Clinical Trials

Do you or your child have cardiovascular disease or want to help research? This study aims to improve cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. The clinical investigators will use new MRI methods to look at healthy people and people who have heart problems. Participants in this study must be at least 7 years old, be healthy or have cardiovascular disease, and not be pregnant. This study is located in Bethesda, Maryland.

Do you or your child have cardiovascular disease or want to help research? This study aims to identify better MRI methods and new ways of imaging cardiovascular disease to understand cardiovascular and brain function. Researchers are also interested in seeing whether gadolinium, the commonly used MRI contrast agent, stays in the body long after an MRI is performed. To participate in this study, you or your child should be healthy or have a cardiovascular condition and be at least 7 years old.

The purpose of this study is to non-invasively characterize the fibrotic consequences of single ventricle physiology, its possible solution and effect on lymphatics. This project investigates the response to acute imposition of Fontan hemodynamics by examining the interrelationship between liver and cardiac fibrosis/dysfunction and lymphatic congestion along with a pilot trial of the antifibrotic agent, spironolactone, to prevent these consequences and to determine if MRI can discern these differences. The combination of serum biomarkers and MRI form a powerful non-invasive tool in putting together this complicated web of dysfunction.

Do you or your child have a lung disease? This study will investigate the genes involved in the breathing process and in the development of lung diseases such as asthma or sarcoidosis to improve understanding of the role they play. To participate in this study, you or your child must be between 2 and 90 years old. This study is located in Bethesda, Maryland, at the NIH Clinical Center.

Do you want to participate in a study with your child who has cystic fibrosis? This study is exploring computer models to compare cell samples from the noses of people who have cystic fibrosis, their parents, and other healthy individuals in hopes of better predicting how patients will respond to medicine. These computer models may allow medicines to be developed more rapidly and better predict who will respond to a certain cystic fibrosis treatment. To participate in this study, you must fall into one of the following groups: (1) have cystic fibrosis and be at least 12 years old, (2) be the biological parent of a cystic fibrosis patient enrolled in the study and be at least 18 years old, or (3) have no history of lung disease and be at least 18 years old. This study is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Do you or your child have dyslipidemia? This study is exploring how different diagnostic tests can help us understand how lipid disorders, including high blood cholesterol and high blood triglycerides, affect the body. Information from this study may help improve the way lipid disorders are diagnosed or treated in the future. Participants in this study must be at least 2 years old. The study is being conducted in Bethesda, Maryland.

Do you or your child have overweight or obesity? This study aims to find effective ways to prevent and treat obesity and metabolic syndrome in African American communities. The study will test the effectiveness of a family-based comprehensive health and fitness programs involving community health workers. Participants must be 12 years old or older and African American and have overweight or obesity. This study takes place in Charleston, South Carolina.

Does your child have higher triglyceride levels but normal cholesterol levels? This study is testing whether a protein supplement called carnitine can help prevent blood vessel stiffness in teenagers who have metabolic syndrome or other risk factors for heart and blood vessel diseases. Participants in this study must be between 13 and 19 years old and have moderate to high blood triglyceride levels but normal blood cholesterol levels. This study takes place in Houston, Texas.

The purpose of this trial is to evaluate if augmenting a usual audit and feedback implementation approach with telehealth-enabled support improves coordinated spontaneous awakening/breathing trials and patient outcomes for mechanically ventilated patients.

Ventilated pediatric patients are frequently over-sedated and the majority suffer from delirium, a form of acute brain dysfunction that is an independent predictor of increased risk of dying, length of stay, and costs. Universally prescribed sedative medications-the GABA-ergic benzodiazepines-worsen this brain organ dysfunction and independently prolong duration of ventilation and ICU stay, and the available alternative sedation regimen using dexmedetomidine, an alpha-2 agonist, has been shown to be superior to benzodiazepines in adults, and may mechanistically impact outcomes through positive effects on innate immunity, bacterial clearance, apoptosis, cognition and delirium. The mini-MENDS trial will compare dexmedetomidine and midazolam, and determine the best sedative medication to reduce delirium and improve duration of ventilation, and functional, psychiatric, and cognitive recovery in our most vulnerable patients-survivors of pediatric critical illness.