Healthy Paid Clinical Trials in Maryland

Background: As people age, the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin begin to release less of this hormone, and levels of blood glucose (sugar) rise. This can lead to illnesses such as diabetes. Urolithin A (UA) is a natural nutritional supplement that may improve how the body controls blood glucose. Objective: To learn if UA improves levels of insulin and other hormones that help control blood glucose. Eligibility: People aged 55 years and older with a body mass index of 27 or higher. Design: Participants will have 6 clinic visits over 8 weeks. Participants will be screened. They will have a physical exam with blood and urine tests and a test of their heart function. UA gelcaps are taken by mouth every morning at home. Half of participants will take UA. The other half will take a placebo. The placebo looks like the study drug but does not contain any medicine. Participants will not know which they are taking. Participants will have tests during the study including: Oral glucose tolerance: Participants will drink a sweet liquid. Blood will be drawn at intervals over the next 3 hours. Continuous glucose monitor: A sensor with a needle that goes just under the skin will be placed on the upper arm. Participants will wear this sensor throughout the study. Exercise. Participants will walk on a treadmill while their heart rate, hearth rhythm, and blood pressure are monitored. They will walk in a hallway at normal and fast paces. Imaging scans of the thigh; scans of the brain are optional.... Read Less

This study will examine tissue from the tonsils, lymph nodes and large bowel of HIV-infected patients to investigate changes in viral load and certain white blood cells during treatment. Normal volunteers and HIV-infected patients 18 years of age or older may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a medical history, physical examination, blood and urine tests and possibly an electrocardiogram (EKG). Blood tests may include HLA typing, a genetic test of immune system markers. Participants may undergo the following procedures: * Blood tests (patients and volunteers) * Biopsies The frequency of biopsies for given patients may vary, depending on their specific therapy. Typically, biopsies are done at a single time, or for patients starting a new therapy, biopsies could be performed before starting therapy, during therapy and possibly after completion of therapy. * Tonsil biopsies (patients and volunteers) Volunteers will have one tonsil biopsy. Patients will have no more than six tonsil biopsies, with no more than three in a 10-day period. The biopsy is done by an ear, nose and throat specialist as an outpatient procedure. The tonsils are numbed with a local anesthetic, and one to four pieces of tissue are extracted. * Lymph node biopsies (patients only) Patients will have no more than four lymph node biopsies, performed no more frequently than once a month. The biopsy is done by a surgeon and may require a 2- to 3-day hospital stay. The skin above the lymph nodes is numbed with a local anesthetic, an incision is made and the tissue is removed. Alternatively, a needle biopsy may be done, in which a small amount of lymph tissue is withdrawn through a special needle injected into the site. * Intestinal biopsies (patients and volunteers) Volunteers will have one intestinal biopsy procedure. Patients may have up to six intestinal biopsy procedures, each separated by at least 10 days. This is done by a gastroenterologist as an outpatient procedure. A flexible tube (sigmoidoscope or colonoscope) with a light and special lens at the tip is inserted into the rectum and large bowel. Wire instruments passed through the tube are used to extract small tissue samples. * Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL; patients and volunteers) Volunteers and patients will undergo bronchoscopy in which a flexible tube (bronchoscope) with a light and special lens at the tip is inserted through the nose or mouth into the lungs, and the lining of the lung is sampled by washing the airways with small amounts of saline. The procedure is performed by a pulmonologist or critical care specialist, usually as an outpatient. Read Less

Background: People with HIV take drugs to keep the amount of virus in their body low. One type of these drugs, called integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs), can cause weight gain over time. Weight gain can cause diabetes, heart disease, and other serious issues. Researchers want to understand how INSTIs cause weight changes. Objective: To see how a common INSTI, dolutegravir (DTG), affects how the body uses energy. DTG will be compared with a non-INSTI drug, tenofovir alafenamide (TAF). Eligibility: Healthy people aged 18 to 55. Design: Participants will be screened. They will have a physical exam and blood tests. They will have a nutritional assessment and tests of their heart function. Participants will have 2 inpatient stays at the clinic. Each stay will be for 11 nights, with a 3-week break between. Both DTG and TAF are gel caps swallowed once per day by mouth. Participants will take 1 drug for 8 days during each stay. Participants will have tests to see how their body uses energy: They will spend 23 continuous hours in a special room that measures how much oxygen they breathe in and how much carbon dioxide they breathe out. They will do this a total of 6 times. They will have a DEXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry). DEXA is a kind of X-ray that measures body fat and bone density. They will lie on a table. Electrodes will be placed on their hands and feet to measure body fat and lean body mass. They will stand still on a platform for about 30 seconds. High-resolution laser cameras will scan their bodies. Read Less

Background: The Laboratory of Immune System Biology (LISB) works with other labs at the National Institutes of Health. They study how parts of living things come together to make a whole. LISB designs and improves research tests on human samples like blood and cells. In order to do its work, LISB needs to have a lot of these samples available. Objective: To collect biological specimens to use for designing and improving research tests. Specimens include blood, stool, saliva, and skin/mucosal swabs. Eligibility: Healthy people ages 3-80 Design: Participants will be screened with an interview about their general health and their medical history. They will have a physical exam and blood tests. If the results of the screening are normal, participants will be asked to give one or more of these samples: Blood will be drawn from an arm vein with a needle and syringe. Mucus and skin will be collected by rubbing the area with a cotton swab. The areas may include the top of the tongue, inside the cheek, nostrils, behind the ear, elbow pit, or vagina. Participants will spit into a tube to collect saliva. Participants will pass stool into a plastic container that fits in the toilet under the seat. They will get sampling kits and instructions. Over the next 5 years, if more samples are needed, participants will be contacted to set up another visit to the NIH. These visits will each take about 1 hour. About every 2 years, when participants come to NIH for a visit, extra blood will be collected. It will be tested for HIV and hepatitis B and C. Read Less

Background: Many tasks people do every day require a series of individual movements. Control over these movements is called motor skills. But even highly skilled people can make mistakes. Researchers have found that they can predict when a person will make a mistake 0.1 second before it happens. Now, they want to find out if they can increase that time up to 1 second-long enough to warn the person and prevent the mistake. Objective: To see if motor skill errors can be detected up to 1 second before they occur. Eligibility: Right-handed healthy adults aged 18 to 35. Design: Participants will have 2 to 5 study visits. Each visit will be 1 to 2 hours. They will have a physical and neurological exam. They will have 1 or 2 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. They will lie on a table that slides into a large cylinder. The MRI uses strong magnets to capture images of the inside of the body, including the brain. They will have another scan, called magnetoencephalography (MEG). Small metal disks attached to wires will be taped to their head. Participants will sit in a padded chair with their head inside of a helmet. The helmet will not cover their eyes or face. Participants will perform a series of typing tasks on a keyboard. They will have short breaks between each round. Their head movements will be tracked, and their eye and finger movements will be videotaped. Read Less

Background: - Researchers at the National Institutes of Health give many tests of hearing and balance. These tests can help detect problems that affect hearing or balance. It is important to know exactly how healthy people perform on each of these tests. This information will indicate when a test result is normal and when a test result shows a problem. Researchers also want to determine the best methods for each test. Objectives: - To test different types of hearing and balance tests, and collect information on normal values for each test. Eligibility: - Healthy volunteers between 5 and 80 years of age. Design: * This study will require a single visit to the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. It will include both screening tests and study tests of hearing and balance. Sometimes, a second visit may be required if a test is designed to measure the same thing on 2 different days. Each visit will last between 2 and 5 hours, depending on the number of tests scheduled per visit. * Participants will have a physical exam and medical history. They will also have basic tests to check for normal hearing and balance. * Participants may have different hearing tests, including the following: * Auditory Evoked Potentials to study how the ears and brain handle sound information. * Auditory Processing Tests to study how a person processes complex sounds like speech in background noise. * Tests of middle ear and inner ear function. * Participants may have different balance and inner ear tests, including the following: * Balance test on a tilting platform. * Different tests to measure how well the eyes, ears, and brain work together to help maintain balance. * Treatment will not be needed as part of this study. Read Less

This study will collect biological samples for use in research experiments aimed at better understanding the clinical features of certain diseases. The specimens may be used to evaluate the effectiveness of known therapies, refine treatment approaches, identify potential new therapies, and explore opportunities for disease prevention. The following individuals 2 years of age or older may be eligible for this study: * Patients with a cancerous solid tumor or a cancerous or non-cancerous blood disorder who are being screened for or who are enrolled in a treatment study at the NIH Clinical Center * HLA-compatible donor family members (18 years of age or older) of the above patients who are being evaluated for or are enrolled in an NIH study as a stem cell transplant donor * Patients with a cancerous solid tumor or a cancerous or non-cancerous blood disorder or a bone marrow failure condition who cannot participate in an NIH treatment protocol or travel to the NIH Clinical Center and who are referred for participation through their home health care provider. Research samples will be collected from participants when blood is drawn or bone marrow, urine, or stool is collected, or tumor or other tissue is biopsied as part of their general medical care. Investigators may periodically request an additional sample of blood, stool, or urine. Participants who are 18 years of age or older may donate a large number of white blood cells through a procedure called leukapheresis. This procedure is not part of general medical care and would be done for research purposes only. For apheresis, a catheter (plastic tube) is placed in a vein in the subject's arm. Blood flows from the vein into a cell separator machine, where the white cells are separated from the red cells, platelets, and plasma by a spinning process. The white cells are removed and collected, and the rest of the blood is returned to the subject through a second tube placed in the other arm. ... Read Less

Increased numbers of white blood cells called eosinophils can cause disease. To investigate this disease, researchers need blood, urine, sputum, stool, cerebrospinal fluid, skin and/or bone marrow samples to compare to samples from patients with this problem. Some of the samples will be used for genetic testing or future research. This study will last for about 10 years and will include a maximum of 50 paid volunteers ages 18 to 65. ... Read Less

Background: Urothelial cancer is cancer of the bladder, ureter, and urethra. Researchers want to better understand what changes in a person s cells and genes cause this cancer to form. This may help them find new ways to treat it. Objective: - To perform DNA sequencing to help researchers learn the differences between normal tissue and tumor tissue. Also, to learn how molecular changes - including gene changes - might help predict the course of disease and how people respond to therapy. Eligibility: - Adults age 18 and older who have or are suspected of having urothelial cancer or an inherited disorder that raises their risk of getting bladder cancer. Design: * Participants will be screened with a physical exam. Their medical records and tissue samples will be reviewed. * Eligible participants will give tissue blocks of their original tumor. The blocks will be put in a tissue bank. * Participants medical records may be reviewed. * Participants may have a medical history and physical exam. * Participants may have blood and urine tests. They may have imaging scans. They may give urine, blood, and saliva samples. These samples may be used in future research. * If participants need surgery for their cancer, researchers will keep some of the tissue (both tumor and normal tissue). The tissue may be used in future research. * Participants will go back to the Clinical Center in 6 months. They may give saliva, urine, and blood samples. After 6 months, they will be seen by their local doctor for standard post-surgical visits. * Participants will be called every 6 months to give health updates. Read Less

This study will collect blood plasma and white blood cells from individuals using a procedure called apheresis. Apheresis is a method of collecting larger quantities of certain blood components that can safely be collected through a simple blood draw. The blood components will be used in laboratory research studies. Patients 18 years of age and older who are currently enrolled in a NIH clinical research protocol may participate in this study. Relatives of patients and normal healthy volunteers will also be enrolled. Individuals will undergo one of the following two apheresis procedures: * Automated pheresis Blood is drawn through a needle placed in an arm vein and circulated through a cell separator machine. The plasma (liquid part of the blood) and white cells are extracted, and the red cells are re-infused into the donor through the same needle or a needle in the other arm. An anticoagulant (medication to prevent blood from clotting) is usually added to the blood while in the machine to prevent it from clotting during processing. * Manual pheresis One unit (1 pint) of blood is drawn through a needle placed in an arm vein, similar to donating a pint of whole blood. The red blood cells, with or without plasma, are separated from the rest of the blood and returned to the donor through the same needle. Manual pheresis will be done only when a person s estimated total blood volume or red cell count is too low to safely permit removal of blood through a pheresis machine. An adult small in size or markedly anemic, for example, may fall into this category. Some of the blood collected through apheresis may be stored for future studies of HIV disease and immune function and for HLA testing, a genetic test of markers of the immune system. Some of the blood may be used to screen for different types of viral liver infections, such as hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, F, or G. ... Read Less

Background: - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans must be performed according to specified sets of parameters that provide optimal images of each organ and each area of the body. These scanning parameters are often specific to the institution or organization at which they are employed, and may also depend on the manufacturer of the MRI scanning equipment. Because MRI scanning equipment is always being updated and upgraded, researchers are interested in developing new and optimized scanning parameters for MRI scans. Objectives: - To improve current methods and develop new techniques for magnetic resonance imaging. Eligibility: * Individuals 18 years of age and older who are either volunteers or current NIH protocol participants. * Participants must not have any medical history factors (e.g., extreme claustrophobia, history of metal implants) that would prevent them from receiving MRI scans. Design: * Participants will have at least one MRI scan that will last from 20 minutes to 2 hours (most scans will last between 45 and 90 minutes). The total time commitment for most visits will be approximately 4 hours from start to finish. * Some MRI techniques require standard monitoring equipment or specific procedures during the scanning, such as an electrocardiogram. * Participants will have blood samples taken at the time of the scan. Some MRI studies will require the use of a contrast agent that will be administered during the scan. * Volunteers may be asked to return for additional MRI scans over the course of a few years. Follow-up scans may be done on the same part of the body or on different parts of the body. No more than one MRI scan will be performed in any 4-week period for this protocol.... Read Less

The influence of genes on addictive and neuropsychiatric disorders is complex, especially given that multiple genes likely influence certain behaviors that are correlated with addiction. Researchers are interested in looking at the genetic information of individuals who are enrolled on National Institute for Drug Abuse studies to investigate specific genetic variants that may be related to substance abuse. Researchers will study the effects of genes on several aspects of thinking such as attention, memory, decision making, problem solving, learning, and emotional feelings, and investigate the ways in which genetic information affects addictive behaviors and substance abuse. In addition, researchers will study how genes may explain differences in imaging data in substance users. Objectives: - To collect genetic information for research on genetic aspects of addiction and substance abuse. Eligibility: * Adults age 18 or older * (1) healthy, non-drug-using nonsmokers, * (2) healthy smokers, * (3) healthy individuals dependent on other commonly abused drugs, and * (4) individuals with other psychiatric disorders. * Participants must be enrolled in another National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program imaging protocol. Design: * This study involves one to two visits to National Institute on Drug Abuse, Intramural Research Program that may be separate from the participant's current research protocol study visits or on the same day as those visits. * Participants will provide a blood sample and complete questionnaires about mood, memory, and learning. * Participants may also be asked to do a few tasks, such as playing computer games involving coin tosses and money management, or responding to questions on a computer screen.... Read Less