing intervention (including hearing aids) or a health education intervention. Participants will be followed for 1 year. This study will provide information on reducing cognitive decline in those at risk for Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2024

open study

The goal of this study is to establish the efficacy of an intervention of dietary weight loss, exercise, and weight-loss maintenance for knee Osteoarthritis (OA) prevention in adult females aged ≥ 50 years with obesity and no or infrequent knee pain. The primary aim is to compare the effects of a dietary weight loss, exercise, and weight-loss maintenance to an attention control group in preventing the development of structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) knee OA. Secondary aims will determine the intervention effects on pain, mobility, health-related quality of life, knee joint compressive forces, inflammatory measures, weight loss, exercise self-efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of this intervention.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2024

open study

Demonstrate the feasibility of conducting an eight-week, (45 min/week), theory driven, virtually-delivered, tailored music-based relaxation (TiMBRe) intervention to decrease anxiety in adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors with clinically-relevant anxiety.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2025

open study

This is an open label, multicenter, phase 1/2 study to assess the safety/tolerability and preliminary clinical activity of STAR0602 as a single agent administered intravenously in participants with advanced solid tumors that are antigen-rich.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2023

open study

Newly released guidelines recommend increased physical activity (PA) and reduced sedentary behaviors (SB) to improve glycemia and prevent the onset and progression of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Typically, 30-60 min bouts of PA are advocated per day. Although this approach increases PA, it does not decrease the length of the sedentary periods through the day. This is important because recent epidemiological data suggest that frequently interrupting sedentary time improves glucose control even in people who achieve the recommended levels of PA. Preliminary experimental data suggest that breaking up prolonged sedentary time by performing multiple short bouts (5 min) of PA throughout the day, may improve glycemia more than performing a single continuous bout of PA, and thereby potentially be a novel strategy to prevent T2D. The improvement in glycemia was observed even when the total amount of PA and total energy expenditure were matched, suggesting that how and when PA is performed over the day may matter more than how much PA is done. However, important gaps in knowledge remain including: (1) whether similar benefits on glucose control would be observed in adults with prediabetes, a clinically relevant population that is at high risk of developing T2D; (2) whether these effects are sustained or diluted over time, and (3) what are the mechanistic underpinnings. To address these gaps, the investigators propose to measure the acute and chronic effects of PA breaks on glucose control and the underlying mechanisms in individuals at risk of developing T2D. Sedentary men and women with prediabetes (n=66, 50% F) will be randomized to either an intervention designed to interrupt SB with 5-min bouts of brisk walking performed hourly for 9 hours/day, 5 days/week (BREAK) or a control condition consisting of 45-min of brisk walking performed as a single daily continuous bout, 5 days/week (ONE). The two 3-months interventions will be matched for total active time.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2021

open study

The goal of this project evaluate the efficacy of NiteCAPP in improving insomnia in a rural dementia caregiver sample (n of 100 caregiver and PWD dyads). We will measure both the short term (post-treatment) and long term (6 and 12 months) effects of the intervention on CG sleep, arousal, inflammation, health, mood, burden and cognitive function, and PWD sleep.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2022

open study

This study will compare the effects on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) of aerobic exercise in different amounts (number of minutes/session) over different periods of time (number of weeks). Aerobic exercise is physical activity of light-to-moderate intensity that uses the large muscle groups (muscles in your legs, buttocks, back, and chest) and can be performed for at least 10 minutes. The researchers will study the effects of different exercise programs on how well the study participants' bodies use oxygen, how well their heart pumps blood, how well their lungs function, and how healthy their blood vessels are.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2020

open study