Los Angeles, CA Paid Clinical Trials

Patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis may need surgery to correct their scoliosis. General anesthesia is required for this surgery, and a multimodal analgesic regimen using combinations of opioid and non-opioid medications is the standard of care. The purpose of this study is to compare two combinations of total intravenous anesthetic medications in children with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis having posterior spinal fusion surgery. Participants in the study will be randomly selected to receive either Propofol and Remifentanil or Propofol and Dexmedetomidine as their total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA). TIVA is favored over gas anesthesia because gas anesthesia can affect the neurological monitoring necessary for this surgery. The first combination (Propofol + Remifentanil) is the most common one used for this surgery at our institution, and the second combination (Propofol + Dexmedetomidine) is more commonly used in adult spine surgery. Though Dexmedetomidine is not approved for pediatric use by the FDA, it is widely used in pediatric patients for procedural sedation and surgical anesthesia in the US and worldwide. Both anesthetic combinations are used safely in adult and pediatric patients at our institution. Although remifentanil works fast and is an excellent pain medication during surgery, there are reports that it's use can cause increased pain sensitivity and greater need for narcotic pain medication after surgery. This phenomenon is known as opioid-induced hyperalgesia. The investigators hypothesize that avoiding the use of remifentanil in the TIVA by using dexmedetomidine could avoid OIH and thus result in superior postop pain control. Our study's primary goal is to measure the total opioid consumption on postoperative days (POD)# 0 and 1. Our secondary goals are to measure the pain scores on a visual analog scale (VAS) on POD# 0 and 1, measure the time it takes for participants to move their feet to command when surgery is done, and measure the time it takes for participants to be extubated when surgery is done. By comparing these measurements, the investigators hope to find out if there is any significant difference between the two TIVAs in terms of postop opioid requirements, pain scores, and time to wake up from anesthesia. The investigators hope that our study gives us more knowledge on how to better treat postoperative pain in children who have spine surgery to correct their Read Less

The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) will investigate the long-term effects of cancer and its associated therapies. A retrospective cohort study will be conducted through a multi-institutional collaboration, which will involve the identification and active follow-up of a cohort of approximately 50,000 survivors of cancer, diagnosed before 21 years of age, between 1970 and 1999 and 10,000 sibling controls. This project will study children and young adults exposed to specific therapeutic modalities, including radiation, chemotherapy, and/or surgery, who are at increased risk of late-occurring adverse health outcomes. A group of sibling controls will be identified and data collected for comparison purposes. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to observe predictors of pituitary tumor recurrence and markers of persistent disease activity in patients harboring pituitary mass lesions of all types. Read Less

To improve upon the non-invasive detection of bladder cancer by further validating a multiplex ELISA assay directed at a bladder cancer-associated diagnostic signature in voided urine samples of patients with a high risk of developing bladder cancer. Read Less

The investigators objective is to run human clinical trials in which brain activity recorded through a "brain-chip" implanted in the human brain can be used to provide novel communication capabilities to severely paralyzed individuals by allowing direct brain-control of a computer interface. A prospective, longitudinal, single-arm early feasibility study will be used to examine the safety and effectiveness of using a neural communication system to control a simple computer interface and a tablet computer. Initial brain control training will occur in simplified computer environments, however, the ultimate objective of the clinical trial is to allow the human patient autonomous control over the Google Android tablet operating system. Tablet computers offer a balance of ease of use and functionality that should facilitate fusion with the BMI. The tablet interface could potentially allow the patient population to make a phone call, manage personal finances, watch movies, paint pictures, play videogames, program applications, and interact with a variety of "smart" devices such as televisions, kitchen appliances, and perhaps in time, devices such as robotic limbs and smart cars. Brain control of tablet computers has the potential to greatly improve the quality of life of severely paralyzed individuals. Five subjects will be enrolled, each implanted with the NCS for a period of at least 53 weeks and up to 313 weeks. The study is expected to take at least one year and up to six years in total. Read Less

This study is being done to determine if traces of tumor can be found in the blood before, during, and after patients stop treatment. We will analyze the tumor material to see if it is similar to tumor tissue and if the tumor material in blood is helpful in monitoring the disease. Read Less

In this study, quantitative characterization of plaque using coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) will be used to determine if women who were treated with intensive medical therapy have a greater reduction in the amount and type of cholesterol plaque compared to women receiving usual care and if this results in beneficial changes in clinical symptoms. The study will provide an understanding of how intensive medical therapy works in providing clinical benefit in women with nonobstructive plaque. Read Less

This study is a platform study designed to efficiently test multiple biomarkers to identify diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) with a higher potential for healing versus not healing that ultimately could be applied at the point of care to drive personalized management decisions, and to better inform clinical trials of wound healing interventions Read Less

This phase III trial compares the effect of adding surgery to a standard of care immunotherapy-based drug combination versus a standard of care immunotherapy-based drug combination alone in treating patients with kidney cancer that has spread to other places in the body (metastatic). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, ipilimumab, pembrolizumab, and avelumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Axitinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Surgery to remove the kidney, called a nephrectomy, is also considered standard of care; however, doctors who treat kidney cancer do not agree on its benefits. It is not yet known if the addition of surgery to an immunotherapy-based drug combination works better than an immunotherapy-based drug combination alone in treating patients with kidney cancer. Read Less

This phase II trial compares the effect of encorafenib, binimetinib, and nivolumab versus ipilimumab and nivolumab in treating patients with BRAF- V600 mutant melanoma that has spread to the brain (brain metastases). Encorafenib and binimetinib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Ipilimumab and nivolumab are monoclonal antibodies that may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. This trial aims to find out which approach is more effective in shrinking and controlling brain metastases from melanoma. Read Less

This phase III trial studies how well standard systemic therapy with or without definitive treatment (prostate removal surgery or radiation therapy) works in treating participants with prostate cancer that has spread to other places in the body. Addition of prostate removal surgery or radiation therapy to standard systemic therapy for prostate cancer may lower the chance of the cancer growing or spreading. Read Less

This phase II trial studies how well ramucirumab and paclitaxel or the FOLFIRI regimen (leucovorin calcium, fluorouracil, and irinotecan hydrochloride) work in treating patients with small bowel cancers that have spread extensively to other anatomic sites (advanced) or are no longer responding to treatment (refractory). Ramucirumab is a monoclonal antibody that attaches to and inhibits a molecule called VEGFR-2. This may restrain new blood vessel formation therefore reducing nutrient supply to tumor which may interfere with tumor cell growth and expansion. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as paclitaxel, leucovorin calcium, fluorouracil, and irinotecan hydrochloride work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving Ramucirumab plus paclitaxel or FOLFIRI, may be helpful in treating advanced or refractory small bowel cancers and may help patients live longer. Read Less