Healthy Clinical Trials in Houston, TX

Background: During the first few decades of life, the brain changes dramatically in shape and function. Sleep lets researchers measure these changes. Researchers want to create a database of sleep and neurodevelopmental data in a group of infants and children to learn more. Objective: To address a knowledge and data gap in the field of sleep and neurodevelopment in infants and children. Eligibility: Children ages 6 months to 76 months who may or may not be at risk for neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. Also, children ages 6 months to 8 years who have a referral for a sleep study. Design: Participants will have neurodevelopmental testing. They will have a medical, psychiatric, and family history. They will have a physical and neurological exam. They will be interviewed and complete surveys. They will give a cheek swab and/or blood sample. Some participants will have 1 study visit that lasts 2 days. Other participants will have up to 4 study visits. Each visit will last 2 days. Visits occur every 8 months to 1 year, for a total participation time of 2 years. Participants will have a 20-minute daytime electroencephalogram (EEG), if possible. This EEG session will be used to calibrate the machine for the overnight study. Participants will take part in an inpatient overnight sleep study. Electrodes will be placed on the participants. For young children, parents will help place the EEG leads. Other sensors may also be placed. A gauze cap will be placed on participants head to protect the leads and keep the participants from moving them. 'Lights out' will occur as close to participants bedtime as possible. Read Less

To learn if an 8-week, phone-based texting intervention program will reduce sedentary (non-mobile) behavior. Read Less

The purpose of VAN00010 study is to assess the safety and immunogenicity of the investigational pentavalent meningococcal ABCYW vaccine in adults and adolescents. The study duration will be up to 12 months for all participants. Read Less

High food motivation among children is trait-like and increases risks of unhealthy dietary intake and obesity. Scientific knowledge of how parenting can best support healthy eating habits and growth among children who are predisposed to overeating is surprisingly limited. This investigation will identify supportive food parenting approaches for obesity prevention that address the needs of highly food motivated children. Read Less

Before infants are born, they depend on their mother to provide the nutrients necessary to grow and develop, such as iron, folic acid, iodine and other vitamins and minerals. Pregnant people also rely on good nutrition to support their own health. In addition to essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, there are other natural components found in fruits and vegetables, called phytochemicals, that may support maternal and fetal health during pregnancy. While more is known about the role of phytochemicals in adult health, surprisingly little is known about phytochemical nutrition during pregnancy. This study focuses on a group of phytochemicals, called carotenoids, during pregnancy. The study will determine if and why levels of carotenoids in the body change across the course of pregnancy. Understanding carotenoid nutrition during pregnancy will improve the understanding ofnutrition needs of expectant mothers and their infants. To study these questions, both health pregnant and non-pregnant female adults will report on their dietary intake and participate in body measurements, health surveys, and carotenoid measurements of eyes, skin, and blood at time points corresponding with the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy as well as post-partum. Read Less

Young children rely on their foods and drinks for the nutrients they need to grow, like energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals. In addition to nutrients, there are substances in fruits, vegetables, milk and formula, called phytochemicals, that can support health. While researchers know more about the role of phytochemicals in adult health, researchers know surprisingly little about how phytochemicals can support health in young children. One group of phytochemicals are called the carotenoids. Carotenoids are responsible for the red, orange, and yellow colors in some fruits and vegetables. In adults, carotenoids can support visual function. Researchers also know that measuring levels of carotenoids in the blood or optically in the skin, can serve as an indirect measurement of what child and adults eat. The purpose of this study is to determine how a child's usual intake of carotenoids is related to their visual development and their blood and skin levels of carotenoids. The study involves 6 visits. For each visit, we will ask about the child's recent diet, will measure their body size, collect a blood sample, collect optical measurements of their skin, and will test how sharp their vision is. Read Less

Given the limited effectiveness of single food group-targeted interventions to enhance child nutrition, a key component of current and future health, innovative approaches are needed. Healthy dietary patterns are emerging as an important intervention target, and the Mediterranean Dietary pattern has been particularly effective at reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors, a leading cause of death in the US. Since parents are the gatekeepers of the home food environment and influence child intake through food-related parenting practices, children enjoy cooking with parents, and home food preparation is associated with more healthful dietary intake. Therefore, the investigators propose to develop and assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an online cooking intervention for parent-child dyads living in low-income households that promotes the Mediterranean dietary pattern and healthful food-related parenting practices. Read Less

Inflammation occurs in many brain diseases including Alzheimer's disease. In Alzheimer's disease, amyloid starts accumulating decades before the start of forgetfulness. Basic scientists have reported that inflammation but not amyloid is linked to forgetfulness. When people pinch a finger, it gets swollen. Similar changes occur in brain from various causes. New medications are under development to help healing and prevent permanent damages in the brain. When people pinch a finger, they can check if the injury is healing or getting worse by watching. Investigators can watch inside of the brain using a special camera called positron emission tomography (PET). It is currently possible to watch inflammation in the brain by taking pictures of a molecule called translocator protein (TSPO). But the problem is that by imaging TSPO, investigators can catch changes in more than one kind of cells. The information is not specific to each cell type. Such vague information is not useful to monitor the effect of new medications for inflammation. This proposal attempts to develop a novel method to capture changes in each of two major players in inflammation, microglia and astrocytes. To do so, investigators will take selective pictures of one cell type by using a novel imaging agent for PET. Investigators will also take PET pictures of TSPO. Investigators will process these two kinds of PET pictures using advanced mathematical methods and extract specific information on microglia and astrocytes. Our novel method will be useful to monitor new therapies to treat inflammation in brain. Read Less