Clinical Trials

A major focus of recent research has been the development of effective ways of sensitizing the patient's immune system to recognize the cancer as foreign. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation represents a novel way of potentially achieving this goal. There is recent evidence that non-myeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation provides effective therapy for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Based on the preliminary reports from other investigators treating patient with breast and ovarian cancer, the investigators of this study would propose treating an expanded cohort of patients with any metastatic solid tumor.

The principal endpoints of the trial will include incidence of durable engraftment, quality of hematopoietic and immune reconstitution, extent of donor chimerism, incidence and severity of acute and chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD), and incidence of long-term disease free survival (DFS). The investigators will evaluate the tumor response of patients with stable or progressive disease post-transplant to donor lymphocyte infusions (DLI). The investigators will also study the effects of DLI on T-cell immunity in the recipients.

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation may provide long-term remissions for some patients with hematological malignancies. However, allogeneic transplantation is associated with a significant risk of potentially life threatening complications due to the effects of chemotherapy and radiation on the body and the risks of serious infection. In addition, patients may develop a condition called Graft versus host disease that arises from an inflammatory reaction of the donor cells against the recipient's normal tissues. The risk of graft versus host disease is somewhat increased in patients who are receiving a transplant from an unrelated donor.

One approach to reduce the toxicity of allogeneic transplantation is a strategy call nonmyeloablative or "mini" transplants. In this approach, patients receive a lower dose of chemotherapy in an effort to limit treatment related side effects. Patients undergoing this kind of transplant remain at risk for graft versus host disease particularly if they receive a transplant from an unrelated donor. The purpose of this research study is to examine the ability of a drug called CAMPATH-1H to reduce the risk of graft versus host disease and make transplantation safer. CAMPATH-1H binds to and eliminates cells in the system such as T cells that can cause graft versus host disease (GvHD). As a result, earlier studies have shown that patients who receive CAMPATH-1H with an allogeneic transplant have a lower risk of GvHD. In the present study, we will examine the impact of treatment with CAMPATH-1H as part of an allogeneic transplant on the development of GvHD and infection. In addition, we will study the effects of CAMPATH-1H on the immune system by testing blood samples in the laboratory.

JC virus is a benign virus which infects approximately up to 90% of the normal adult population. However, it may be reactivated in people who have a decreased immune function as in HIV infection, cancer, chemotherapy, transplant recipients, or in MS patients treated with natalizumab (Tysabri). In these patients, JC virus can cause a severe brain disease called Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML), for which there is no cure.

As of September 2013, 400 MS patients in the world, who have been treated with natalizumab, have developed PML. The risk of PML is approximately 5 patients in 1000 after 24 months on the drug. Researchers do not know exactly in which cells of the body the virus lives but it has been isolated from the blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and from the brains of patients with immunosuppression.

In this study, the investigators wish to determine precisely where the virus lives, and how the body prevents it from causing brain disease.

Because of the association of PML with natalizumab, the investigators would like to see if there is a difference in the amounts of virus in blood, urine, and CSF found in MS patients treated with natalizumab or those treated with different medications for MS, or those not treated at all. The investigators hope that this knowledge will allow us to find better ways of preventing the development of PML as well as treatments for patients with PML.

The investigators are studying if taking simvastatin and vitamin D together will help prevent episodic migraines. Simvastatin is an FDA approved drug that is typically used to treat high cholesterol and reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack. Vitamin D is a vitamin found in certain foods like some types of fish, and in nutritional supplements. This study is 9 months long. Some people who participate will receive simvastatin and vitamin D, and some people will receive a placebo. A placebo is a "sugar pill" that looks like medication but does not have any active ingredients in it.

The investigators hypothesize that taking vitamin D and simvastatin daily may reduce the number of migraines people who have episodic migraine get.

We propose a pilot study to determine the feasibility of a long-term clinical trial of alcohol intake on atherosclerosis, the first step in determining whether moderate drinking prevents cardiovascular disease and hence in understanding the full health effects of alcohol across the population. We will randomize 40 participants aged 55 and older to a six-month period of consumption of 1 glass per day of either pure alcohol (diluted to the strength of wine) or water. At baseline and after 6 months, we will measure several standard and novel cardiovascular risk markers in the blood and will perform magnetic resonance imaging to measure atherosclerosis of the aorta.

The purpose of this protocol is:

To quantify the prevalence of adherence to topical mesalamine in patients with UC

To describe the determinants of medication adherence in patients with UC prescribed topical mesalamine

The purpose of this study is to preliminarily determine whether the frequency and/or severity of vasomotor symptoms (VMS) at baseline, and then after symptom reduction with gabapentin, relates to various cardiovascular control measures.

The combination of ketaconazole and hydrocortisone is commonly used for the treatment of prostate cancer. The purpose of this study is to determine if the addition of a drug called dutasteride to this approved combination will make the combination more effective in treating prostate cancer.

Evidence-based medicine depends on distinguishing between pharmacological effects and placebo effects in randomized controlled trials (RCT). This proposal seeks to rigorously investigate fundamental questions concerning pharmacological effects, placebo effects and their interactions. Relief of symptoms of acute migraine will be the test condition for this scientific experiment because of migraine's evident clinical significance and the possibility of using participants as their own control during sequential acute migraine attacks. Our overall goal is to elucidate how the pharmacological effects of 100 mg rizatriptan (an FDA-proven effective medication for acute migraine) and the effects of placebo treatment can be modified by varied knowledge and/or expectation ("contextual") conditions. Such knowledge has the possibility to suggest potentially more efficient methodologies to test new medications that can be used to augment and enhance the apparatus of the RCT.

General Aim: To elucidate and clarify what is a pharmacological effect and what is a placebo effect, how such effects vary in different knowledge/expectations contexts, and mutually constitute one another and interact.

General Hypothesis: The measured pharmacological effect of an effective medication (rizatriptan) and the measured effect of placebo treatment are determined significantly by different knowledge/expectations contexts.

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the efficacy and toxic effects of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I (rhIGF-I) on carbohydrate tolerance, insulin action, insulin secretion, hyperandrogenism, and hyperlipidemia in patients with severe insulin resistance who have failed other therapies.

II. Determine the dose and time response of rhIGF-I on carbohydrate homeostasis and secondary abnormalities in this patient population.

III. Determine the effect of rhIGF-I on insulin clearance, the regulation of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1, the regulation of sex hormone binding globulin, and hypothalamic pituitary gonadal axis in this patient population.

The researches aim to study the effects of DHA (component of fish oil) on patients with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). Our hypothesis is that DHA might reverse the problems associated with PSC.

This study is testing whether the addition of a noninvasive form of brain stimulation called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) when combined with meditation helps decrease the abdominal pain in patients with chronic pancreatitis. The device involved in this study, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is investigational. This means that the study device is still being tested in research studies and is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration [FDA].

This study will look at the safety and efficacy of treating advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in patients who have not yet received systemic chemotherapy. Previous local treatment of hepatic lesions is permitted The treatment will use a combination of three FDA approved chemotherapy drugs, Gemcitabine, Cisplatin and Sorafenib. Sorafenib is FDA approved for the treatment of hepatocellular cancer, gemcitabine and cisplatin are not approved for the treatment of hepatocellular cancer.

Trials evaluating new therapies for stopping or slowing the progression of ALS depend critically upon the use of outcome measures to assess whether a potential treatment is effective. The more effective an outcome measure, the fewer patients need to be enrolled and the shorter the trial. Many outcome measures have been used over the years, including strength assessments, breathing tests, functional status surveys, and nerve testing, but all are far from ideal. A new method, called electrical impedance myography (EIM) appears to be especially promising in that it provides very consistent data from one testing session to the next, is sensitive to the muscle deterioration that occurs in ALS, and is entirely painless and non-invasive. In this study, investigators from multiple institutions plan to compare several different outcome measures, including EIM, in approximately 120 ALS patients, with each patient being followed for a period of one year. All of these measures will be compared to one another and an assessment of their ability to detect disease progression made. Our goal will be to determine whether EIM can serve as a valuable new outcome measure, ultimately leading to substantially faster, more effective ALS trials requiring fewer patients.

Delirium (acute confusion) is a highly prevalent condition among hospitalized elders with substantial morbidity within the hospital and beyond. Particular patient populations are at high risk for poor outcomes after an episode of delirium. Patients with hip and other long bone fractures are at increased risk of developing delirium (acute confusion) which impedes functional recovery. This is a pilot study to test the tolerability and efficacy of donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor medication used commonly in persons with dementia, for the prevention of new or worsening delirium in aged hip and other long-bone fracture patients. Additional purposes involve gathering a small amount of patients' serum to better understand the pathophysiology of delirium in this population.

The purposes of this pilot study are to determine: 1) the safety and tolerability a cholinesterase inhibitor medication) in aged hip and long bone fracture patients, 2) To obtain estimates of subject accrual and preliminary estimates of effect size on the development of new delirium symptoms to allow for planning of a larger, definitive trial, 3) To better understand the underlying causes of delirium by examining whether a measure of blood anticholinergic activity relates to the incidence and persistence of delirium symptoms, and 4) To explore the interaction between anticholinergic activity, donepezil therapy, and delirium symptoms.

The Shock Tool study is designed to improve the clinical evaluation for differentiating shock in the emergency department. The goal of this study is to evaluate and improve the accuracy of physicians differentiating causes of shock.

The purpose of the research study is to investigate the effect of a brain stimulation technique called Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS) in improving swallowing functions in subjects who develop dysphagia after a unilateral hemispheric infarction.

The purpose of this research study is to determine if the combination of chemotherapy and hormone therapy is safe and helpful for patients who plan to have their high-risk prostate cancer surgically removed. Some physicians believe that patients with high risk cancer that is located in one area, may have an early but small spread of the cancer outside of the prostate, and perhaps even to distant organs. Therefore, better treatments for the entire body are needed to improve the ability of surgery or other local therapies to cure prostate cancer. Since chemotherapy is beginning to demonstrate increasing activity in advanced prostate cancer patients, it is possible that using chemotherapy combined with hormonal therapy earlier in the course of localized but high risk patients might improve the outcomes for these patients.

Hypothesis: The use of a mobile robotic telepresence system for off-hours rounding in the surgical intensive care unit has an impact on nurse-physician collaboration.

Study question: Does the addition of mobile video communication provided by RTP affect nurse-physician collaboration during off shift rounding in the surgical intensive care unit when compared to the more common clinical practice of off-shift rounding using the telephone?

Using phase contrast MR Angiography with NOVA® Software, this study intends to identify,evaluate and map intracranial aneurysm development as well as develope a predicator for future morphological changes of aneurysms and possible risk of future rupture.

RATIONALE: Boron neutron capture therapy may selectively kill tumor cells without harming normal tissue.

PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of boron neuron capture therapy in treating patients with stage III melanoma.

RATIONALE: Interleukin-12 may kill tumor cells by stopping blood flow to the tumor and by stimulating a person's white blood cells to kill breast cancer cells.

PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of interleukin-12 in treating women with metastatic breast cancer who have received high-dose chemotherapy and peripheral stem cell transplantation.

Hypothesis:

Mesalamine is commonly used to induce and maintain remission in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Behavioral and psycho-social barriers to mesalamine adherence exist in patients with IBD. These factors can be identified using qualitative testing in order to develop a validated instrument to measure the "adherence profile" of an individual patient, and design appropriate behavioral interventions to reduce non-adherence.

Objectives:

To test a novel interview instrument that determines the medication adherence profile of patients with IBD prescribed mesalamine by correlating with objective measures of adherence

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy such as boron neutron capture therapy may kill tumor cells without harming normal tissue.

PURPOSE: Phase I/II trial to study the effectiveness of boron neutron capture therapy in treating patients who have glioblastoma multiforme or melanoma metastatic to the brain.

RATIONALE: Boron neutron capture therapy may selectively kill tumor cells without harming normal tissue.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of boron neutron capture therapy in treating patients who have melanoma.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells.

PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of combining docetaxel, carboplatin, and gemcitabine in treating patients who have previously untreated, newly diagnosed epithelial cancer.

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies can locate cancer cells and either kill them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal cells.

PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of monoclonal antibody therapy in treating patients with refractory anaplastic large cell lymphoma or Hodgkin's lymphoma.

RATIONALE: Thalidomide may stop the growth of cancer by stopping blood flow to the tumor.

PURPOSE: Phase I trial to determine the effectiveness of thalidomide in treating patients who have asymptomatic, indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die.

PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of topotecan in treating patients who have advanced ovarian epithelial, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.

With this clinical study, we hoped to find out if interactive, computer-based medical interviews, when carefully tested and honed and made available to patients in their homes on the Internet, will improve both the efficiency and quality of medical care and be well received and found helpful by patients and their physicians. We developed the computer-based medical interview consisting of over 6000 questions and a corresponding program that provides a concisely written, summary of the patient's responses to the questions in the interview. We then conducted read aloud and test/retest reliability evaluations of the interview and summary programs and determined the programs to be reliable. Results were published in the November 27, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American medical Informatics Association. We also developed, edited, and revised a program that provides a concisely written, summary of the patient's responses to the questions in the interview.

We obtained a grant from the Rx Foundation to conduct clinical trial of our medical history. At the time of the office visit, the summary of the computer-based history of those patients who had completed the interview was available on the doctor's computer screen for the doctor and patient to use together on a voluntary basis. The results of this trial were published in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Informatics Association.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of a new type of CT computer program(MeVis™)to accurately analyze and measure the size and changes in metastatic Liver and Lung tumors. This study will evaluate the data from current CT evaluation methods using the MeVis™ 3-D software.

Aggressive intraoperative and postoperative management of blood glucose may substantially decrease perioperative cardiovascular and infectious complications in diabetic and non-diabetic patients undergoing vascular surgery.

The purpose of this study is to compare the tight versus traditional blood glucose control in diabetics and non-diabetics undergoing vascular surgery in regard to their postoperative fatal and nonfatal cardiac outcomes, and the secondary effects such as rate of infections, overall morbidity and 30-day mortality.

Percutaneous large core image-guided breast biopsy is a well established tool in diagnosing breast cancer, but the associated anxiety and pain can tax the coping mechanism of even well functioning individuals. Unabated stress during an invasive procedure not only interferes with smooth progression of the ongoing procedure, but can also have deleterious effects when patients need additional procedures and dread recurrent medical traumatization. The long-term objective of this research is to provide patients with a simple coping strategy at the vulnerable time of large core biopsy in the hope that this behavioral intervention will carry over to recovery and future medical procedures. In the largest prospective randomized study of its kind, the researchers showed that a self-hypnotic intervention during percutaneous, image-guided vascular and renal interventions resulted in less pain and anxiety, greater hemodynamic stability, and fewer procedure interruptions. The positive effects of the short initial hypnotic intervention, which was structured in the procedure room, became more pronounced the longer the procedure lasted and carried over into the immediate post-procedure recovery. The investigators therefore challenge the current paradigms that long-lasting effects require intensive presurgical preparation.

The purpose of this study is to look at the effects of a procedure called radiofrequency ablation on kidney tumors from patients who are undergoing antiangiogenic treatment. Antiangiogenic treatment is a type of treatment that inhibits formation of new blood vessels that are required for tumor growth. Radiofrequency ablation (RF ablation) involves inserting a needle into tumor tissue and administering heat to the tumor tissue that is sufficient to kill the tumor cells.

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping is the standard of care for the surgical staging of breast cancer. We propose a method of SLN mapping based on the use of invisible near-infrared fluorescent light that has significant advantages for both patient and surgeon. The present study is a 6-patient pilot study designed to optimize clinical workflow with the new imaging system.

To perform a pilot study of the S-FLARE imaging system, which uses low levels of safe, invisible, near-infrared light to measure tissue oxygenation during breast reconstructive surgery and to compare S-FLARE measurements to the gold standard, FDA-approved, the ViOptix optical probe.

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of docetaxel in treating women who have ovarian epithelial cancer or primary peritoneal cancer that has not responded to previous treatment.

The main purpose of this study is to test the ergonomics of an investigational imaging system that can take pictures of blood vessels under the skin. In plastic and reconstructive surgery, blood flow to tissue determines whether the tissue can be transplanted from one location to another. This new imaging device uses invisible near-infrared fluorescent light to see blood vessels that otherwise could not be seen by eye. This study will test the system's basic operation and ergonomics in the operating room.

The investigators are investigating the benefits of a mind/body intervention, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, for adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

The purposes of this study is to determine if combination reduced fluence photodynamic therapy and Ranibizumab has:

Similar efficacy to Ranibizumab (Lucentis) alone. The ability to reduce the number of intravitreal injection of Ranibizumab or a 13 month period The ability to reduce the number of PDT treatments. The study will also collect information on the safety of combination therapy and single therapy.

To achieve safe,consistent, continuous sedation using Dexmedetomidine in advaced bronchoscopy procedures that may reduce the need for rapid pain sedative infusion.

This study will compare the incidence of post-op infection after sinus surgery using conventional post-op oral antibiotics to the incidence of infection after sinus surgery when a bio-resorbable antibiotic soaked nasal sponge is used in the nasal cavity in lieu of post-op oral antibiotics. The nasal sponge is a routine nasal dressing used after sinus surgery and will therefore be placed in all patients.

The purpose of our study is to explore the efficacy of combination of brain stimulation with visual rehabilitation in patients with visual field loss resulting from brain lesions. It is shown that the effect of sensorimotor training of hand can be enhanced in patients with stroke using brain stimulation. We decided to explore this combination for visual field loss because visual dysfunction following brain lesions is considered intractable. We hypothesize that combination of noninvasive brain stimulation, in the form of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), with visual rehabilitation would have greater efficacy than visual rehabilitation alone.

This study will compare the physiologic responses between exercise stress echocardiography and pharmacologic stress echocardiography on left ventricular volume and wall stress.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a stenting material called Nasopore. This is a synthetic material approved by FDA for use as a stent in postoperative sinus surgery patients. This study will compare the Nasopore stent to other approved stenting materials.

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness, safety and side effects of two chemotherapy drugs (gemcitabine and cisplatin) when combined with surgery after chemotherapy for patients with upper urinary tract cancer. The hypothesis is that undergoing chemotherapy prior to surgery will have a beneficial effect on prognosis and may improve overall survival as in patients with bladder cancer, and will allow better tolerance of chemotherapy than if it were given after surgery.

This preliminary study will compare the effectiveness of two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiographic measurements of wall thickness and left ventricular mass in patients with Aortic Stenosis

The investigators propose examine the effects of the dietary factor glycemic index (GI) on brain areas that control food intake and hunger. This knowledge could help design dietary approaches that decrease hunger, and thus promote new weight loss strategies.

Focal myometrial (uterine) contractions occur in a substantial number of vaginal ultrasound examinations and can impede accurate cervical length measurement and placental location determination. The timing of bladder voiding is associated with the prevalence of focal myometrial contractions on vaginal ultrasound cervical assessment. We propose a blinded randomized-controlled trial of bladder voiding immediately before vaginal ultrasound for cervical assessment compared with no bladder voiding immediately before vaginal ultrasound in order to determine the prevalence of focal myometrial contractions during vaginal ultrasound cervical assessment and test whether timing of bladder voiding is associated with their incidence.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether psychological intervention is effective in improving quality of life, mood, and relationships among adults with end-stage renal disease who are awaiting kidney transplantation.