All Clinical Trials

This study seeks to evaluate a system for the automated early detection of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). AMD is a condition in which there is breakdown of the macula of the eye, the part of the retina that is responsible for sharp, central vision. We will take pictures of subjects' eyes using an automated camera. These photographs will be securely transmitted and and then analyzed by a computer program which has been developed in other studies. The outcome of the computer program analysis will be compared with human analysis of these same pictures. If the computer analysis is has good enough accuracy, then this computer system could be used for wide-scale screening for AMD. Read Less

This is a prospective, open-label, single-center, randomized, head-to-head, investigator-sponsored clinical study. It aims to investigate the vision recovery and patient comfort in borderline/mild dry eye disease patients undergoing FLACS with Premium PCIOL (i.e., Panoptix, Toric IOL (spherical/multifocal), ReStor, Symfony), receiving a 0.4mg dexamethasone intracanalicular insert when compared to patients receiving standard of care prednisolone acetate 1%. Read Less

This is a pilot randomized control trial of the UCLA PEERS protocol delivered via Telehealth with teens with neurofibromatosis type 1 whose parents report that they have difficulty making and keeping friends. Read Less

This study evaluates post-operative pain between different insufflation pressures during robotic-assisted sacrocolpopexy. Subjective pain and narcotic usage after surgery will be measured. Read Less

Lay Summary: Walking problems, such as slow and short steps, are very common in Parkinson's disease and lead to increased falls risk, as well as reduced mobility and quality of life. Walking issues are difficult to treat as medication interventions do not restore walking ability in people with Parkinson's, therefore physiotherapy approaches are used to help improve walking. Various physiotherapy strategies have been used, such as internal (thinking about bigger steps) or external prompts. External prompts include auditory (a metronome beat to step in time to), visual (lines to step over on the floor) and tactile (metronome-like vibration to step with) prompts that are very commonly used to improve walking in Parkinson's. However, the reason why walking improves in people with Parkinson's with these physiotherapy strategies is unknown, which has led to not all patients benefiting and only short-term walking improvements being seen. The main issues are that it is unclear if these various internal or external prompt strategies are effective with the progression of Parkinson's disease, and it is unknown which type of strategy is most effective at different disease stages or with more severe walking impairment, such as freezing (the inability to progress walking for short periods despite wanting to do so). Being able to use specific brain regions to pay attention to different internal or external prompts has been suggested to be the reason why people with Parkinson's can overcome their walking problems, but this has not been tested. Therefore, this study will use state-of-the-art digital technology to measure walking and brain activity changes with different internal and external prompts. The investigators think that the walking improvement with different prompt strategies relies on the ability to activate specific brain regions, and that brain region activity in response to internal or external prompts will change at different stages of Parkinson's disease. Ultimately, understanding the reasons why people benefit from these physiotherapy strategies and who benefits most from specific strategies will enable clinicians to provide more timely and efficient treatment for people with Parkinson's, and to develop more effective strategies to further improve walking. Read Less

This study gathers information on patients at different stages of chronic pancreatitis to better understand the natural course and risk factors associated with pancreatitis. Chronic pancreatitis is a disease that occurs when the pancreas is inflamed (swollen and irritated) all of the time. It is important for doctors to diagnose chronic pancreatitis in the beginning stages of the disease. Over time, as chronic pancreatitis gets worse, the pancreas may stop working correctly. Since treatment options for advanced (end-stage) chronic pancreatitis are limited, patients with early-stage chronic pancreatitis or those at high risk of developing chronic pancreatitis are ideally suited for interventions to prevent the development of end-stage chronic pancreatitis and its associated complications. Information from this study may help researchers to develop lab tests for early diagnosis and prediction of disease progression, to understand disease mechanisms, and to discover genetic factors affecting susceptibility and progression. Read Less

Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) is a common neurosurgical emergency that may arise from several conditions, which cause an intracranial mass effect. In the case of conservatively refractory ICP elevation, one viable treatment option is ICP-lowering surgery, i.e., decompressive craniectomy (DC) in which a large portion of the skull bone is removed and the dura mater opened, creating more room for the brain tissue to expand and thus reducing the ICP. A successful CP will restore the contour of the cranium, protect the brain, and ensure a natural ICP, and some patients also show neurological improvement post-CP. Thus, CP has a great potential for improving the patient's quality of life. Bone flap resorption (BFR) implies weakening and loosening of the autologous bone flap after reimplantation and is regarded as a late CP complication involving nonunion of the bone flap with the surrounding bone margins and cavity formation in the flap itself, which eventually necessitates removal of the bone flap and a new CP using a synthetic implant. These additional operations increase costs and necessitate further hospital stays, while rendering the patient vulnerable to additional complications. Prior research performed as part of the FDA approval process has shown the ASPCI's to be a safe and effective means of performing cranial reconstruction, the anticipated risks do not differ from the risks faced by a patient undergoing either option as they are both currently considered standards of care. This study will evaluate the overall patient outcomes of cranial reconstruction surgery using native bone autograft as compared to using synthetic bone allograft. Read Less

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has been employed in the treatment of prostate cancer. Multiple single institution experiences suggest high biochemical control rates with acceptable toxicity in low risk prostate cancer but efficacy data in unfavorable type prostate cancer is less convincing. CyberKnife-SBRT (CK-SBRT) can be used to escalate radiation dose delivery to the prostate while sparing normal tissue. Read Less

The primary purpose of this study is to establish if an individualized, impairment-based orthopedic intervention (IOI) can improve pelvic floor function and pain in women with Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP). Dry needling will be used as a part of the IOI to intervene upon peripheral muscles stiffness previously found to be more stiff in this population compared to healthy controls. This study is intended to initiate a line of research aimed at assessing widely used orthopedic physical therapy practices to address orthopedic impairments and muscle stiffness differences in women with CPP potentially decreasing time to care for a widely experienced condition. This study will guide potential future studies aimed at intervening upon a larger population and establishing the characteristics of participants who respond favorable to orthopedic care alone. First, this study will establish if this type of intervention has an effect on pelvic floor function and symptoms, pain, and muscle stiffness, all of which are often priorities of treatment for PHPTs treating CPP. A single-subject design is well suited in studying an intervention on such a heterogeneous patient population that does not currently have physical therapy treatment subclassifications. Future studies could help to establish possible subclassifications of CPP to include an orthopedic or peripheral muscle stiffness classification and empower therapists with associations between peripheral orthopedic and myofascial dysfunction and pelvic floor function and pain. This line of research could help prioritize which patients require specialty care, who could initiate care with an orthopedic PT, and who may resolve dysfunction and pain with orthopedic PT alone. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to determine whether use of the nCap Medical Nano-Capacitive pain relief patch reduces subject pain as measured by subject pain scores, WOMAC scores (pain, stiffness and physical function), global assessment scores, and pain medication change as compared to participants randomly assigned to the sham patch group. Read Less

The goal of this study is to estimate the direct, causal impact of medical debt on health care utilization, mental health, and wellbeing of patients. The investigators will conduct a survey to measure the impact of the debt forgiveness on health care use, mental health, and wellbeing. The survey will be administered to approximately 17,000 subjects of a recent medical financial intervention. In that prior intervention, a non-profit charity, RIP Medical Debt, purchased and abolished medical debt for a randomly selected about 6,000 (out of the 17,000) individuals. In this current protocol, the investigators will administer the survey, and will compare surveyed outcomes of subjects who received and did not receive the intervention. Read Less

This is an open label study looking at rifaximin therapy for the treatment of microscopic (collagenous or lymphocytic) colitis. Read Less