Wisconsin Paid Clinical Trials

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn more about how the food and nutrition babies receive while in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) influences their ability to gain weight and fat-free mass, and their future growth and development. Participants will: * have body growth measurements collected using the PEAPOD device * have nutritional information collected, and * be followed for neurodevelopmental outcomes Participants can expect to be in the study for 36 months. Read Less

Survivors of severe brain injury, such as lack of oxygen or severe traumatic brain injury, frequently experience Paroxysmal Sympathetic Hyperactivity (PSH). PSH is characterized by disabling symptoms such as a fast heart rate, high blood pressure, rapid breathing, rigidity, tremors, and sweating due to uncontrolled sympathetic hyperactivity in the nervous system. Effective treatment is necessary to decrease secondary brain injury, prevent weight loss from increased metabolic demand and reduce suffering. Currently, a combination of medications to slow down the sympathetic nervous system, muscle relaxants, anti-anxiety drugs, gabapentin, and narcotics are used to treat PSH. The sudden, recurrent attacks of PSH often require repeated rescue medications and multiple drugs with a high risk of side effects. Non-drug treatments for PSH may revolutionize treatment. The novel and non-invasive Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Field Stimulation (PENFS) device is an attractive and potentially effective treatment option for PSH. PENFS, applied to the external ear, has been shown to be effective for conditions such as abdominal pain, narcotic withdrawal, and cyclic vomiting syndrome, all which have similar symptoms to PSH. Therefore, the hypothesis is PENFS could be effective in the treatment of PSH. The electrical current delivered by the PENFS device is thought to increase parasympathetic activity by stimulating a branch of the vagus nerve. PENFS was shown to decrease central sympathetic nervous system activity by 36% within 5 minutes of being placed in the ear of a rat model. Similar central inhibition could improve symptoms of PSH. This pilot study aims to evaluate the feasibility of performing an efficacy trial of PENFS for children with PSH. Read Less

Despite broad advancements in endocrine therapy for ERα+ breast cancer, resistance ultimately develops. A common driver of resistance are known ESR1 mutations that lead to constitutively active receptor signaling and transcriptional regulation that is always "turned on" despite the absence of estrogen. Patients with ESR1 mutations are expected to have decreased binding affinity for tamoxifen and thus may be underdosed on standard therapy. \[18F\]-fluoroestradiol Positron Emission Tomography/Computed tomography (FES-PET/CT) imaging is a novel functional imaging technique that can non-invasively measure ERα expression and inhibition in metastatic ERα+ breast cancer. The proposed a pilot study uses FES-PET/CT imaging to measure ERα blockade to determine the optimal dose of tamoxifen in patients with ESR1 mutations. Read Less

Surgical site infection rates for contaminated or dirty laparotomy wounds can be as high as 45%. Surgical management of dirty and contaminated wounds has been controversial in the literature and between surgeons. Primary closure (PC) of these wounds can lead to multiple complications including surgical site infection (SSI), necrotizing soft tissue infection, wound and fascial dehiscence, evisceration, sepsis and hernia development. However, an alternative technique of utilizing secondary intention results in prolonged healing time and increased cost and healthcare resource utilization. Delayed primary closure (DPC) was developed to address many of these issues. Bhangu completed a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing primary versus delayed primary skin closure in contaminated and dirty abdominal wounds. They included 8 studies randomizing 623 patients with contaminated or dirty abdominal wounds to either DPC or PC. The most common diagnosis was appendicitis (77.4%), followed by perforated abdominal viscus (11.5%), ileostomy closure (6.5%), trauma (2.7%), and intra-abdominal abscess/other peritonitis (1.9%). The time to first assessment for DPC was between 2 and 5 days postoperatively. In all studies, the DPC group had significantly less SSIs using a fixed-effect model (odds ratio, 0.65; 95%CI, 0.40-0.93; P = .02). However, heterogeneity was high (72%), and using a random-effects model, the effect was no longer significant (odds ratio, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.25-1.64; P = .36). Additionally, all of the studies were found to be at high risk of bias, with marked deficiencies in study design and outcome assessment. A recent systematic review showed improved fascial closure rates with negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) Yet, a large national study using NPWT to perform a DPC has been shown to actually decrease the rate of closure. Access to NPWT has increased over the years and innovative wound management techniques including incisional application of negative pressure therapy have allowed clinicians to apply this method to dirty wounds following the principles of delayed primary closure. There are currently no studies available to help determine the safety and efficacy of advanced NPWT techniques to optimize surgical wound management from the open abdomen to skin closure. Within our Division, we have decided to make a practice change and develop a standard closure plan for open abdomens using the negative pressure devices available within our institution. Read Less

This study is a randomized trial examining the impact of expiratory muscle strength training (EMST) on maintenance of safe and efficient oropharyngeal swallow function in persons with cancer of the head and neck (HNCA) undergoing treatment with radiation therapy or chemoradiotherapy (RT/CRT). Read Less

The proposed study will enroll 1600 participants to examine the effectiveness of cognitive training. Participants will be randomized into different experimental groups and can expect to participate for up to 15 hours of research over 4 to 8 weeks. Read Less

This study assesses the feasibility and safety of performing osteopathic manual treatment (OMT) for hemiplegic shoulder pain in stroke patients. This study's participants will be adults with a first-time stroke diagnosis in the past 5 years and shoulder pain on the same side affected by stroke. Eligible participants will be placed on study for approximately 6 weeks and given either OMT or a sham treatment each week. Read Less

Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is a rare disorder of increased bone fragility characterized by fractures with minimal or absent trauma, dentinogenesis imperfecta (DI), and, in adult years, hearing loss. It is seen in both genders and all races. The clinical features of OI represent a continuum varying from perinatal lethality to individuals with severe skeletal deformities, mobility impairments, and very short stature to nearly asymptomatic individuals with a mild predisposition to fractures, normal stature, and normal lifespan. Fractures can occur in any bone, but are most common in the extremities. These disorders can be devastating and progressive and result in deformity, chronic pain, impaired function and loss of quality of life. The overall goal of this study is to answer specific question about the natural history of brittle bone diseases as defined by molecular etiology and to develop the foundation for prospective clinical studies. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the treatment outcomes of patients with chronic knee pain secondary to osteoarthritis that have received a temporary peripheral nerve stimulation system. Read Less

This study aims to demonstrate treatment outcomes of Painful Diabetic Neuropathy (PDN) patients treated with BurstDRTM Spinal Cord Dorsal Column Stimulator (SCS) along with conservative medical management per standard of care. Read Less

This phase III trial compares pembrolizumab with radiation therapy to pembrolizumab without radiation therapy (standard therapy) given after pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck that has spread from where it first started (primary site) to other places in the body (metastatic). Pembrolizumab is a type of immunotherapy that stimulates the body's immune system to fight cancer cells. Pembrolizumab targets and blocks a protein called PD-1 on the surface of certain immune cells called T-cells. Blocking PD-1 triggers the T-cells to find and kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy uses high-powered rays to kill cancer cells. Giving radiation with pembrolizumab may be more effective at treating patients with metastatic head and neck cancer than the standard therapy of giving pembrolizumab alone. Read Less

This is a multicenter, 2-arm, randomized, prospective study of patients slated for bilateral cataract extraction. One eye will be randomized to the Study Arm, and the fellow eye will be randomized to the Control Arm. Read Less