14 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This clinical trial studies how well resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) MRI performed before and after surgery works in measuring the effects on language in patients with glioma. Mapping language function before brain tumor resection is crucial for preventing post-surgical deficits and maximizing restoration of language function following surgery. Additional imaging, such as resting-state functional MRI and CVR MRI, may help measure the language network in the brain before surgery and any effects on language function after surgery.
The purpose of this study is to better understand why some children with cancer have difficulty speaking after brain surgery. Difficulty speaking may be due to known complications to the language centers in the brain. These language centers may be located in slightly different places in different people. This study will study which areas may be damaged.
The study is designed to use infusion of a non-radioactive, naturally occurring isotope of glucose (13C) in patients undergoing surgical resection for a newly identified brain mass to obtain the metabolic phenotype of the tumor, and correlate it with the histopathological diagnosis. In each patient, 13C NMR spectral analysis of tumor extracts will be obtained after intraoperative infusion of \[U-13C\]glucose or \[1,2-13C\]glucose. Whenever feasible, patients will undergo 3 preoperative imaging studies - 18FDG-PET, diffusion tensor imaging with 1H-spectroscopy on 3T MR scanner, and ultra high resolution MR imaging on the 7T MR scanner. The results of these imaging studies will be correlated with the metabolic phenotype to generate a comprehensive non-invasive view of the tumor with the goal of identifying infiltrative, metabolically active tumor cells within the brain. In addition, a comprehensive molecular profile of the tumor will be obtained and enable a genotype-metabolic phenotype comparative analysis. Correlative Translational Research The investigators will obtain tumor tissue from each patient for comprehensive molecular analysis (array CGH, expression profiling, methylation profiling) which will be correlated with tumor histology, the metabolites identified by 1H-MR spectroscopy and the 13Cglucose metabolic profile. Patients will be followed at designated time points along their treatment course to obtain information about ongoing treatment and response, time to tumor progression and overall survival. These parameters will be used in correlational analysis with the metabolic phenotype.
Historically, medulloblastoma treatment has been determined by the amount of leftover disease present after surgery, also known as clinical risk (standard vs. high risk). Recent studies have shown that medulloblastoma is made up of distinct molecular subgroups which respond differently to treatment. This suggests that clinical risk alone is not adequate to identify actual risk of recurrence. In order to address this, we will stratify medulloblastoma treatment in this phase II clinical trial based on both clinical risk (low, standard, intermediate, or high risk) and molecular subtype (WNT, SHH, or Non-WNT Non-SHH). This stratified clinical and molecular treatment approach will be used to evaluate the following: * To find out if participants with low-risk WNT tumors can be treated with a lower dose of radiation to the brain and spine, and a lower dose of the chemotherapy drug cyclophosphamide while still achieving the same survival rate as past St. Jude studies with fewer side effects. * To find out if adding targeted chemotherapy after standard chemotherapy will benefit participants with SHH positive tumors. * To find out if adding new chemotherapy agents to the standard chemotherapy will improve the outcome for intermediate and high risk Non-WNT Non-SHH tumors. * To define the cure rate for standard risk Non-WNT Non-SHH tumors treated with reduced dose cyclophosphamide and compare this to participants from the past St. Jude study. All participants on this study will have surgery to remove as much of the primary tumor as safely possible, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The amount of radiation therapy and type of chemotherapy received will be determined by the participant's treatment stratum. Treatment stratum assignment will be based on the tumor's molecular subgroup assignment and clinical risk. The participant will be assigned to one of three medulloblastoma subgroups determined by analysis of the tumor tissue for tumor biomarkers: * WNT (Strata W): positive for WNT biomarkers * SHH (Strata S): positive for SHH biomarkers * Non-WNT Non-SHH, Failed, or Indeterminate (Strata N): negative for WNT and SHH biomarkers or results are indeterminable Participants will then be assigned to a clinical risk group (low, standard, intermediate, or high) based on assessment of: * How much tumor is left after surgery * If the cancer has spread to other sites outside the brain \[i.e., to the spinal cord or within the fluid surrounding the spinal cord, called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)\] * The appearance of the tumor cells under the microscope * Whether or not there are chromosomal abnormalities in the tumor, and if present, what type (also called cytogenetics analysis)
The purpose of this research is to gather information on the safety and effectiveness of the Brain4Care device for measuring intracranial pressure without invasive procedures.
The purpose of this study is * to assess the feasibility and acceptability of massage therapyto examine the effects of massage therapy * to explore whether psychological outcomes are associated with changes in patient reported QoL.
Life-threatening mass effect (LTME) arises when brain swelling displaces or compresses crucial midline structures subsequent to acute brain injuries (ABIs) like traumatic brain injury (TBI), ischemic stroke (IS), and intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH), which can manifest rapidly within hours or more gradually over days. Despite advancements in surgical management, significant gaps in understanding persist regarding optimal monitoring and therapeutic approaches. The current standard for identifying LTME involves neurologic decline in conjunction with radiographic evidence or increased intracranial pressure (ICP) indicating space-occupying mass effect. However, in critically ill patients, reliance on subjective physical exam findings, such as decreased arousal, often leads to delayed recognition, occurring only after catastrophic shifts have already occurred. The goal of this study is to determine the association of non-invasive biomarkers with neurologic deterioration, and to determine whether non-invasive biomarker inclusion improves detection of outcome and decline. The investigators propose to use various non-invasive methods to monitor ICP as adjuncts in detecting deteriorating mass effect. These methods include quantitative pupillometry, radiographic data, laboratory data, and other bedside diagnostic tests available including electroencephalography (EEG), skull vibrations detected via brain4care device, optic nerve sheath diameter assessment (ONSD), and ultrasound-guided eyeball compression. Some of these methods will be measured \*only\* for the purposes of the research study (such as skull vibrations via brain4care). Other measurements, such as quantitative pupillometry, will represent additional measurements beyond those already being collected for clinical care. This research study is necessary to understand the association of these non-invasive biomarkers with neurological decline and outcomes while considering potential confounding factors.
This study explores whether DESI-MS can be used to identify cancerous vs. noncancerous tissue during brain tumor surgery.
This is a pilot study of β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) + Vitamin D3 supplementation in adolescents with cerebral palsy. The primary objective is to quantify safety, compliance, and acceptability of daily combined HMB + Vitamin D3 supplementation for 12 weeks in adolescents with CP. The secondary objective is to quantify changes in lower extremity muscle mass, strength, and functional mobility after daily combined HMB + Vitamin D3 supplementation for 12 weeks.
We are collecting brain tissue specimens and blood samples from patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who are undergoing intracranial surgery to remove brain tissue, including brain tumors, tissue from epilepsy surgery and brain tissue removed during surgery for other non-cancerous types of brain tissus. These specimens will then be studied using a novel microscopic laser-directed protein mass spectrometric analysis, looking for unique protein signatures.
We are doing this study to investigate the effects of acupuncture on chronic low back pain. We are interested in learning about brain activity during pain. We plan to look at brain activity at the beginning and the end of the study, after 6 sessions of acupuncture treatment. You will be randomly assigned to one of two groups to receive either real or placebo acupuncture. Acupuncture has been used for many years to help relieve pain. However, it is not clear how acupuncture works. Acupuncture may relieve pain by changing activity in the nervous system. Some studies indicate that acupuncture may relieve the low back pain. However, we need more research to see how well acupuncture works to relieve pain for people with this condition. In this study, we will measure your brain activity before and after you do exercises to make your back pain worse. We will also measure your brain activity while inflating a pressure cuff device on your lower leg. We will measure this brain activity using a research tool called functional MRI (fMRI). Functional MRI is a very fast MRI that uses radio waves and a magnet, and allows the study investigators to look at changes in blood flow to different parts of the brain when there are changes in brain activity.
This study is to collect and validate regulatory-grade real-world data (RWD) in oncology using the novel, Master Observational Trial construct. This data can be then used in real-world evidence (RWE) generation. It will also create reusable infrastructure to allow creation or affiliation with many additional RWD/RWE efforts both prospective and retrospective in nature.
The objective of the study is to compare children at low risk for obesity (two healthy weight parents) to children at high risk for obesity (two overweight parents) in their response rate to food taste and in their rate of learning using fMRI.
This study is designed to evaluate the if there is a predictable patterns in brainwave activity and to see how this changes with external physical therapy interventions such as manipulation, soft tissue massage, and exercise.