Houston, TX Paid Clinical Trials

This is a Phase 1/2A study of GV20-0251 being developed for the treatment of participants with advanced solid tumors, who are refractory to approved therapies or other standard of care. Read Less

Depression is one of the most common disorders of mental health, affecting 7-8% of the population and causing tremendous disability to afflicted individuals and economic burden to society. In order to optimize existing treatments and develop improved ones, the investigators need a deeper understanding of the mechanistic basis of this complex disorder. Previous work in this area has made important progress but has two main limitations. (1) Most studies have used non-invasive and therefore imprecise measures of brain activity. (2) Black box modeling used to link neural activity to behavior remain difficult to interpret, and although sometimes successful in describing activity within certain contexts, may not generalize to new situations, provide mechanistic insight, or efficiently guide therapeutic interventions. To overcome these challenges, the investigators combine precise intracranial neural recordings in humans with a suite of new eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) approaches. The investigators have assembled a team of experimentalists and computational experts with combined experience sufficient for this task. Our unique dataset comprises two groups of subjects: the Epilepsy Cohort consists of patients with refractory epilepsy undergoing intracranial seizure monitoring, and the Depression Cohort consists of subjects in an NIH/BRAIN-funded research trial of deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). As a whole, this dataset provides precise, spatiotemporally resolved human intracranial recording and stimulation data across a wide dynamic range of depression severity. Our Aims apply a progressive approach to modeling and manipulating brain-behavior relationships. Aim 1 seeks to identify features of neural activity associated with mood states. Beginning with current state-of-the-art AI models and then uses a "ladder" approach to bridge to models of increasing expressiveness while imposing mechanistically explainable structure. Whereas Aim 1 focuses on self-reported mood level as the behavioral index of interest, Aim 2 uses an alternative approach of focusing on measurable neurobiological features inspired by the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC). These features, such as reward sensitivity, loss aversion, executive attention, etc. are extracted from behavioral task performance using a novel "inverse rational control" XAI approach. Relating these measures to neural activity patterns provides additional mechanistic and normative understanding of the neurobiology of depression. Aim 3 uses recurrent neural networks to model the consequences of richly varied patterns of multi-site intracranial stimulation on neural activity. Then employing an innovative "inception loop" XAI approach to derive stimulation strategies for open- and closed-loop control that can drive the neural system towards a desired, healthier state. If successful, this project would enhance our understanding of the pathophysiology of depression and improve neuromodulatory treatment strategies. This can also be applied to a host of other neurological and psychiatric disorders, taking an important step towards XAI-guided precision neuroscience. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a new brief home visitation program delivered by non-nurse home visitors to 1) improve connections to community resources based on reported and assessed needs, 2) increase health self-efficacy, and 3) reduce maternal stress compared to a control group that receives standard care from an obstetric clinic. Secondary administrative data on infant birth outcomes, health care use during the first year of life (appointment adherence), and interaction with government services (such as public assistance or child welfare) will be compared between the groups. For the intervention group, we will secondarily also assess home visit compliance and satisfaction with the intervention. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires that include questions about the participant, their pregnancy, their feelings, their family, and their use of social/community services. Half of the women in this study will be randomly offered free home visitation services and the other half of women in this study will receive standard services from the clinic. The intervention group will be offered at least two free home visits with a non-nurse home visitor. During these visits, the home visitor will provide them with resources and tools to help the participant prepare for their baby. All participants will complete a second round of electronic surveys at approximately 2 months postpartum. Intervention participant outcomes will be compared to a control group that receive standard care from an obstetric clinic. Read Less

Overactive bladder (OAB) imposes a significant quality of life, mental health, and economic burdens. OAB with or without Urgency incontinence is associated with depression, sexual dysfunction, and limitation of social interactions and physical activities, which significantly affects quality of life. Non-invasive neuromodulation with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can be used in research settings to investigate responses to focal regional brain activation. In the clinical setting, rTMS normalizes brain activity with associated clinical benefits in conditions such as refractory depression. rTMS has been studied for effects on lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in bladder pain and neurogenic lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) populations. Unlike many standard of care OAB interventions, the safety of rTMS is well-reported, including for use in elderly populations and those with cognitive impairment. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate neuroplasticity is emerging as an essential tool to define OAB phenotypes; however, phenotyping studies guided by mechanistic data are lacking. The effects of central neuromodulation on regions involved OAB mechanisms and associated physiological and clinical responses are unknown. This study will be the first to report neuroplasticity, physiologic, and clinical effects of central neuromodulation with rTMS in adults with OAB. Read Less

The investigators are conducting this study with men that have prostate cancer and are getting standard of care treatment with the drugs abiraterone acetate and prednisone. The study will follow men with prostate cancer from initiation of participation in the study and for up to 10 years. The reason for the study is that researchers think that there may be a connection between the race and ethnicity of men with prostate cancer and how well the standard treatments work for the participants. Read Less

This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and how well nivolumab, fluorouracil, and interferon alpha 2b work for the treatment of fibrolamellar cancer (liver cell cancer) that cannot be removed by surgery (unresectable). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Chemotherapy drugs, such as fluorouracil, 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. Interferon alpha 2b may help stimulate the immune system to fight cancer. Giving nivolumab, fluorouracil, and interferon alpha 2b may work better in treating unresectable fibrolamellar cancer compared to fluorouracil and interferon alpha 2b alone. Read Less

The purpose of this clinical investigation is to assess the safety and performance of Compedica's OptiPulse™ and to collect subject outcome data on the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU's) versus the standard of care (SOC). OptiPulse™ is designed to enhance blood circulation in the venules and arterioles. Fibracol Plus (or equivalent) is a collagen alginate dressing that is used as the primary dressing. Both products are 510(k) FDA cleared and will be used within the cleared intended use. Read Less

The main aim of this study is to collect real-world longitudinal data on participants with β-thalassemia treated with betibeglogene autotemcel (beti-cel) in the post marketing setting. To assess the long-term safety, including the risk of newly diagnosed malignancies, after treatment with beti-cel and evaluate the long-term effectiveness of treatment with beti-cel. Read Less

The goal of this clinical trial is to assess the safety, toxicity, and antitumor activity of fourth ventricular infusions of nivolumab plus 5-azacytidine for recurrent ependymoma and nivolumab plus methotrexate for recurrent medulloblastoma and other CNS malignancies. Additionally, the study will explore immunologic responses to nivolumab. The hypothesis is that local administration of nivolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, is safe and will lead to even more robust treatment responses when administered following 5-azacytidine in patients with recurrent ependymoma or methotrexate in patients with medulloblastoma or other CNS tumors. Read Less

To learn if peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) can help to improve pain in participants with CIPN. Read Less

To learn about the feasibility, safety, and effects of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy on depression and/or anxiety in participants who are being treated for advanced cancer. Read Less

Phase 1/2, Open-label, Multi-center, First-in-human Study of the Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Anti-tumor Activity of STX-001 Delivered by Intratumoral Injection in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors as a Monotherapy or in Combination with Pembrolizumab Read Less