10 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The goal of this pilot study is to determine the reliability of myasthenia gravis (MG) specific outcome measures obtained during virtual encounters with patients with myasthenia gravis. The main question it aims to answer is: Are MG-specific outcome measures obtained during virtual encounters reliable? Participants will complete two virtual study visits in which they will be administered common MG-specific outcome measures and a newly developed outcome measure developed specifically for telemedicine assessments of MG patients.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a brief, efficient, and effective treatment for individuals with depressive/anxiety disorders. However, CBT is largely underutilized within the Department of Veterans Affairs due to the cost and burden of trainings necessary to deliver all of the related disorder-specific treatments (DSTs). Transdiagnostic Behavior Therapy (TBT), in contrast, is specifically designed to address numerous distinct disorders within a single protocol in Veterans with depressive/anxiety disorders. The proposed research seeks to evaluate the efficacy of TBT by assessing psychiatric symptomatology and related impairment outcomes in Veterans with social anxiety disorder and comorbid posttraumatic stress via a randomized controlled trial of TBT and an existing DST. Assessments will be completed at pre-, mid-, and post-treatment, and at 6-month follow-up. Process variables also will be investigated.
The researchers will examine functional neural correlates that differentiate between laryngeal dystonia and voice tremor and contribute to disorder-specific pathophysiology using a cross-disciplinary approach of multimodal brain imaging.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether using a smart phone application to foster communication between study participants and their doctor will impact care. Participants must have a history of migraine or have recently been prescribed a common medicine to treat migraine. The study will last about one year for each participant.
OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of estrogen on the development of the PNET in MEN1 patients. The secondary objective is to evaluate the overall survival and disease specific survival in patients who have confirmed MEN1 with or without PNET and a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor in relation to their hormone status. The secondary objective is to evaluate clinicopathologic features in relation to hormone status.
This study is being done to learn more about health related quality of life factors in people having surgery for colorectal liver metastasis. The investigators will look at how these factors may change over time. The information gained from this study will help the investigators to understand the long-term effects that cancer treatments have on the health related quality of life of patients. This information is of high value and will help doctors talk to patients about the possible effects of their operations. While many patients live a long time after such operations, the studies that have been done do not tell the full story of what patients go through after surgery. This study will help us to understand cancer treatment from the patient's perspective. It will also help cancer patients make better decisions about their treatment options and will help them know what to expect after the operation.
Lupus is a disease in which the immune system, which normally fights infection, begins to attack healthy cells in the body. This phenomenon is called autoimmunity and what the immune system attacks is called the autoantigen. Lupus can affect many parts of the body and often affects the skin, with immune cells attacking autoantigens in the skin and causing a rash. This rash is often visible to the public because it tends to occur on sun-exposed areas, for example a patient's face, chest, and arms. For this reason, among others, skin lupus can be a source of disability and poor health related quality of life in many patients with this disease. It is not completely understood why or how someone might develop lupus, however there are likely many reasons which include their genetics and also the kind of environment they live in. One such environmental factor, vitamin D, is more commonly known as a vitamin important for bone health. However, we are learning that vitamin D has effects all over the body, and is also important for a healthy immune system. Low levels of vitamin D have been associated with an increased risk of other autoimmune disorders such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis, and have also been found to be common in skin lupus patients. Vitamin D is made in the skin when it is exposed to the sun, specifically ultraviolet B radiation (UVB). The main source of vitamin D for most people is its production in the skin because the normal American diet is not high in vitamin D. However, patients with skin lupus tend to stay out of the sun because their rash is made worse by sunlight, which is thought to produce more of the autoantigens in the skin attacked by the immune system. Additionally, as skin doctors (dermatologists) we recommend sun protection to skin lupus patients to minimize sun-sensitivity and prevent flares of their skin disease. However we may be putting them at risk for low vitamin D status and even more severe disease. Another risk factor that puts skin lupus patients at risk for vitamin D deficiency is that these patients generally have darker skin types which blocks UVB and further limits vitamin D production in the skin. Given that skin lupus patients are at high risk for low vitamin D status as mentioned above, the investigators propose a research study that will provide information about vitamin D levels in these patients. The investigators seek to identify how many skin lupus patients have low vitamin D status and how vitamin D influences the natural history of this skin disease. Additionally the investigators will evaluate whether or not supplementation with high dose vitamin D will lessen the severity and negative quality of life impact of skin lupus. Supplementation of vitamin D by mouth is an inexpensive, well tolerated, and safe over the counter method to replete and maintain a normal vitamin D status. Studies in other autoimmune diseases, specifically Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis, have shown that high dose vitamin D supplementation improves disease severity. It is the hope of the investigators that this will also be observed in skin lupus patients. In summary, the investigators seek to move beyond establishing an association between vitamin D status and skin lupus. The investigators aim to elucidate the therapeutic benefit, if any, of vitamin D status on disease severity and quality of life while controlling for important factors that may influence vitamin D status. If the investigators are to show improvement in disease severity with vitamin D supplementation, this would be a cost-effective additional therapy to our standard clinical practice. Future research would also allow us to investigate other alternative markers of vitamin D deficiency and disease activity in skin lupus patients, a population at high risk for low vitamin D status and in need of further research.
Study Aims: 1. To validate a new measure of sexual function and activity in women with PFDs; 2. To establish the responsiveness to change of the new measure. The investigators hypothesis is that the investigators can create a new questionnaire that accurately measures sexual health in women with pelvic floor disorders that improves on the already published questionnaires.
The investigators design a 6-week messaging campaign aimed at promoting flu vaccination among fully insured members of a national payer that participate in a wellness program offered by the insurer through a mobile app. Outcomes measured will include uptake in flu vaccination rate as measured by the insurer and engagement with the campaign through the app. The goal of the research is to assess the effectiveness of pervasive computing messaging in promoting preventative care treatments such as flu shots. An additional goal is that of quantifying the importance of emphasizing incentives to increase efficacy of the messages.
This study will examine the health-related quality of life in patients being treated for chronic heart disease. Patients 18 years or older with chronic ischemic heart disease and left ventricular dysfunction enrolled in protocols in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's Cardiology Branch may participate in this study. Participants will complete five questionnaires at 3 separate times during the study-once during hospitalization at the NIH Clinical Center and again at home 6 months and 1 year later. The questionnaires, described below, require a total of about 30 minutes to complete. 1. Demographic Information Sheet -General information such as age, marital status, employment, education, and history of cardiac medical procedures. 2. General Health Survey -Patient's self-assessment, on a rating scale, of physical and emotional well being. Questions are related to the ability to perform work and daily living activities, mood and state of mind, limitations on social activities, energy level, pain level, general quality of life, etc. 3. Heart Disease Survey - Patient's self-assessment, on a rating scale, of the level of physical, social, emotional and functional well being related to his or her heart condition. Questions concern fatigue level, emotional outlook, social well being, etc. 4. Angina Survey - Information on the frequency of chest pain, chest tightness, or angina. 5. Symptom Distress Survey - Patient's ranking of the degree of symptom distress from chest discomfort, difficulty breathing, heart rate irregularities, wheezing and coughing. All information provided in the questionnaires will be kept confidential. Upon request, patients will be sent a summary of the study results when the study is completed.