9 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This study is being done to examine whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) will increase cerebral blood flow which may provide a clinical benefit such as improving cognitive impairment.
Project 3 of the PPG grant "Stress and Atherosclerotic Plaque Macrophages A Systems Biology Approach," funded by the NHLBI, examines the relationship between psychosocial stress and atherosclerotic inflammation, cell proliferation and burden using novel PET/MRI. Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, trauma controls and healthy controls will be recruited into a two-center clinical study. The study team will use functional MRI to examine the relationship between activation of fear circuits in the brain and relate these data to hematopoietic system activation, and vascular inflammation measured by FDG-PET, and atherosclerotic burden measured by MRI.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether or not cerebral atrophy scores obtained from a brain MRI can correlate with Cognitive Test results. These results hope to demonstrate a link between cerebral ischemic/degenerative changes shown on the MRI and cognition functions results.
The purpose of the Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy versus Stenting Trial (CREST) is to compare the relatively new procedure of stent-assisted carotid angioplasty (CAS) to the traditional and accepted surgical approach of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for the treatment of carotid artery stenosis to prevent recurrent strokes in those patients who have had a TIA (transient ischemic attack) or a mild stroke within the past 6 months (symptomatic) and in those patients who have not had any symptoms within the past 6 months (asymptomatic).
Early studies have shown that the immune system may play a role in the development of strokes. Conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and old age can activate the immune system and increase the risk of developing hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and damaged blood vessels. Researchers will attempt to characterize factors that may contribute to atherosclerosis and stroke by measuring certain components of the immune system, cytokines and leukocyte activation. Measurements will be taken from patients that are considered to be stroke prone and from patients without risk factors for the development of stroke. Researchers will measure the immune system components at the beginning of the study, at six months, and at the one-year completion of the study. The study will attempt to determine; I) If patients with risk factors for stroke have an increased activation of the immune system II) If patients with risk factors for stroke that are symptomatic have higher levels of immune system activation compared to patients who do not have symptoms III) If patients with increased activation of the immune system have accelerated hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis)
Early identification of intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) may impact the management of patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy (MT). The aim of the study is to develop and validate a scoring system for pre-thrombectomy diagnosis of ICAD in posterior circulation large vessel/distal medium vessel occlusion strokes (LVOs/DMVOs).
Stroke due to intracranial arterial atherosclerosis is a significant medical problem, carrying one of the highest rates of recurrent stroke despite best medical therapy, with annual recurrence rates as elevated as 25% in high risk groups. The goal of this investigation is to advance a promising surgical treatment for symptomatic atherosclerotic intracranial stenosis - encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis (EDAS). The investigation will test in a phase II futility trial the potential of EDAS for further development before proceeding with the design of a definitive clinical trial of EDAS Revascularization in patients with Symptomatic Intracranial Arterial Stenosis (ERSIAS). The investigation is a 4-year futility trial to test the hypothesis that EDAS revascularization combined with aggressive medical therapy warrants further evaluation in a subsequent pivotal trial as an alternative to aggressive medical management alone for preventing the primary endpoint of stroke or death in patients with symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis (Specific Aim 1). During the investigation the time course of collateralogenesis and perfusion improvement following EDAS will also be evaluated (Specific Aim 2.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS STUDY IS ONLY ENROLLING PATIENTS CURRENTLY BEING TREATED AT BELAIR-EDISON FAMILY HEALTH CENTER. The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of two cardiovascular risk reduction programs - a comprehensive intensive (Cl) intervention with a less intensive (LI) intervention - in African American, and white low-income patients with known excessive cardiovascular disease risk.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether aspirin or warfarin is more effective in preventing stroke in patients with intracranial stenosis.