5 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Subjects with chronic migraine or tension headaches will receive 12 sessions of biofeedback or relaxation training after fulfilling screening, intake interviews, \& psychological testing requirements. They will chart headache pain, anger level, \& medication usage throughout baseline, treatment, and 3 month follow-up periods. Migraine sufferers will receive a combination of progressive muscle relaxation training and thermal biofeedback (learning to warm hands). Subjects are randomly assigned to receive treatment either in the office with the therapist or from another room (where communication will be over a computer). The research is designed to compare the effectiveness of treatment based on location. Tension headache sufferers will receive training in how to reduce their muscle tension levels. They will be randomly assigned to have equipment monitor muscle tension levels either in the forehead or shoulder regions. The research is designed to compare the effectiveness of feedback to the forehead versus the shoulder muscles.
There are over 7 million people living with stroke in the United States. Per year, approximately 17,000 Veterans are admitted to the VA for acute stroke. Chronic pain after stroke can occur between 10-50% of stroke survivors. Post-stroke pain (PSP) can lead to further complications in a stroke survivor's recovery. Exercise has improved PSP and associated symptoms such as mobility, fatigue, and quality of life. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive technique using electromagnetic induction for cortical neurostimulation. The use of rTMS has been explored shown to be effective in treating chronic PSP but is limited in effect duration. Our proposal will test the hypothesis that rTMS is feasible and safe to be paired with exercise. Additionally, the investigators believe a complementary effect can develop to enhance the neurostimulation duration of rTMS.
This study will compare a local anesthetic technique that has been used to treat subjects suffering from transformed migraines (chronic migraines) versus medical management with traditional antidepressant Amitriptyline / Elavil. Subjects will be randomized into one of two treatment groups to compare the safety and efficacy of the therapies. Subjects will recieve either sphenopalatine ganglion nerve block with 5% lidocaine gel into the nasopharynx or medical management with traditional antidepressants, Elavil, to produce a reduction in the frequency and severity of the headache. We propose that there will be a difference in the outcomes when comparing the two methods of treating transformed migraines and that one research arm will result in more patient satisfaction and greater efficacy in the treatment of subjects
In previous clinical trial work, the investigators observed lasting reductions in headache burden after limited dosing of psilocybin. This purpose of this study is to examine potential sources for this observed effect. This study will measure brain resting state functional connectivity (fMRI), central synaptic density (SV2A PET), peripheral markers of inflammation, circadian rhythm (actigraphy), and sleep (sleep EEG) in both migraine and healthy control participants before and one week after the administration of psilocybin or an active control agent.
The purpose of this project is to quantify normal and abnormal skin blood flow regionally in different areas of the body(face, extremities, over burns and wounds) at baseline and over time in response to treatment or environmental changes, such as temperature, light and pressure.