Inflammation Clinical Trials

The objective of the current study is to test the overarching hypothesis that the beef nutritive matrix is uniquely suited to direct dietary zinc to cellular compartments for improved metabolic function, leading to a greater effect on health outcomes. Specifically, whether beef, as a component of a healthy meal, will promote the absorption of zinc into cells, where the zinc will have greater effects on zinc-dependent metabolic processes supporting cardiovascular health. To maximize the observability of these beef-related effects, individuals who are 55- to 70-year-old who generally have a higher risk of zinc deficiency and cardiovascular disease will be enrolled. Read Less

The purpose of this research study is to determine the effectiveness of low dose colchicine (LoDoCo) on measures of exercise capacity, physical function, frailty, and quality of life, among patients with heart failure with chronic stable preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and systemic inflammation. The use of LoDoCo in this study is considered investigational as it has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of exercise capacity in patients with HFpEF. Participants will undergo a 1-day screening that includes a blood draw and physical examination. If deemed eligible for the study, participants will undergo a baseline visit within 2 weeks of screening visit that includes physical examination, exercise testing, echocardiography and completion of quality-of-life surveys. Participants will also be randomized at this visit (randomly assigned to a group) to receive either LoDoCo or placebo (inactive substance) for 3 months. Participants will be called back at 3 months for repeat physical examination, blood draws, echocardiography, exercise testing and completion of quality-of-life surveys. Each visit will take about 3 hours. Total study duration is about 3 months. Read Less

The LION Study is a prospective, single-center phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and distribution of Laquinimod administered as topical eye drops for two weeks in human participants. Read Less

Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) encompass a range of mental health disorders that occur during pregnancy and up to one year postpartum. Approximately 13% of women experience PMADs. This rate doubles for those with adverse perinatal outcomes (APO) and triples in Black women. Recent research points to racism as one significant source of these health disparities. Cultural adaptations to improve communication with providers decrease rates of depression in minority patients as well as improve adherence to treatment, insight and alliance. Discrimination stress and worries about experiencing medical consequences are thought to increase systemic inflammation, a mechanism known to drive mental and physical symptoms. Inflammation has been implicated in both PMADs and APO, suggesting a shared underlying etiology. Evidence from our work suggests that inflammation contributes to the pathophysiology of PMADs. The proposed pilot randomized control trial will allow the investigators to build on promising preliminary results and identify whether our culturally relevant mobile Health (mHealth) intervention is effective in improving outcomes among Black pregnant women randomized to the intervention compared to a control group. The culturally relevant modules include building communication and self-advocacy skills and provide a support network. The primary objective of this research is to provide guidance for clinical care of Black women during the perinatal period, with the goal to improve mental health and physical health outcomes. A secondary goal is to examine novel inflammatory signatures that change as a function of the intervention to reduce PMADs in this population. As inflammation may be diagnostic of PMADs, identification of its role may shed light of potential intervention targets and provide critical knowledge to improve women's long-term health. PMAD symptoms will be assessed prospectively in 150 Black pregnant women, half of whom will be randomized to receive the culturally relevant mHealth intervention. The investigators hypothesize that women in the intervention group will have reduced rates of PMADs and APOs, an increase in adherence to mental health treatment and will report increased self-advocacy skills, increased communication with providers, and reduced levels of discrimination related stress. Participants will also have improved biological risk indicators including lower circulating C-reactive protein and a transcription profile of differentially expressed inflammatory genes, marked by a decreased activity of inflammatory transcription factors from blood spots. Given the high burden of both PMADs and APOs among Black mothers and the numerous consequences on maternal and child outcomes, it is imperative that investigators develop and implement effective interventions, and test the biological mechanisms that might drive these effects. This work is interdisciplinary, building on a network of community advocates to implement a novel mHealth intervention informed by real world experiences designed to enhance self-advocacy, reduce stress and prevent adverse outcomes Read Less

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the effects of inflammation-lowering therapy on mobility and disability in older adults. The main questions it aims to answer are: Will therapy improve walking speed/pace? Will therapy improve levels of blood inflammation markers and other indicators of physical, cognitive and immune function? Participants will be asked to receive injections of drug or placebo every 4 weeks for 24 weeks. They will also be asked to undergo testing that assesses physical function, thinking ability and brain health, breathing capacity, and blood vessel stiffness, and will have blood samples collected to measure immune function and to create a bank of samples for future testing. Comparisons will be made between those who receive drug and those who receive placebo. Read Less

Investigators propose to study youth across the spectrum of body mass index (BMI) and dysglycemia. This approach will allow investigators to disentangle the relationship of key features of type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk (e.g. obesity) with intermediary physiologic changes (e.g. insulin resistance, inflammation, β-cell dysfunction and dysglycemia) that pose a risk for the brain. Investigators will determine which of these factors are most associated with differences in brain structure and function among groups, over time, and how these effects differ from normal neurodevelopment. Read Less

The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to understand how a cognitive-behavioral treatment (a form of psychological treatment) for depression changes the gut microbiome (micro-organisms that regulate the health of the gut), immune system, and the brain functioning in people living with HIV. Read Less

Psoriasis is a chronic and recurrent skin disorder characterized by marked inflammatory changes in the skin. An extensive cytokine network including generated by activated dendritic cells and T cells mediates the formation of psoriatic lesions. These immune-response parameters can be used as markers in the severity and management of the disease after further in-depth studies. Read Less

In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), the investigators will recruit participants to an 8-week "app-based wellness" intervention, followed by a 12-week follow-up period. The investigators will recruit a total of 276 self-declared Chronic Hematological Cancer (CHC) patients who (representative of age, race/ethnicity, and gender) will be on stable CHC pharmacologic therapy (if any), self-identify as sleep disturbed (>5 on Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), do not have a sleep disorder diagnosis, do not take sleep medication/supplements >3 times per week, and are not currently practicing regular meditation. Aim 1: Test the efficacy of two app-based wellness programs (10 minutes per day) on the primary outcome of self reported sleep disturbance (Insomnia Severity Index (primary) and PROMIS Sleep Disturbance (secondary)) and secondary sleep outcomes including sleep impairment (PROMIS Sleep Impairment Scale) and sleep efficiency measured via sleep diaries and actigraphy. Aim 2: Test the efficacy of two app-based wellness programs (10 minutes per day) on inflammatory markers (i.e., TNF-a, IL-6, IL-8, CRP), fatigue, and emotional distress (i.e., anxiety, depressive symptoms measured with PROMIS®). Aim 3: Explore the sustained effects (i.e., 20 weeks from baseline) of two app-based wellness programs (10 minutes per day) in CHC patients. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to develop and optimize a targeted behavioral intervention for sleep disturbance among individuals who have recently lost a spouse/long-term cohabitating partner. In the first phase of this study, patient focus groups were conducted to gather information about the unique sleep challenges experienced by spousally bereaved individuals and the kinds of support they would like to receive from a program based on Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). In the second phase of the study, a two-arm randomized controlled trial will be conducted to compare changes in sleep and inflammation among participants in the targeted CBT-I intervention to those in an information-only control. Participants will be asked to attend two in-person visits (at baseline and, approx. 8 weeks later, at post-treatment) to provide a blood sample and have vital signs and basic anthropometric measurements (height, weight, waist circumference) taken. After their baseline visit, participants will be randomized into either the targeted CBT-I intervention or the information-only control. The targeted CBT-I intervention will entail 6 online sessions (approx. 50 mins. each) delivered via videoconference by a trained facilitator, once per week over the course of approx. 6 weeks. The information-only control will entail 1 online session (approx. 50 mins.) delivered via videoconference by a trained facilitator. Sleep data (collected via both actigraphy watches and patient self-report sleep diaries) and data on mood, grief, and sleep habits will be collected from participants at three timepoints (baseline, post-treatment, and then again at a 6-month follow-up). Read Less

This project will evaluate the impact of L-Citrulline, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), and atorvastatin administration on physical capacity and vascular function in Veterans with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Read Less

This is a prospective, observational study to investigate molecular mechanisms mediating the systemic inflammatory process, and changes to metabolism, and their impact on brain injury, survival, and functional outcomes after cardiac arrest. Investigators have shown that cardiac arrest induces changes in the numbers and properties of circulating immune cells, shifting the balance towards a pro-inflammatory phenotype and there is increased interest in the inflammatory pathways and the signaling mechanisms through which they are modulated. Participants will undergo blood sampling during 7 days following cardiac arrest, and analyses performed. Patient characteristics, clinical circumstances, and outcomes will be recorded and their associations with these inflammatory pathways characterized. Read Less