Clinical Trials

Are you an adult who does not have high blood pressure and is interested in research? This study will investigate how the brain regulates the body’s response to stress and how infection with HIV or pre-hypertension affects regulation. Your heart and brain activity will be measured while you are at rest, during a mentally stressful task, and while you feel angry. The study will also test whether a breathing exercise improves regulation. People with and without HIV and pre-hypertension will be included. To participate in this study, you must be between 21 and 65 years old and not have high blood pressure. This study is located in Miami, Florida.

Pneumonia is a major public health problem for the elderly and is one of the leading causes of hospitalization and death for this population, particularly for elderly nursing home residents. This planning grants seeks to establish a safe and effective dose of zinc supplementation with the goal to conduct a larger randomized clinical trial to study the effect of zinc supplementation in nursing home elderly with low serum zinc levels on the risk, antibiotic use, and duration of sick days with pneumonia. This project has significant potential to positively impact the health and quality of life in the elderly and to reduce the economic costs associated with their care.

DIVA is a pragmatic randomized clinical trial (RCT) to determine: among (P) preterm infants born 24-27 6/7 weeks gestation undergoing extubation from mechanical ventilation, whether (I) Non-invasive neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NIV-NAVA) (C) compared with Non-synchronized nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NS-NIPPV), will reduce the incidence of (O) extubation failure within (T) 5 days (120 hours) of extubation.

This observational trial studies whether respiratory viruses are the cause of lung disease (bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome [BOS] or graft-versus-host disease of the lung) and changes in lung function in patients who have received a donor stem cell transplant. Patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) are at higher risk of developing BOS. Studies have also shown that patients who had a respiratory viral illness early after their transplant are at higher risk of developing lung problems later on. Patients who are at risk and who already have BOS might benefit from being monitored more closely. Spirometry is a way of assessing a patient's lung function and is often used to diagnose lung disease. Spirometry measured at home with a simple handheld device may reduce the burden of performing pulmonary function testing at a facility and potentially help patients get their lung disease diagnosed and treated sooner.

The objective of this study is to investigate the mechanisms of respiratory functional and respiratory motor responses to the scES as an important step toward the long-term goal of developing effective evidence-based rehabilitation strategies for patients with SCI. The central hypothesis is that scES raises the excitability of motor networks for respiration resulting in amplified use-dependent neural plasticity in response to the respiratory training. The rationale for the proposed study is to justify the development of a new direction in respiratory rehabilitation by using respiratory training in combination with electrical spinal cord stimulation.

The purpose of this study is to see if adding a drug called Regadenoson to the EVLP circulation reservoir during perfusion of marginal donor lungs will help increase the likelihood that the donor lungs will become usable for transplantation.

Are you in need of a heart or lung transplant or have you had one in the past 3 months? Have you undergone a lung or heart transplant in the past 3 months or are you a candidate for heart or lung transplant? Some people with advanced heart and lung disease have heart and lung transplants but these new organs are often rejected. When this happens, patients must have repeated biopsies, which are invasive and expensive. Researchers in this clinical study want to see if a blood test can predict organ rejection and take the place of biopsies. To participate, you must be 18 to 80 years old and be a candidate for heart or lung transplant or have had a heart or lung transplant no more than three months ago. The study is taking place in Bethesda, Maryland, at the NIH Clinical Center, as well as in Baltimore, Maryland, and Falls Church, Virginia.

Are you an adult who gets little exercise and sits a lot every day? If you sit for more than 8 hours a day and exercise less than 90 minutes per week, this study may interest you. Researchers want to see if walking or standing breaks during long sitting periods can make your heart healthier. To take part in this study, you must be 36 to 55 years old. You also should be able to walk four blocks and go up two flights of stairs. The study is taking place in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The purpose of the research is to understand structural plaque abnormalities that make a carotid plaque unstable and brake off (embolize) which would help to predict and treat individuals who are likely to suffer not only classic episodic major strokes but also cognitive impairment.

The goal of this work is to develop and test a noninvasive ultrasound-based imaging technology to better identify patients at high risk of stroke so that appropriate and timely intervention may be administered to prevent it.