Healthy Clinical Trials in Houston, TX

The purpose of Fluid Loading Countermeasures is to determine how the volume of blood and of plasma (liquid part of blood) change during a normal day, how these are affected by drinking an additional amount of fluid either as water and salt tablets (as astronauts do) or an electrolyte beverage (similar to but tastes saltier than Gatorade®), and how altering the timing at which the additional fluid is consumed affects blood and plasma volume. This study observes how blood volume changes over ~9 hours of the day during 4 separate visits in healthy participants. During 1 visit participants will drink a small amount of water throughout the visit. During the other 3 study visits participants will drink the small amount of water plus either more water with salt tablets or an electrolyte solution. Consuming the additional fluids is called "fluid loading". This study is meant to simulate the food and fluid consumption of astronauts on landing day. The goal of this study is to determine the magnitude of plasma volume change that occurs with each condition of the protocol. (ICF 1.1, 3.1) Read Less

The purpose of Lunar OI (Orthostatic Intolerance) is to determine if there are differences between males and females in tolerance to and cardiovascular responses during different angles of head-up tilt simulating gravity levels less than or equal to Earth's gravity. Also, this study will determine if a gradient compression garment affects tolerance to tilting and the cardiovascular stress at different tilt angles. Males and females are being identified by biological sex. This will be a two-phased study design. In Phase I we will determine whether there are differences in the development of signs or symptoms of orthostatic intolerance between males and females when tilted head up on a table to different angles to simulate gravity levels that astronauts may experience when landing on or launching from the surface of the Moon. In Phase II, the tilt tests simulating the same gravity levels from Phase I will be repeated, but a custom-made lower-body compression garment will be worn to see if wearing the garment affects the development of orthostatic intolerance. For both study phases, before tilting, a drug will be administered to reduce the amount fluid in the blood (plasma) to levels similar to that experienced by astronauts during spaceflight. 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

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

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

This study is researching an experimental drug called ALN-PNP (called "study drug"). This is a first in human study. The study drug is not approved by any public health agency such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for any kind of treatment. Part A is focused on healthy participants. Part B of the study is focused on participants who are known to have NAFLD and a specific variant of the PNPLA3 gene. The aim of the study is to see how safe, tolerable and effective the study drug is. Part A is looking at several other research questions, including: What side effects may happen from taking the study drug How much study drug is in the blood at different times Whether the body makes antibodies against the study drug (which could make the study drug less effective or could lead to side effects) Explore impact of Japanese ethnicity on safety and PK (pharmacokinetics, or study of what the body does to the drug) of single doses of ALN-PNP over time Part B is looking at several other research questions, including: What side effects may happen from taking the study drug How the study drug works to change liver fat content in NAFLD How much study drug and study drug metabolites (byproduct of the body breaking down the study drug) are in your blood at different times Whether the body makes antibodies against the study drug (which could make the drug less effective or could lead to side effects) Better understanding of the study drug and NAFLD Read Less

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

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

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