10 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) is a condition that occurs in small percentage of obese people that causes high carbon dioxide and low oxygen levels in the blood. OHS is associated with respiratory failure, pulmonary hypertension, and death. The cause of OHS is unclear. Since not all obese people develop OHS, it is believed that hormone imbalances can contribute to the breathing problem. Some diets can change the body's hormones. For example, low-carbohydrate, high fat "ketogenic" diets (KD) may decrease insulin and glucose levels and increase sensitivity to other hormones. The investigators hypothesize that a KD will improve breathing in OHS patients, even in the absence of weight loss.
This is an observational study to characterize the prevalence of Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome in patients referred to the sleep lab.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of using of the Average Volume Assured Pressure Support (AVAPS-AE) mode versus Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) and bilevel pressure support ventilation (PSV) modes of ventilation in patients diagnosed with Obesity Hypoventilation syndrome (OHS). The investigators believe the use of the AVAPS-AE mode of ventilation after 6 weeks will yield daytime gas exchange values which are equivalent or no worse when compared to using CPAP and bilevel PSV modes of ventilation in the OHS population.
To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Automatic Expiratory Positive Airway Pressure (Auto-EPAP) feature versus manual expiratory positive airway pressure (EPAP) in the Vivo 45 LS Ventilator.
Continuous positive airway pressure and non-invasive ventilation are common treatment modalities for obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, and chronic alveolar hypoventilation from a variety of causes. Use of positive airway pressure (PAP) requires use of an interface, commonly referred to as a "mask." There are a range of mask options available, differing in configuration and sizing, including masks that fit into the nostrils (nasal pillows, NP), cover the nose (nasal masks, NM), cover both the nose and the mouth (oronasal masks, ONM), and rarely those that fit into the mouth (oral masks, OM) or over the entire face. The variety of masks, sizes, and materials result from the wide variety of facial configurations and patient preferences along with requirements to provide a good seal for varying pressure requirements. Failure to find a good match for a given patient may result in significant side effects, such as eye irritation owing to leak into the eyes, skin pressure sores, noise generation, and inadequate therapy when air leaks are extreme. Pressure sores, mask dislodgement, claustrophobic complaints, air leaks, and sore eyes occur in 20-50% of patients with OSA receiving PAP, and these effects negatively correlate with PAP compliance. Furthermore, several trials point to differences in compliance related to which types of masks are utilized. In a randomized cross-over trial, compliance was 1 hour more per night in patients using NM compared to those using ONM.1 In another, NPs were associated with fewer adverse effects and better subjective sleep quality than NMs.2 Therefore, failure to find an acceptable mask results in lower or non-compliance, and therefore treatment failure. Currently, finding a right mask is performed either using crude templates, or via an iterative process, variably guided by experts in mask fitting. There are no standard certifications or algorithms to guide mask fitting. Given the above, it would be very desirable to find a reliable method to reduce the errors in mask fitting so that the costs, inconvenience, and suffering are all reduced.
This study seeks to correlate microbiome sequencing data with information provided by patients and their medical records regarding obesity.
The Hypercapnia Telemedicine Outreach Program (E-TOUCH Study) aims to utilize telemedicine technology, as well as emergency medical services (EMS) home visits to address the problem with poor follow-up and compliance among Einstein's hypercapnic patients. The hypothesis is that reaching out to the subjects' homes will allow more consistent healthcare delivery, increase healthcare efficiency and compliance with therapy, and overall decrease acute decompensated states / hypercapnic respiratory failure, decreasing ED visits and hospitalization.
Aim of this study is to better understand pathophysiology of the alteration of respiratory mechanics and cardiovascular function in obese volunteer subjects. The investigators plan to test this hypothesis with a physiological, interventional study conducted on volunteers by using Electrical Impedance Tomography in a group of patients and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in another group.
ROHHAD (rapid onset obesity, hypothalamic dysfunction, hypoventilation, and autonomic dysregulation) syndrome is a rare pediatric disorder associated with a cancer called neuroblastoma and presumed to be driven by an attack of the immune system on specific area in the brain. Patients develop severe symptoms and often succumb to this disease. Based on the researchers' experience the investigators conduct a clinical trial to study intensive immunosuppression with high-dose cyclophosphamide in these patients. In addition to describing the symptomatic improvement, the investigators' trial seeks to define objective markers of disease activity.
Rapid onset Obesity, Hypoventilation, Hypothalamic dysfunction and Autonomic Dysregulation (ROHHAD) is a syndrome named in 2007. The hallmark of the syndrome is the rapid onset obesity and dysregulation of central ventilation. There is little information about the metabolic changes that lead to the rapid onset obesity in these children. The investigators would like to study the metabolic phenotype of these children to understand the disturbances in energy balance that lead to the rapid onset obesity.