75 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This clinical trial is studying magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging in predicting response in patients to vorinostat and temozolomide in patients with recurrent, progressive, or newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as temozolomide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Vorinostat may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. Vorinostat may also help temozolomide work better by making tumor cells more sensitive to the drug. Imaging procedures, such as magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging, may help measure the patient's response to vorinostat and temozolomide and allow doctors to plan better treatment.
RATIONALE: Diagnostic procedures, such as MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging, may help in learning how well dutasteride works in patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy and low-risk prostate cancer. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging in patients receiving dutasteride for benign prostatic hypertrophy and low-risk prostate cancer.
This study is being done to detect the metabolic changes that Omega 3 fatty acid treatment has on the brain and to find out whether magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) scan can detect metabolic differences between bipolar patients and healthy control participants.
The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of 3T magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) of the prostate in improving the spectral resolution, using a perfluorocarbon compound (PFC)-filled endorectal coil. Specific Aim 1: To compare the spectral quality, measured in Hz (linewidth), of 3T MRSI performed with an air-filled endorectal coil (AIR-MRSI) and a PFC-filled endorectal coil (PFC-MRSI). Specific Aim 2: To compare the quality of spectra of PFC-MRSI by grading the overall quality of MRSI data of each patient subjectively as being "excellent," "good," "fair," "poor," and "non-diagnostic," based on the status of subjective spectral resolution of Cho, Cr and Po peaks, signal to noise ratio (SNR), baseline distortion, and fat contamination.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) are diagnostic tests that allow researchers to look at different chemical properties of tissue. Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy studies can be used to gather or evaluate information about various aspects of patient s bodies or to monitor changes in the biochemistry and physiology of patient s bodies. Unlike other diagnostic techniques (CT scan and PET scan) MRI and MRS do not use ionizing radiation. Some studies have shown that MRI is more effective at distinguishing normal parts of the anatomy from abnormal anatomy, especially in the brain. MRI has become the diagnostic test of choice for evaluating patient with multiple sclerosis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate normal volunteers and patients with a variety of diseases with magnetic resonance imaging. Researchers will attempt different magnetic resonance imaging methods and techniques as well as different levels of magnetic strength.
This trial studies how well new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) software works in improving the image quality of scans in both patients and healthy volunteers. Improving the image quality of MRI and MRSI through new software may lead to implementation of these techniques and better clinical care for patients.
The purpose of this study is to develop and refine the techniques for using magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy to understand the composition and function of the human body
The primary goal of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of detecting Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT) in healthy subjects by using hyperpolarized xenon gas MRI. In this pilot study, MRI of BAT of healthy adult volunteers will be performed at 3 Tesla to assess image quality using a prototype surface coil and pulse sequence following inhalation of hyperpolarized 129Xe (xenon) gas at thermoneutrality and under mild cold condition. The investigators are testing the abilities of xenon MRI to see brown adipose tissue and detect its thermogenic activity.
The purpose of this research study is to identify and study changes in muscle in people with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy using magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy.
The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy, of treating patients with recurrent glioblastoma using Gamma-Knife Radiosurgery (GKS) to target a tumor volume defined by a combination of gadolinium enhancement and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). This is a single center, Phase II trial. A total of 40 glioblastoma patients will be enrolled into the primary arm of the trial. In addition, a minimum of 10 patients with recurrent anaplastic (grade III) gliomas and a minimum of 10 patients with recurrent low-grade (grade II) gliomas will be enrolled into exploratory arms. The investigators hypothesize that the use of a combination of gadolinium enhancement and elevated Cho:NAA ratio via MRS to determine the treatment target volume for Gamma Knife may be an effective way to treat focally-recurrent glioblastoma.
The purpose of this study is to use magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to assess for traumatic brain injury and determine if there is any correlation of these findings to clinical outcome. MR spectroscopy using 2D-CSI (a multi voxel technique) of the corpus callosum, basal ganglia, lobar white matter and brainstem may reveal areas of injury and quantification of the metabolites from these areas may be used to correlate with imaging findings and clinical evaluation. White matter disruption in these areas is commonly seen after TBI, caused by diffuse axonal injury. It has been implicated in the long term outcomes in these patients, but has been difficult to assess by standard radiologic studies. By the use of DTI it may be possible to demonstrate damaged white matter tracts which could be helpful in the evaluation of traumatic brain injury. Most TBI subjects have injuries that involved torque to the brain. This results in a shearing injury to the long white matter tracts, which has been hypothesized to be related to cognitive outcome. Also, to demonstrate that MRS and DTI prove valuable in predicting outcome in patients of moderate brain trauma by conducting progressive studies acutely (within 24 hours) and long term (4-6 weeks). Most patients will most likely be followed clinically for over a year, and, if clinical indicated, farther scanning can be done at a later date. By comparing fraction anisotropy, ADC values, and metabolic ratios by the use of DTI and MRS in the adult and pediatric populations, may help to assess differences in recovery. Lastly, a comparison between the two groups in changes in brain metabolism and/or white matter tract disruption/re-connection after TBI with and/or without links to outcome can be done.
The purpose of this study is to determine if three functional Magnetic Resonance brain imaging techniques: Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy(MRS),Magnetic Resonance perfusion, and Diffusion Tensor Imaging(DTI) can detect brain alterations distinctive for neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE)and systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE).
The purpose of this study is to find out if certain types of Magnetic Resonance (MR) scanning will help to better detect markers in the brain that are related to the neuropsychiatric symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A small percentage of patients who have this type of lupus experience symptoms that may result from a blood clot or change in blood vessel structure in the brain. These neuropsychiatric symptoms can include an inability to think clearly, a change in level of awake and/or awareness, and in the worst cases, seizure and stroke. Another goal of the study is to find out if individuals with fibromyalgia (FM), or chronic pain, have symptom-related markers in any of these scans as well. Better and earlier detection of markers that are related to acute neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE) and FM will be helpful to all who are affected by these diseases.
Evaluating novel MR imaging techniques on volunteers.
Past studies have shown that MRI is useful for staging prostate cancer. This study will use magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to obtain more information. MRSIs with MRIs help doctors locate prostate cancer and determine the extent of tumor before deciding on treatment. This study looks at structural and chemical properties of prostates in prostate cancer patients before and after treatment.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy are diagnostic tools that create high quality images of the human body without the use of X-ray (radiation). MRI uses different levels of magnetic fields to create images of the body and organs. Occasionally, researchers will give patients undergoing a MRI an injection of a contrast substance. The contrast substance works by brightening areas of the magnetic resonance image. In this study researchers plan to use magnetic resonance imaging with contrast substances and exercise on normal volunteers in order to evaluate different aspects of its performance. Information gathered from this study may be used to develop more specific research studies involving MRI....
Technical advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) have provided researchers with the opportunity to study changes of the central nervous system (CNS) and improve diagnosis and therapy of CNS disease. New MRI and MRS techniques specifically designed for functional MRI (fMRI) and MRS imaging of the CNS will be evaluated in normal volunteers and in patients with CNS diseases. This study will develop and evaluate new magnetic resonance pulse sequences for performing MRI or MRS and compare the results to existing MR techniques. Patients and volunteers age 18 and older are eligible for the study. A history will be taken in which exclusion criteria (such as having a pacemaker or cochlear implants) will be addressed, and a pregnancy test will be administered to women of childbearing age. Each subject will also be asked to fill out a questionnaire. Study participants will lie in the MRI scanner from 20 minutes to 2 hours. A coil may be placed on the head and participants may be asked to do simple or complex tasks. A catheter will be placed in an arm vein and a contrast agent will be administered. This agent will allow structures in the brain to show up more clearly.
Subjects with newly diagnosed brain tumors who undergo surgical resection and whose pathology in the operating room shows a high grade glioma will be eligible. During a screening visit, the study will be discussed, inform consent discussed and signed, a medical history will be taken and a physical examination and laboratory tests will be performed. If these tests are all within acceptable ranges, the subject will be considered for inclusion on this treatment protocol. If the results of any tests are extremely different from normal expected values, she/he may not be able to participate. Prior to surgery, the subject will have a contrast enhanced MRI and MRS. The neurosurgeon will attempt to remove the majority of the tumor in the operating room and will send a portion of the specimen removed to the pathologist immediately. This is called a "frozen section". If the pathologist believes that the tumor is a high-grade malignant brain tumor, then the surgeon will place up to 8 dime-sized chemotherapy wafers in the tumor cavity of the brain. The remainder of the tumor specimen will be given to the pathologist to review more closely in the laboratory. If the frozen section does not show that the tumor is a high-grade malignant brain tumor, the subject will not receive the Gliadel wafers and will be removed from the study. The surgeon will then discuss with the subject the appropriate treatment options for the disease he or she has. During recovery in the hospital, another contrast enhanced MRI will be performed within the first 72 hours after surgery. This is a standard of care for patients who are not involved on this protocol as well. The subject will have another contrast enhanced MRI and MRS performed at the 21st Day after his or her surgery. After Day 21, He or she may begin other forms of treatment. The last contrast enhanced MRI and MRS assessment will be performed 12 weeks after the surgery and the implantation of the Gliadel wafers. Further MRI and MRS may be performed subsequently at the discretion of the doctor. Throughout the course of treatment, clinical data will be collected.
The goal of this clinical research study is to learn if magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can show the effects of pre-surgical chemotherapy in breast cancer patients who are eligible to receive preoperative chemotherapy.
REPAIR-MS is a single-center open label, sequential group, investigator and patient blinded study to assess the CNS metabolic effects, safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of CNM-Au8 in patients who have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) within fifteen (15) years of Screening. The primary endpoint for this study changes from baseline to week 12 in CNS metabolic changes, based on 31P-MRSimaging.
REPAIR-ALS is a single-center open label pilot, sequential group, investigator and patient blinded study to assess the CNS metabolic effects, safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of CNM-Au8 in patients who have been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) within twelve (12) months of Screening. The primary endpoint is the ratio of the oxidized to reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+:NADH) measured non-invasively by 31phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS).
REPAIR-PD is a single-center open label pilot, sequential group, investigator and patient blinded study to assess the CNS metabolic effects, safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of CNM-Au8 in patients who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (PD) within three (3) years of Screening. The primary endpoint is the ratio of the oxidized to reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+:NADH) measured non-invasively by 31phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS).
Background: Many people suffer from drug addiction. But currently, treatments are not very effective. One group of patients in this study are enrolled in addiction treatment through physician health programs (PHPs). About 70% of these patients are able to stop using drugs for extended periods of time. By studying this specific group of patients, researchers want to understand the difference between those who may or may not respond to treatment. They want to study the brain while people do thinking and feeling tasks and when they relax. They will study brain chemicals, a stress hormone, and certain genes. The results may help them understand the brain basis for addiction and recovery. Objectives: To use brain imaging to find differences between people with and without drug addiction. To see if these differences help predict addiction. Eligibility: Healthy, right-handed adults ages 21-65, enrolled in a physician health program or those with no history of addiction and with at least 16 years of education Design: Participants enrolled in a PHP will be screened under this study and participants with no history of addiction will be screened under another study. At the study visit, participants will: Have a routine check-up, including tests for pregnancy, drugs, and alcohol. Give 11 blood samples. Rate their cravings. Test their frustration with stressful situations by responding to questions on a screen. Practice the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tasks: Shock task. Two electrodes placed on a foot will deliver brief, low-strength electrical shocks that get gradually stronger, but not painful. Participants will see drug or neutral images. They will rate their discomfort. Thinking tasks. Participants will answer questions about pictures, numbers, and money. They will press buttons in response to things they see. Do the MRI tasks in 2 sessions (morning and afternoon) in the scanner. Participants will lie in an MRI machine which will take pictures of the brain while doing these tasks. Some participants will repeat the visit twice over a year at set intervals. Meals will be provided, and visits will include meal breaks and smoking breaks for those who smoke.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative brain disease with symptoms that include memory loss, problems with impulse control, and depression that can lead to suicide. As the disease progresses, it can lead to dementia. Currently CTE can only be diagnosed postmortem where an over-accumulation of a protein called tau is observed. There is now a new experimental measure that makes it possible, for the first time, to measure tau protein in the living human brain using a novel positron emission tomography (PET) ligand, \[F-18\] AV-1451 (aka, \[18F\]-T807). The main objective of this study is to use a novel PET approach to measure tau accumulation in the brain. The presence of CTE at autopsy in deceased National Football League (NFL) players has been well documented. Accordingly, we will conduct this study in a group of retired NFL players who have clinical symptoms of CTE and are suspected of having CTE based on high levels of tau in their spinal fluid and abnormalities seen on research brain scans. We will compare them with a control group of former elite level athletes who have not experienced any brain trauma, deny any clinical symptoms, and who have completely normal spinal fluid tau and amyloid levels, and brain scans. We will also include a group of subjects with AD. All participants will be recruited from ongoing studies, headed by the Partnering PI of this proposal, Dr. Robert Stern, at the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Alzheimer's Disease Center. We will use both a beta amyloid PET scan (\[18F\]-florbetapir) and a tau PET scan (\[18F\]-T807) on consecutive days. With the beta amyloid scan we expect little or no evidence of amyloid in the NFL players with presumed CTE, and no evidence of amyloid in the control group of athletes with no history of repetitive brain trauma. In contrast we expect to see beta amyloid accumulation in the AD patient brains. With the new tau ligand, we expect that the NFL players with presumed CTE will show elevated levels of tau protein in the brain, which will not be observed in athletes without a history of brain trauma, but which will be seen in the AD patients' brains. Another goal is to use the latest MRI technologies to develop specific tau imaging biomarkers that correlate with the PET and spinal fluid tau measures but without the radiation of PET or invasiveness of spinal taps. The development of these surrogate imaging markers of tau, is critically important to diagnosing CTE. This in turn will lead to studies relevant to treatment and prevention of this devastating disease. Finally, as an exploratory method of examining possible genetic risk for CTE, we will also use cutting edge genetic analysis of blood samples from subjects in this proposal and compare tau load, measured by PET tau ligand uptake and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) p-tau level, with a measure of genetic susceptibility to tau load, referred to as the genetic risk score for tau.
The purpose of the study is to use a new research imaging technique, a kind of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to measure important metabolic features of muscle, including mitochondrial function, in people with mitochondrial disease and in healthy individuals. (Mitochondria are tiny organelles that generate energy for the body.) It is hoped that this new strategy will help physicians to understand better the health problems of people with mitochondrial disease. Eventually, this could lead to better diagnostic and treatment approaches.
Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) is now established as the most accurate non-invasive imaging modality for characterizing breast cancer. CE-MRI has a very high sensitivity because the intravenous MR contrast agent highlights regions with increased vascularization and vascular permeability compared to normal breast tissues and benign lesions.
The purpose of this research study is to determine the potential of magnetic resonance imaging, spectroscopy, and whole body imaging to monitor disease progression and to serve as an objective outcome measure for clinical trials in Muscular Dystrophy (MD). The investigators will compare the muscles of ambulatory or non-ambulatory boys/men with DMD with muscles of healthy individuals of the same age and monitor disease progression in those with DMD over a 5-10 year period. The amount of muscle damage and fat that the investigators measure will also be related to performance in daily activities, such as walking and the loss of muscle strength. In a small group of subjects the investigators will also assess the effect of corticosteroid drugs on the muscle measurements. Additionally, the investigators will map the progression of Becker MD following adults with this rare disease. The primary objective is to conduct a multi-centered study to validate the potential of non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy to monitor disease progression and to serve as a noninvasive surrogate outcome measure for clinical trials in DMD and BMD. The secondary objective is to characterize the progressive involvement of the lower extremity, upper extremity, trunk/respiratory muscles in boys/men with DMD and BMD guiding clinical trials.
Several lines of evidence support the existence of an underlying abnormality in brain energy metabolism may play a key role in the biology of mood disorders. The current study utilizes two distinct but complementary imaging techniques, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), to better understand the nature of these metabolic abnormalities in major depressive disorder (MDD). The investigators hypothesize that individuals with depression will have increased metabolic activity as measured by PET in certain brain regions involved in mood regulation, but that this metabolic activity will be inefficient based on MRS findings. For this study, the investigators will study 10 medication-free, currently depressed participants with recurrent MDD, 10 depressed participants with recurrent MDD currently taking antidepressant medication, and up to 20 healthy control participants matched to depressed participants for age and gender. Depressed and healthy participants will each undergo one PET scan and one MRS scanning session.
The primary objective of this study is to conduct magnetic resonance spectroscopic (MRS) and imaging (MRI) scans to assess the structural and neurochemical profile of the brain in 20 children and adolescents, 6-17 years old with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For comparison, MRS and MRI will also be obtained from 10 healthy control subjects, matched to the 20 subjects with ASD in age, sex, dexterity, and IQ. All eligible subjects will be administered a detailed assessment battery consisting of cognitive assessments (neuropsychological battery including subsets of the DANVA2 and the CANTAB) and measures of psychosocial functioning (SAICA and M-FES). The study includes 1-3 visits for the screening period at Massachusetts General Hospital (approximately 4 hours of assessments) and one scanning visit at McLean Hospital (approximately 1.5 hours). The investigators hypothesize that youth with ASD versus controls will exhibit increased glutamate concentrations, reflecting glutamatergic overactivity, and increased Cho concentrations, suggesting neuronal abnormality. Furthermore, the investigators hypothesize that compared to neurotypical controls, the structural integrity of white mater tracts will be disrupted in ASD.
Background: - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a widely used scanning technique to obtain images of the human body and evaluate activity in the brain. A particular MRI method called magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can be used to study brain chemistry as well, which may help researchers who are studying new treatments for psychiatric illnesses. Researchers are interested in improving current MRI and MRS techniques, as well as developing new MRI and MRS techniques to view and measure brain chemicals and brain activity. Objectives: - To implement, develop, and optimize brain chemistry imaging techniques using magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Eligibility: - Healthy individuals between 18 and 65 years of age. Design: * This study will involve a screening visit and a scanning visit at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. * Participants will be screened with a full medical and physical examination, blood and urine tests, and neurological testing. * During the second visit, participants will have an MRI scan of the brain. (Participants who have received an MRI within the past year will not need to have a second one; the images of the previous scan will be used for this study.) All participants will then have an MRS scan using the same scanning equipment.