All Clinical Trials

The purpose of this study is to determine or evaluate the risk factors such as smoking, family history etc. that cause esophageal cancer and to determine the genetic changes that lead to esophageal cancer. The investigators hypothesis is that systematic collection of data on the natural history of GERD and BE patients and risk factors for development of BE in patients with chronic GERD and progression of BE to dysplasia and adenocarcinoma will provide useful information to develop a decision model for risk stratification and risk reduction strategies in these patients. As of March 17, 2011, 585 patients have consented at the Kansas City VA Medical Center. Read Less

Biofeedback therapy is an effective treatment for the management of patients with dyssynergic defecation and constipation, urinary incontinence (UI), and fecal incontinence (FI). It is labor-intensive, costly, requires multiple office or hospital visits, is not easily available to the vast majority of patients in the community, and is not covered by many insurance companies. The purpose of this study is to 1. Evaluate home biofeedback therapy for patients with either constipation and dyssynergic defecation or urinary leakage or stool leakage by assessing the efficacy and safety of a wireless anorectal biofeedback device, and a cellphone app-based and voice guided home biofeedback training system 2. To compare the efficacy and safety of home biofeedback therapy system with the standard of care, office biofeedback therapy 3. To assess the cost-effectiveness of home biofeedback therapy. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to determine if sequence variations in genes involved in the development and function of vulnerable organs increases susceptibility to chronic lung disease (CLD) and other diseases affecting premature infants, such as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), sepsis, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). The study will also determine whether measurement of certain biomarkers in serum will identify infants who will develop these complications of prematurity. Previous studies from this institution and others have identified genetic variants in some genes, such as toll like receptor genes are associated with higher risk of CLD or NEC. The interaction of these variants with other gene variants that can influence the risk of these diseases remains unclear. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to determine if normally occurring variations in a specific gene called PTGS-1 are associated with an increased risk of narrowing of the ductus arteriosus from exposure to over-the-counter pain medicines (NSAIDs). Read Less

Effective post - operative pain control following orthopedic surgical procedures without excessive reliance upon opioid pain medication has garnered increased attention in recent years. This study will evaluate the utilization of a non-invasive, novel cryo - compression, post-operative modality to improve pain control versus standard ice wraps in the immediate post-operative phase of arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery via a randomized controlled study design. Furthermore, if this study demonstrates improved pain control, improved quality of life and decreased opioid usage with the intermittent cold compression unit, recommendations may be considered for system-wide utilization. Read Less

The main purpose of this study is to examine the outcome of a combined bone marrow and kidney transplant from a partially matched related (haploidentical or "haplo") donor. This is a pilot study, you are being asked to participate because you have a blood disorder and kidney disease. The aim of the combined transplant is to treat both your underlying blood disorder and kidney disease. We expect to have about 10 people participate in this study. Additionally, because the same person who is donating the kidney will also be donating the bone marrow, there may be a smaller chance of kidney rejection and less need for long-term use of anti-rejection drugs. Traditionally, very strong cancer treatment drugs (chemotherapy) and radiation are used to prepare a subject's body for bone marrow transplant. This is associated with a high risk for serious complications, even in subjects without kidney disease. This therapy can be toxic to the liver, lungs, mucous membranes, and intestines. Additionally, it is believed that standard therapy may be associated with a higher risk of a complication called graft versus host disease (GVHD) where the new donor cells attack the recipient's normal body. Recently, less intense chemotherapy and radiation regimens have been employed (these are called reduced intensity regimens) which cause less injury and GVHD to patients, and thus, have allowed older and less healthy patients to undergo bone marrow transplant. In this study, a reduced intensity regimen of chemotherapy and radiation will be used with the intent of producing fewer toxicities than standard therapy. Typical therapy following a standard kidney transplant includes multiple lifelong medications that aim to prevent the recipient's body from attacking or rejecting the donated kidney. These are called immunosuppressant drugs and they work by "quieting" the recipient's immune system to allow the donated kidney to function properly. One goal in our study is to decrease the duration you will need to be on immunosuppressant drugs following your kidney transplant as the bone marrow transplant will provide you with the donor's immune system which should not attack the donor kidney. Read Less

The collection of patient self-report and diagnostic data will allow us to examine the efficacy of the treatment delivered in the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program. Using data gathered through routine clinical care, the investigators seek to explore whether patients in treatment show improvements from admission to discharge, compared to patients on the waitlist, and whether these gains are maintained three months post-discharge. The following are included as examples of some of the study's hypotheses. Read Less

OBOE is a prospective, pilot, parallel group RCT with the overall aim of examining the effect of a single dose of anti-IgE (omalizumab) vs. placebo administered at the onset of URIs in the fall season among highly exacerbation-prone, urban, and atopic youth aged 6-17 years with persistent asthma. OBOE will recruit and randomize participants over 3 years (3 annual cohorts of participants). Recruitment for each of the yearly cohorts of OBOE will begin in February. Each cohort will be followed for a 2-6-month run-in period with the objective to gain control of each participant's asthma and to stabilize the required controller medication step level. Participants will receive routine asthma care every 1-2 months (a total of 2-4 times) during run-in using a previously described algorithm developed by the Inner-city Asthma Consortium and successfully employed in the PROSE study. The primary outcome is the change in the amount of nasal IFN-α recovered by nasal fluid absorption between two time points, within 72 hours of onset of a URI as defined by onset of (or substantial worsening of) rhinorrhea, nasal congestion or sneezing (single or multiple symptoms) and 3-6 days after study drug injection. Read Less

Depression and anxiety disorders rank in the top ten causes of years lived with disability. Less than 50% of patients experiencing long-lasting improvements to current gold-standard treatments. Two gold-standard behavioral interventions include behavioral activation, focused on enhancing approach behavior towards meaningful activities, and exposure-based therapy, focused on decreasing avoidance and challenging negative expectations. While these interventions have divergent treatment targets, there is little knowledge to inform which strategies should be used in the frequent case of comorbid anxiety and depression. Approach-avoidance decision-making paradigms focus on assessing responses when faced with potential rewards and threats, tapping into processes important for both anxiety and depression as well as behavioral activation and exposure-based therapy. For this study, investigators will recruit individuals reporting both anxiety and depression symptoms and randomize them to one of three different interventions: (1) behavioral activation, (2) exposure-based therapy, and a non-specific therapy approach (3) supportive therapy. Participants will complete clinical, self-report, behavioral, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessments before and after therapy. Investigators will use a computational approach to model factors that may influence one's behavior during approach-avoidance decision-making, including drives to avoid threat versus approach reward and confidence versus uncertainty in one's decisions. This project will accomplish the following aims (1) Determine how changes in brain and behavior responses during approach-avoidance conflict relate to changes in mental health symptoms with the different therapy approaches, (2) Determine the degree to which baseline brain and behavior responses during approach-avoidance conflict predict response to the different therapy approaches, above and beyond the influence of demographics and baseline symptom severity. In addition, by including peripheral blood draws and measures of grace matter volume, the project will also accomplish the following aims: (1) Determine whether kynrenine metabolites measures peripherally may be beneficial as a biomarker of treatment response and (2) determine whether there is an association between change in kynurenine metabolites and changes in gray matter volume with treatment. Results will enhance understanding of how different psychotherapy approaches (behavioral activation, exposure-based therapy) may impact brain responses and decisions when faces with potential reward versus threat and approach versus avoidance drives. In addition, results will have important implications concerning the potential for a more personalized approach to psychotherapy, enhancing knowledge of which types of therapy strategies may be most beneficial for which individuals. Read Less

This study will assess the efficacy of the modified Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (mABC) Intervention, adapted for use with peripartum mothers receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. The investigators expect that mothers who receive the modified Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up Intervention will show more nurturing and sensitive parenting and more adaptive physiological regulation than parents who receive a control intervention. The investigators expect that infants whose mothers receive the modified Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up will show better outcomes in attachment, behavior, and physiological regulation than infants of parents who receive the control intervention. Read Less

This is a research study using Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor (GCSF) as a bone marrow stimulating agent for imaging to guide radiation treatment planning. G-CSF is a type of growth factor. Growth factors are proteins made in the body. G-CSF is a type of growth factor that makes the bone marrow produce white blood cells to reduce the risk of infection after some types of cancer treatment. Read Less

This phase II trial tests how well CPI-613 (devimistat) in combination with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or gemcitabine works in patients with solid tumors that may have spread from where they first started to nearby tissue, lymph nodes, or distant parts of the body (advanced) or that have not responded to chemotherapy medications (chemorefractory). Metabolism is how the cells in the body use molecules (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) from food to get the energy they need to grow, reproduce and stay healthy. Tumor cells, however, do this process differently as they use more molecules (glucose, a type of carbohydrate) to make the energy they need to grow and spread. CPI-613 works by blocking the creation of the energy that tumor cells need to survive, grow in the body and make more tumor cells. When the energy production they need is blocked, the tumor cells can no longer survive. Hydroxychloroquine is a drug used to treat malaria and rheumatoid arthritis and may also improve the immune system in a way that tumors may be better controlled. Fluorouracil is in a class of medications called antimetabolites. It works by killing fast-growing abnormal cells. Gemcitabine is a chemotherapy drug that blocks the cells from making DNA and may kill tumor cells. CPI-613 (devimistat) in combination with hydroxychloroquine and 5-fluorouracil or gemcitabine may work to better treat advanced solid tumors. Read Less