Iowa Paid Clinical Trials

Individuals with dementia and their families are especially vulnerable during a disaster as it limits caregivers' ability to continue with care due to disaster related stress and reduced access to resources and support. The COVID-19 pandemic showed the extreme vulnerability of persons with dementia (PWD) and their caregivers as they struggled to access support and resources due to the threat of COVID-19 infection; such impact was exacerbated in rural areas where caregivers are geographically isolated and disaster management resources are scarce. With the number of federally declared disasters increasing dramatically over the past 50 years, active public health efforts are needed to support caregivers in developing emergency caregiving plans usable in disasters such as pandemics and extreme weather emergencies. The long-term goal of this project is to enhance emergency preparedness and support networks of caregivers of PWD to increase their resilience and minimize distress by implementing an intervention program, Disaster PrepWise (DPW). In the DPW program, a trained Medical Reserve Corp (MRC) volunteer will provide step-by-step guidance to caregivers to jointly develop emergency preparedness plans and personal support networks. The objectives of this proposed study are to 1) test the impact of DPW on caregiver outcomes (i.e., resilience, stress) and perceptions that may mediate the association between DPW and outcomes (caregiver self-efficacy, preparedness, social support); and 2) evaluate implementation strategies in a real-world setting to optimize future dissemination. We will conduct a randomized control trial of 200 caregivers of persons with dementia involving two arms: DPW intervention group and an information-only control group (print information on disaster preparedness). Assessments will occur before randomization (baseline), and 3 and 6 months after the baseline. This study is innovative in its use of a highly personalized disaster preparedness program with built-in assistance to support caregivers; the support will be provided through an existing national-level public health infrastructure (MRC) that has a great potential to reach older adults and caregivers in rural areas. The knowledge and data obtained through this study will lay the foundation for a future larger-scale multi-state pragmatic trial to assess dissemination potentials. Read Less

This initial study is a feasibility study for implementing thoracolumbar interfascial plane, or TLIP, blocks in older adults undergoing spinal fusion. TLIP blocks are done by using anesthesia. In this case, it will be done to either side of the back where surgery will be performed. This has been shown to decrease pain the patients have post-operatively in previous research. In this study, the investigators will examine recruitment rates, completion of assessments, dropout rate, gather patient feedback, and identify barriers to performing TLIP. Further, this feasibility study will provide data to determine adequate sample size and refine methods and outcomes for a future randomized clinical trial. The ultimate goal is to perform a large, appropriately powered randomized control trial to determine the effect of TLIP blocks on pain, physical function and disability, opioid consumption, and delirium in older adult undergoing spinal fusion. Read Less

The investigators have developed a novel pressure monitoring device that hooks to standard urinary catheters that are used by patients with a neurogenic bladder on daily clean intermittent catheterization. The device has already been demonstrated to be accurate compared to the gold standard in clinic urodynamics. This study will assess the patients and care givers ability and experience using the device in a home setting. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to learn about the safety, tolerability and immune effects of a pneumococcal vaccine in toddlers. Participants will take part in this study for approximately 6 or 8 months depending on which group they are assigned to. During this time participants will have 2 clinic visits and 1 phone visit for the 1-Dose group, or 3 clinic visits and 1 phone visit for the 2-Dose group. At these clinic visits, participants will be asked if any side effects were experienced. The participants will also have to give blood samples during some clinic visits. Read Less

This phase II trial tests the safety and best dose of revumenib in combination with chemotherapy, and evaluates whether this treatment improves the outcome in infants and young children who have leukemia that has come back (relapsed) or does not respond to treatment (refractory) and is associated with a KMT2A (MLL) gene rearrangement (KMT2A-R). Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells, where too many underdeveloped (abnormal) white blood cells, called "blasts", are found in the bone marrow, which is the soft, spongy center of the bones that produces the three major blood cells: white blood cells to fight infection; red blood cells that carry oxygen; and platelets that help blood clot and stop bleeding. The blasts crowd out the normal blood cells in the bone marrow and spread to the blood. They can also spread to the brain, spinal cord, and/or other organs of the body. The leukemia cells of some children have a genetic change in which a gene (KMT2A) is broken and combined with other genes that typically do not interact with one another; this is called "rearranged". This genetic rearrangement alters how other genes are turned on or off in the cell, turning on genes that drive the development of leukemia. Patients with KMT2A rearrangement have higher risk for cancer coming back after treatment. Revumenib is an oral medicine that directly targets the changes that occur in a cell with a KMT2A rearrangement and has been shown to specifically kill these leukemia cells in preclinical laboratory settings and in animals. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as vincristine, prednisone, asparaginase, fludarabine and cytarabine 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. This trial is being done to find out if the combination of revumenib and chemotherapy would be safe and/or effective in treating infants and young children with relapsed or refractory KMT2A-R leukemia. Read Less

This Phase III trial compares the recurrence-free interval (RFI) among patients with early-stage, low risk HER2+ breast cancer who undergo breast conserving surgery and receive HER2-directed therapy, and are randomized to not receive adjuvant breast radiotherapy versus those who are randomized to receive adjuvant radiotherapy per the standard of care. Read Less

This phase III trial compares hematopoietic (stem) cell transplantation (HCT) using mismatched related donors (haploidentical \[haplo\]) versus matched unrelated donors (MUD) in treating children, adolescents, and young adults with acute leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). HCT is considered standard of care treatment for patients with high-risk acute leukemia and MDS. In HCT, patients are given very high doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, which is intended to kill cancer cells that may be resistant to more standard doses of chemotherapy; unfortunately, this also destroys the normal cells in the bone marrow, including stem cells. After the treatment, patients must have a healthy supply of stem cells reintroduced or transplanted. The transplanted cells then reestablish the blood cell production process in the bone marrow. The healthy stem cells may come from the blood or bone marrow of a related or unrelated donor. If patients do not have a matched related donor, doctors do not know what the next best donor choice is. This trial may help researchers understand whether a haplo related donor or a MUD HCT for children with acute leukemia or MDS is better or if there is no difference at all. Read Less

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a type of cancer that occurs in the soft tissues in the body. This phase III trial aims to maintain excellent outcomes in patients with very low risk rhabdomyosarcoma (VLR-RMS) while decreasing the burden of therapy using treatment with 24 weeks of vincristine and dactinomycin (VA) and examines the use of centralized molecular risk stratification in the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma. Another aim of the study it to find out how well patients with low risk rhabdomyosarcoma (LR-RMS) respond to standard chemotherapy when patients with VLR-RMS and patients who have rhabdomyosarcoma with DNA mutations get separate treatment. Finally, this study examines the effect of therapy intensification in patients who have RMS cancer with DNA mutations to see if their outcomes can be improved. Read Less

This phase III trial compares the effect of open thoracic surgery (thoracotomy) to thoracoscopic surgery (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery or VATS) in treating patients with osteosarcoma that has spread to the lung (pulmonary metastases). Open thoracic surgery is a type of surgery done through a single larger incision (like a large cut) that goes between the ribs, opens up the chest, and removes the cancer. Thoracoscopy is a type of chest surgery where the doctor makes several small incisions and uses a small camera to help with removing the cancer. This trial is being done evaluate the two different surgery methods for patients with osteosarcoma that has spread to the lung to find out which is better. Read Less

This phase III trial compares memantine to placebo in treating patients with primary central nervous system tumors. Memantine may block receptors (parts of nerve cells) in the brain known to contribute to a decline in cognitive function. Giving memantine may make a difference in cognitive function (attention, memory, or other thought processes) in children and adolescents receiving brain radiation therapy to treat a primary central nervous system tumors. Read Less

This study aims to use clinical and biological characteristics of acute leukemias to screen for patient eligibility for available pediatric leukemia sub-trials. Testing bone marrow and blood from patients with leukemia that has come back after treatment or is difficult to treat may provide information about the patient's leukemia that is important when deciding how to best treat it, and may help doctors find better ways to diagnose and treat leukemia in children, adolescents, and young adults. Read Less

This phase II trial studies the best approach to combine chemotherapy and radiation therapy (RT) based on the patient's response to induction chemotherapy in patients with non-germinomatous germ cell tumors (NGGCT) that have not spread to other parts of the brain or body (localized). This study has 2 goals: 1) optimizing radiation for patients who respond well to induction chemotherapy to diminish spinal cord relapses, 2) utilizing higher dose chemotherapy followed by conventional RT in patients who did not respond to induction chemotherapy. Chemotherapy drugs, such as carboplatin, etoposide, ifosfamide, and thiotepa, 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. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays or high-energy protons to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors. Studies have shown that patients with newly-diagnosed localized NGGCT, whose disease responds well to chemotherapy before receiving radiation therapy, are more likely to be free of the disease for a longer time than are patients for whom the chemotherapy does not efficiently eliminate or reduce the size of the tumor. The purpose of this study is to see how well the tumors respond to induction chemotherapy to decide what treatment to give next. Some patients will be given RT to the spine and a portion of the brain. Others will be given high dose chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant before RT to the whole brain and spine. Giving treatment based on the response to induction chemotherapy may lower the side effects of radiation in some patients and adjust the therapy to a more efficient one for other patients with localized NGGCT. Read Less