California Paid Clinical Trials

Frailty and sarcopenia are modifiable risk factors for morbidity and mortality in patients with ESRD. Exercise is the recommended intervention to prevent frailty and sarcopenia, however, many clinical trials have shown limited clinical improvement in muscle mass and physical function. We propose that mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the deterrents to the effectiveness of the exercise. We plan to evaluate the additive effect of HIIT and CoQ10, a mitochondrial-targeted therapy, on mitochondrial function and physical performance. Understanding the interplay among CoQ10, exercise, and mitochondrial function will identify novel mechanisms to improve the efficiency of exercise. This will also serve to prevent frailty, sarcopenia, and muscle dysfunction in patients with ESRD. Read Less

Patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer who receive radiation therapy with and without chemotherapy develop altered sense of taste due to treatment effect, which typically arises in the second week of radiation therapy and progresses throughout the course of treatment. While some symptoms such as pain, mucositis, and xerostomia can be managed with pain medications and saliva replacements, taste alteration has an earlier onset and is a more difficult symptom to readily address and intervene upon. There are no effective established interventions for taste, although this is a major issue in the patient experience. The investigator will be examining they hypothesis that a miracle fruit cube would yield the greatest benefit to improve taste dysfunction in the beginning half of radiation treatment when taste function is decreased but not absent. Read Less

Acute rejection after kidney transplantation should ideally be diagnosed prior to immunologic injury in a non-invasive fashion in order to improve long-term graft function. Donor-derived cell-free DNA (ddcfDNA) is a promising method to do so as it is elevated prior to acute rejection and has good predictive performance especially for antibody-mediated and high severity T-cell mediated rejection. Its ability to predict low severity T-cell mediated rejection and future graft function remains equivocal. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are essential in transplant tolerance by suppressing effector immune responses. Circulating post-transplant highly suppressive HLA-DR+ Tregs were reduced in recipients who developed acute rejection. Preliminary results in a cohort including predominantly low severity T-cell mediated rejection also showed that pre-transplant circulating highly suppressive TNFR2+ Tregs were reduced in and could predict acute rejection. Integrating dd-cfDNA with HLA-DR+TNFR2+ Treg could improve the predictive performance for acute rejection especially of low severity and potentially predict graft function. Plasma dd-cfDNA and HLA-DR+TNFR2+ Tregs will be measured in 150 kidney transplant recipients at scheduled intervals during the first 6 months post-transplant. Predictive accuracy of a model integrating ddcfDNA and HLA-DR+TNFR2+ Treg for acute rejection will be tested using ROC curve analysis and multivariate logistic regression. Predictive accuracy for 1-year graft function will be tested using multivariate linear regression. High predictive performance for acute rejection and graft function using a model integrating dd-cfDNA and HLA-DR+TNFR2+ Treg would help identify kidney transplant recipients at immunologic risk early on and allow personalization of immunosuppression accordingly. Read Less

Vulvar cancer patients with SN-metastasis > 2mm will receive chemoradiation instead of an inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy. Read Less

Although the newly developed biologics (drugs derived from living cells cultured in a laboratory) are highly effective in controlling psoriasis, all the biologics should be continuously injected to suppress recurrence of the disease. In this regard, the observation in the phase II clinical trial conducted by us (Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology at the Rockefeller University) was groundbreaking that just a single dose of anti-IL-23p19 antibody (risankizumab, trade name: Skyrizi, study drug in this clinical trial) administration produced disease clearance up to 66 weeks in 46% (6 of 13) of patients. However, there is a lack of understanding about immune regulation in human skin induced by anti-IL-23p19 antibody injection, and there is a need to conduct a psoriasis clinical trial for single-cell sequencing immune cells in human psoriasis skin before and after anti-IL-23p19 antibody administration, and to correlate regulatory immune cell alterations with clinical disease progression. The overall objective of the clinical trial is to study regulatory immune cell alterations induced by anti-IL-23p19 antibody administration in psoriasis patients who achieve long-term disease clearance off drugs. Read Less

Pancreatic cysts are found incidentally on 15-50% of CT and MRIs for all indications and their prevalence is increasing. Many of these cysts may be precursors to pancreatic cancer, and thus pose a substantial risk, however, the vast majority are benign. Increased detection of pancreatic cysts provides an opportunity to diagnose pancreatic malignancy at an early, curable stage yet also increases the potential to over-treat clinically insignificant lesions. This presents a clinical challenge to prevent unnecessary resection of indolent disease, with associated risks of infections, bleeding, diabetes, and costly disability. Unfortunately, there is little information on the epidemiology and natural history of pancreatic cysts to help guide management. Read Less

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a common and debilitating skin disease that is poorly understood and understudied. As a result, little is known about disease prognosis and few effective treatments exist for this condition. This prospective observational cohort study aims to comprehensively characterize the clinical and biological features of HS. The results of this research will provide a basis for the development of an HS clinical classification system and identification of potential treatments for HS. Read Less

Osteoporotic fractures are a key health problem in older men. Although there are drugs approved to treat osteoporosis in men [bisphosphonates, denosumab, and teriparatide (TPTD) or PTH(1-34)], there is a lack of knowledge on how to use them effectively. TPTD is a potent bone anabolic drug, meaning that it builds bone mass. However, doctors do not know if it should only be used as single drug or whether it can be more effectively combined to achieve the most benefit? This trial will test a novel combination therapy for osteoporosis in men based on exciting laboratory findings in mice. TPTD works to raise bone mass and improve bone strength by stimulating PTH receptors (PTH-Rs) on the membranes of bone-forming cells or osteoblasts (OBs). Calcimimetics are drugs that activate calcium receptors (CaSRs) in OBs. CaSRs in OBs participate in new bone formation. Daily injections of TPTD, given along with a calcimimetic drug (called NPS-R568), over 6 weeks markedly improved bone mineral density (BMD) and structure in mice. This study will test whether the combined activation of PTH-Rs and CaSRs (by the combination treatment of TPTD+calcimimetic cinacalcet) in men will produce greater bone forming responses than PTH-R activation alone (TPTD+placebo). The study has two aims and will be done in 48 men with low bone mass: (1) to determine the effects of 11 months treatment with TPTD+cinacalcet vs TPTD+placebo on BMD and bone metabolism by assessing lumbar spine BMD (primary endpoint), femoral neck BMD, and levels of the bone formation marker serum N-terminal pro-peptide of type 1 collagen; (2) to determine the biochemical responses by blood tests in men who receive the combination of TPTD+cinacalcet compared to men who get TPTD+placebo treatment. This is done by quantifying acute and chronic changes in serum calcium and PTH levels right after these drugs are given and how much calcium is excreted in the urine over time, with both treatment regimens. This study will help to understand whether an effective combination therapy in mice will prove to be effective in men. Read Less

This phase I trial studies the best dose and side effects of CD19/CD22 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells when given together with chemotherapy, and to see how well they work in treating children or young adults with CD19 positive B acute lymphoblastic leukemia that has come back or does not respond to treatment. A CAR is a genetically-engineered receptor made so that immune cells (T cells) can attack cancer cells by recognizing and responding to the CD19/CD22 proteins. These proteins are commonly found on B acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as fludarabine phosphate and cyclophosphamide, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Giving CD19/CD22-CAR T cells and chemotherapy may work better in treating children or young adults with B acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Read Less

This phase I clinical trial tests the immune effects of fermented wheat germ in patients with advanced solid tumor cancers who are being treated with standard of care checkpoint inhibitors. Fermented wheat germ is a nutritional supplement that some claim is a "dietary food for special medical purposes for cancer patients" to support them in treatment. There have also been claims that fermented wheat germ is "clinically proven" and "recognized by medical experts" to "enhance oncological treatment" and boost immune response to cancer; however, there are currently no documented therapeutic effects of fermented wheat germ as a nutritional supplement. Checkpoint inhibitors, given as part of standard of care for advanced solid tumors, are a type of immunotherapy that may help the body's immune system attack the cancer and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. The information gained from this trial may allow researchers to determine if there is any value of giving fermented wheat germ with standard of care checkpoint inhibitors for patients with advanced solid tumor malignancies. Read Less

This will be a Phase 1, multicenter, open-label trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, PK and efficacy of ZN-A-1041 as a monotherapy or in combination in patients with HER2-positive advanced solid tumors with or without brain metastases. The study will consist of three phases: Phase 1a (dose escalation with ZN-A-1041 monotherapy), Phase 1b (dose escalation with ZN-A-1041 combination therapy) and Phase 1c (dose expansion with ZN-A-1041 combination therapy). Read Less

Recovery-oriented care is an imperative for the VA, particularly in mental health programming for Veterans with serious mental illness (SMI). Collaborative decision-making (CDM) is a recovery-oriented approach to treatment decision-making that assigns equal participation and obligation to patients and providers across all aspects of decision-making, thereby empowering patients and facilitating better decision-making based on patient values and preferences. CDM is associated with several important outcomes including improved treatment engagement, treatment satisfaction, and social functioning. However, current levels of CDM among Veterans with SMI are low, and there is not yet an evidence-based method to improve CDM. Improving Veteran skill sets associated with engaging in CDM is a potential intervention strategy. Collaborative Decision Skills Training (CDST) is a promising new intervention that was previously developed by the applicant for use in adult civilians with SMI and found to improve relevant skills and improve sense of personal recovery. The proposed study has two primary stages. First, a small, one-armed, open label trial will establish CDST's feasibility will evaluate CDST among 12 Veterans with SMI receiving services at the VA San Diego Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC) and identify and complete any needed adaptations to CDST. Stakeholder feedback from Veterans, VA clinicians, and VA administrators will be collected to assess Veteran needs and service context to identify any needed adaptations to the CDST manual or the delivery of CDST to maximize its impact and feasibility. The developers of CDST will review all feedback and make final decisions about adaptations to ensure that CDST retains its essential components to protect against loss of efficacy. For example, a recommendation to adjust role-play topics to better reflect the needs of Veterans would be accepted because it would increase CDST's relevance without impairing its integrity, but a recommendation to remove all role-plays would not be accepted because it would cause loss of a key component. Second, CDST will be compared to active control (AC) using a randomized clinical trial of 72 Veterans. The primary outcome measure will be functioning within the rehabilitation context, operationalized as frequency of Veteran CDM behaviors during Veteran-provider interactions. Secondary outcomes are treatment attendance, engagement, satisfaction, and motivation, along with treatment outcomes (i.e., rehabilitation goal attainment, sense of personal recovery, symptom severity, and social functioning). Three exploratory outcomes will be assessed: Veteran-initiated collaborative behaviors, acute service use and provider attitudes and behavior. Veterans will be randomly assigned to CDST or AC conditions. Veterans in the both groups will attend eight hour-long group sessions held over eight weeks. All Veterans will complete an assessment battery at baseline, post-intervention, and at three-month post-intervention follow-up. Following the trial and adaptation phase, the findings will be used to develop a CDST service delivery manual and design a logical subsequent study. The results of the proposed study will inform the potential for larger trials of CDST and the utility of providing CDST broadly to Veterans with SMI. The results of this study will expand current understanding of CDM among Veterans with SMI by providing data that will: 1) identify adaptations needed to optimize CDST for Veterans receiving services in PRRCs; 2) identify possible benefits of CDST; 3) inform development of alternate interventions or methods to improve CDM; and 4) further elucidate CDM and associated treatment processes among Veterans with SMI receiving VA rehabilitation services. Read Less