574 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Individuals with dementia present with changes in behaviors throughout the continuum of cognitive decline. Environmental features may be influential in behavioral regulation. The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of environmental design protocols in older adults with dementia and their caregivers. Thirty subjects with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease as primary dementia type, and their caregivers, will be randomly assigned to one of three arms: standard care; standard environmental design protocol; or personalized environmental design protocol.
In this research study, investigators want to learn more about the factors that influence children's breathing during sleep and their sleep quality. Specifically, investigators are interested in factors that are related to risk of snoring, sleep apnea (a condition where breathing stops during sleep), and poor sleep quality.
Drs. Patricia Risica (Brown University) and Kim Gans (University of Connecticut) are Dual Principal Investigators for this project. The research team will first conduct formative research using focus groups and key-informant interviews of Family Child Care Home (FCCH) providers. This formative work will inform our adaptation of components of previous evidence-based interventions to create a new innovative intervention in both English and Spanish to improve food and PA environments of Family Child Care Homes (FCCH). The intervention will integrate: a) support from peer counselors with child care experience who will serve as team leaders for groups of FCCPs; b) tailored print and video materials; and c) a set of portable active toys. A cluster-randomized trial with 132 FCCH will evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention with a Steering Committee and Community Advisory Board guiding all aspects. The Specific Aims of the study are to: 1) Conduct formative research to inform the development and adaptation of the FCCH intervention. 2) Conduct a cluster-randomized trial of the intervention's efficacy with 66 FCCH providers and a control intervention with 66 demographically-matched FCCH providers to evaluate its impact on: a) Children's overall dietary quality at FCCHs; b) Children's PA and sedentary behaviors at FCCHs; and c) the physical and social food and PA environments of FCCHs. Evaluation methods will include survey data collection of the FCCH Providers; observation of children's' dietary intake and physical activity in FCCHs; recruitment of children within the FCCH for physical and survey measurement with permission from their parents.
The purpose of this study is to design and conduct research to tailor out of school time evaluation materials so they are applicable to various settings in Boston, are efficient in that minimal resources and time are used, and are useful to participants.
The primary aim of this research is to evaluate the efficacy of a multicomponent worksite-based, environmental intervention in reducing weight increase and obesity over time in working adults.
The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of conducting a large hospital based case control study of the role of dioxins and dioxinlike polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
This study will examine the roles of diet, lifestyle, genes, and their possible interactions in the cause of Parkinson's disease, using information from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. The NIH-AARP study was established in 1995 to examine the roles of diet and lifestyle in cancer. It included 567,169 AARP members 50 or older from California, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Louisiana, and the Atlanta and Detroit metropolitan areas. In 1995, participants completed a comprehensive questionnaire on diet and a survey on demographics, medications, as well as a follow-up survey in 1996 with more detailed questions on lifestyle and medications, as well as cooking methods and early life dietary habits. A third followup survey is currently underway. The current NIH-AARP substudy on Parkinson's disease will include approximately 9,000 participants from the NIH-AARP study - 3,000 of whom reported being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease on the most recent survey, and 6,000 control subjects. These study participants provide two saliva samples for genetic analysis and may be asked to complete a telephone interview. In addition, those with Parkinson's disease are asked permission to review medical information regarding their diagnosis.
The long-term goal of the TEDDY study is the identification of infectious agents, dietary factors, or other environmental agents, including psychosocial factors which trigger T1DM in genetically susceptible individuals or which protect against the disease. Identification of such factors will lead to a better understanding of disease pathogenesis and result in new strategies to prevent, delay or reverse T1DM.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether certain environmental factors, namely occupational exposures and diet, have a greater effect on prostate cancer risk in the presence of selected inherited genetic factors.
The purpose of this study is to understand how different types of community-based mental health care affect thinking abilities, daily functioning, and brain activity in adults with schizophrenia and related conditions. The investigators are especially interested in learning whether the Clubhouse Model-a structured, supportive community for individuals with mental illness-has unique benefits compared to standard outpatient mental health services. If participants decide to join, they will be asked to complete a total of six study visits with the research team over the course of your participation. Three of these study visits are at the beginning (baseline) and the remaining three are six months later. Two of the three visits will includes interviews, questionnaires, and thinking and memory tasks (cognitive testing) and one session will be an MRI brain scan, which is a safe and non-invasive imaging procedure. The total time required for each visit will be approximately 90 minutes to two hours. Participants may take breaks as needed.
The project will include 30 patients with bladder cancer who are candidates for bladder removal. After signing the consent form, the study team will collect some clinical data, such as age, past medical history, past surgical history, and information about your current disease. At the day of surgery, after putting participants into sleep and before surgery begins, the study team will do a novel ultrasound called "Super-Resolution Ultrasound Localization Microscopy" to check if there is still disease in the bladder. The team will then compare the results of this investigational ultrasound with the final pathology and other imaging studies.
The goal of this clinical trial is to understand how environmental factors influence comfort and health. The main question it aims to answer is: * do temperature, visuals, and sounds affect a person's physiology and perception? Participants will watch short videos in 2 different climate-controlled environments and provide feedback on their thermal experiences.
This project will compare the health effects of public housing renovation, neighborhood built and social environment improvements, and indoor air purification, alone and in combination, as well as the cost effectiveness of each approach. STUDY 1: The study will assess the effects of public housing and neighborhood environment (built and social) improvements on health-related behaviors, psychosocial and physiologic stress, and self-reported and physiological markers of lung health and chronic disease. STUDY 2: The study will determine whether indoor air purification can positively impact lung health in public housing sites not undergoing housing renovation, comparing a site near industrial pollution vs one less contaminated.
This study is a randomized clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of a Sensory Adapted Dental Environment (SADE) alone and together with a video-based modeling (VBM) component (VBM-SADE), compared to a regular dental environment (RDE) and/or VBM alone, to reduce anxiety, distress behavior, pain, and sensory discomfort during a dental cleaning in children with and without dental fear and anxiety.
Over recent years, military service women have shown increasing interest in utilizing long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs; i.e., implants or intrauterine devices, IUDs). While clinically, LARC have been proven safe and effective at preventing pregnancy \& decreasing menstrual symptoms, it is unclear what impact this type of contraceptive may have on physiological responses to extreme environments (heat, cold and high altitude). Additionally, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia are prevalent in U.S. military women which likely affect health and performance. There is evidence to suggest that the prevalence of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia is lower in women utilizing LARCs, which preserve iron stores, likely due to reduced menstrual blood loss that compounds with each cycle over the course of months. Due to the increasing interest in the utilization of LARCs it is important to understand what, if any, impact these methods of contraception may have on a female Soldier's physiological responses. The overall goal of the present study is to characterize iron status and physiological responses (including but not limited to sweating, skin blood flow, ventilation, and heart rate) to extreme environmental stressors of heat, cold and high altitude (i.e. hypobaric hypoxia) in women utilizing LARCs. Up to thirty-three individuals (n=18 LARCs, n=15 monophasic oral contraceptives) will complete testing visits separated by at least 48 hours for environmental testing visits. During heat stress testing, measures of core body temperature, skin temperature, and sweat rate will be measured during a standardized protocol in hot, humid conditions. During cold stress, measures of body core temperature, metabolic heat production, skin blood flow and temperature (at both distal extremity and proximal body sites) will be assessed in order to better quantify the impact of exogenous sex hormones via LARCs and OCs in volunteers exposed to the cold. Measurements will be obtained during a standardized protocol in cold air (\~90 min; 10°C). For altitude, cardiopulmonary responses will be assessed during rest and exercise during an acute altitude exposure (4300m). Blood samples will be collected throughout the investigation in order to quantify sex hormone concentrations, iron status, and inflammatory biomarkers in response to environmental stressors. The investigators will also utilize laboratory tests (i.e., carbon monoxide (CO) rebreathing technique) and collect blood samples to quantity iron stores in these groups of women. To characterize iron status, the Soldier Performance Health and Readiness (SPHERE) epidemiological data repository will be utilized to quantify the prevalence of iron deficiency and iron deficient anemia diagnoses between women using LARCs and women not utilizing LARCs.
The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to determine if physical therapy incorporating horses can improve the motor skills of the arms in children 6-17 years old with neuromotor disorders (such as cerebral palsy, spinal muscular atrophy, or spina bifida) compared to standard play-based physical therapy. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Is the study protocol feasible and acceptable for participants, that investigators could apply them to a larger trial? 2. Do participants make improvements toward their goals for motor function, arm use, and participation in life situations following treatment, and is it different between the experimental and comparative intervention groups? 3. What are the physiological, behavioral, and emotional responses of children receiving physical therapy incorporating horses, versus those receiving standard physical therapy? Researchers will compare the experimental group who receive physical therapy incorporating horses to the comparative intervention group who receive standard play-based physical therapy to see if there is a difference in outcomes. Participants will complete a pre- and post-intervention assessment of their motor function and participation in life situations. Participants will receive physical therapy twice a week for 8 weeks for the intervention. In both groups, physiological, behavioral, and emotional responses to the interventions will be measured in 4 total sessions, 1 each at weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8.
The goal of this research study is to learn about the effects of the BBCSI course on the quality of life of Black breast cancer survivors. A community-based and peer-led Black Breast Cancer Survivors Intervention (BBCSI) course has been developed to help improve the quality of life of Black breast cancer survivors.
The goal of Cancer PRevention through Enhanced EnvironMenT (Cancer PREEMpT) is to test whether a comprehensive intervention that improves the neighborhood built and social environment can reduce community-level cancer risk in persistent poverty (PP) areas. Our overall hypothesis is that enhancements of the living environment (both built and social) will lower cancer risk through several mechanisms. Built environment improvements will impact walkability (through improved lighting, sidewalks, green space) and access to preventive care (through a mobile wellness van and community health workers), which will stimulate health-related behaviors (physical activity, cancer screening). These improvements will also positively impact safety (through blight removal, traffic calming), social cohesion (through opportunities for socialization), and collective efficacy (through improved neighborhood perceptions). Social environment improvements will increase social cohesion (through community-led events) and collective efficacy (through a Community Leadership Academy and community grants), which will improve public safety as well as facilitate health-related behaviors (physical activity, prevention/wellness). Both types of improvements (built and social environment) will help reduce chronic stress, which will lower the PP community's cancer risk.
Background: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic disease that causes more than 140,000 US deaths each year. AUD treatment often includes therapy and medication. Some people with AUD may also benefit from behavioral and lifestyle changes. Objective: To evaluate the effects of different activities and environments on drinking behaviors and mental health in people with AUD. Eligibility: People aged 21 years and older with AUD. Design: Participants will have up to 10 study visits in Baltimore. Participants will have a baseline visit. They will have a physical exam with blood and urine tests. They will have a breath test for alcohol and a test that measures body composition. They will answer questions about their alcohol and substance use; mental and physical health; mood and anxiety; and sleep quality. Participants will download an app called MetricWire. The app will send 3 sets of questions to be answered at different times throughout the day. The study visits will include 2 stages: 1. Active stage. On these visits, participants will use a virtual reality system called the Meta Quest Pro (MQP) as they choose. Then they may choose among video games, puzzles, books, crafts, and other activities.. These sessions will last for 3 hours. 2. Passive stage. On these visits, participants will watch videos selected by the research team. These sessions will last for 3 hours. On the last visit of each stage, participants will sit in a room that looks like a bar. They will answer questions about their cravings, their urge to drink, and how many drinks they would buy. Participants will be served 1 drink containing alcohol. They will be asked about their cravings and subjective effects of alcohol after drinking it.
The goal of this 2-arm randomized control trial is to determine the impact of a community health worker delivered coaching intervention, GRIT, on preventing the early initiation of regular use of alcohol and cannabis among adversity-impacted adolescents ages 11-14 who do not regularly use alcohol or cannabis at baseline. The specific aims include: * Aim 1. Examine the effect of GRIT on preventing the early initiation of regular alcohol and cannabis use over time. * Aim 2. Examine the role of youth and caregiver self-regulation in mediating the effect of GRIT on adolescent rates of alcohol and cannabis use. Researchers will compare participants who are randomized to the GRIT intervention to an active control group, receiving a Digital Citizenship Curriculum, to see if those who participate in GRIT experience greater improvements in self-regulation and lower cardiometabolic risks. Participants will: * Be randomized to either receive the GRIT intervention (experimental group) or the Digital Citizenship Curriculum (active control group) * Complete 3 in-person visits at baseline, post-intervention, and 12-month post intervention * Complete HRV assessments using emWave Pro Plus and survey assessments on REDCap during in-person visits. * Participate in six 60-minute sessions conducted over 8 weeks via Zoom with an assigned community-health worker * Be invited to complete a booster session at 6-months post-intervention * Complete online measures at baseline, post-intervention, 6-month, and 12-month post-intervention
The goal of this randomized control group is to learn about effective treatments for college students experiencing anxiety and/or depression. The main questions this clinical trial aims to answer are: 1) Can mindfulness-based treatments increase retention rates among first-generation college students? 1) Can mindfulness-based treatments decrease anxiety and/or depression among first-generation college students? Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two intervention groups: mindfulness meditation or psychoeducation. Researchers will compare outcomes from each group to explore treatment differences.
The main goal of this study is to understand how different environments influence both mental responses, like overthinking (rumination), and physical reactions, such as heart rate and blood pressure, after a challenging task.
Nearly 50% of older adults complain of poor habitual sleep, and in many cases the underlying reason remains undiagnosed or unknown. Meanwhile, observational data suggest that bedroom temperature significantly influences sleep quality in community-dwelling older adults, including those without financial constraints that limit the use of heating and cooling. These individuals often struggle to maintain an optimal bedroom temperature, either due to impaired motor function and cognitive abilities, and/or a lack of awareness about how temperature affects their sleep. Therefore, for a non-trivial portion of older adults, optimizing the bedroom temperature presents an exciting and untapped opportunity to improve sleep without substantial cost, burden, and side effects. The intervention, biologically adaptive control of bedroom temperature, uses wearable health trackers (e.g., a Garmin watch) and smart thermostats to automate and personalize bedroom temperature control, tailoring it to each person's unique physiology and context. Initially, individuals will be monitored in their home to determine each person's specific temperature range that promotes sleep quality, as measured by the wearable device. After the initial monitoring, the smart thermostat will maintain bedroom temperature within the optimal range for sleep for as long as the individual uses the intervention. The primary purpose of this project is to test the feasibility of biologically adaptive control of bedroom temperature as an intervention to improve sleep in older adults and gather preliminary data to facilitate sample size calculations for a definitive trial. 20 Older adults, aged 65 and above, will be enrolled and their bedrooms bedrooms will be equipped with smart thermostats. The first aim focuses on assessing the feasibility of the intervention. This includes evaluating participant recruitment and retention, the acceptability of temperature adjustments (tracked through the number of temperature overrides by participants), and the self-reported likelihood of future use. The second aim involves analyzing the mean and variance of sleep outcomes during observation and intervention phases (separately for each group), examining the degree to which they vary with temperature variations and behavioral adaptations.
The goal of this study is to learn if a enhanced environment (Metro Café) with multi model approach (an approach that combines several therapies) in chronic traumatic brain injury improves outcomes of recovery better than traditional therapy. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Determine the amount of therapy dosage (speech, cognition, arm and leg movements) obtained during the Metro Café therapy session. * Evaluate the connection between environmental enrichment dosage (the Metro Café) and clinical outcome scores. Researchers will compare Metro Café Treatment to those who do not receive this treatment to see if better improvements in function after a traumatic brain injury are seen in the Metro Café Treatment Participants will train in the Metro Cafe during the 2-month gap between assessments, for a total of 18 training sessions, each up to 2 hours, 3 times per week. Participants will greet and serve customers drinks and snacks, maintain food supplies at the counters and performs housekeeping tasks with advice and assistance from a supervising researcher as needed,
Among the general population, it has been established that plant-based diets confer significant environmental benefits (greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water use) compared to omnivorous diets. However, sports nutrition recommendations for supporting resistance exercise-induced gains in muscle mass and strength differ substantially from population-level recommendations, especially for protein intake. Therefore the difference in environmental impact between omnivorous and plant-based diets for adults following such recommendations is as yet unknown. A prior analysis found that a high-protein, non-animal-derived diet can support resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength to the same extent as a protein-matched omnivorous diet. These findings align with previous research showing that, in the context of a high-protein diet, the source of protein - whether animal or plant-based - does not affect the rate of resistance exercise-induced gains in muscle mass and strength. The present study therefore plans to retrospectively analyze the diet records from previously published research to determine the difference in environmental impact between the high protein animal-free and omnivorous diets. The findings could highlight the unique difference in environmental impacts between those following high protein plant-based and omnivorous diets.
This multi-method project will recruit young adults who currently use cigarillos and examine the effects of different flavored cigarillo types (concept, characterizing, tobacco) on three measures of tobacco product appeal: subjective effects (e.g., taste, enjoyment, satisfaction, reward), actual smoking behavior (e.g., number of puffs), and tobacco product purchases via a simulated experimental tobacco marketplace.
The investigators believe that rehabilitation specialists will use community reintegration treatments more if a simulated environment is available.
This study will measure appeal and reinforcement for different flavored little cigars/cigarillos (LCCs) in young adults in the laboratory and at-home, via ecological momentary assessment (daily smart-phone surveys)
The purpose of this study is to test a person-centered, nature-based non-pharmacological intervention for nursing home residents living with dementia who exhibit persistent vocalizations. The Environmental And Sensory Experience (EASE) involves the projection of a still nature image and the playing of nature sounds. Family members of the person living with dementia provide consent for the resident to participate in the study and complete a brief survey on nature preferences on the resident's behalf. The survey informs the research team on what nature scene to show. Participants will wear a watch that measures stress levels and research staff will monitor vocalization patterns. We will also recruit persons living with dementia from other settings such as assisted living, personal care units, and adult day care settings.
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if the Talk With Me Baby (TWMB) program improves the home-language environment for at-risk families with children ages two to six months when primary care providers deliver the program during well-child checkups. The main question it aims to answer is: Will the TWMB program increase the time a caregiver talks to their infant? Participants will: 1. Come to at least four well-child checkups 2. Receive the TWMB program from the provider during the checkups 3. Record their conversations with their infant before they receive the program and after they receive the program four times.