The goal of this study proposal is to develop a biorepository which will collect and store central nervous system (CNS) tissue, connective tissue, blood, or cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) for future research. This material will be collected from children with CNS conditions or defects. This will be a very useful resource to scientists who work to develop new approaches to prevent and treat conditions that affect children's brains and nervous systems.
This study is testing citicoline as a possible medication to treat alcohol use disorder. Youth (ages 16-22) will be randomly assigned to receive either citicoline (2000mg per day) and or a placebo for four weeks.
All participants will receive brief counseling from a trained clinician and will undergo a brain scan and cognitive testing at the beginning and end of the treatment.
Participants must provide informed consent and youth under 18 must have parental consent to participate. The full study will last approximately one month.
Compensation is available to those who qualify.
This study will examine how marijuana use can affect oral bacteria and brain health in people with HIV and without HIV. Early studies show that marijuana users have more oral bacteria than non-marijuana users. The increase in bacteria is believed to affect brain health. Participation in the study will be one visit. The visit will take approximately 120 minutes.
The objective of this research study is to identify brain biomarkers using MRI scans that can predict an individual's response to Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). A total of 55 participants with Parkinson's Disease planning to undergo DBS will be recruited from MUSC's Clinical DBS Program. Participants will undergo two visits which include a 2.5-hour pre-DBS questionnaire and MRI scanning visit, and a 3.5-hour post-DBS cognitive assessment visit. In addition control participants without Parkinson's Disease will be recruited to undergo MRI scanning and cognitive assessments.
The purpose of this two-visit brain imaging (magnetic resonance imaging, MRI) study is to identify brain targets for improving treatment and preventative interventions for individuals at risk for co-occurring bipolar disorder and alcohol use disorder. The preliminary visit(s) for a parent and his/her biological child will include completion of clinical interviews, surveys, and labwork to determine study eligibility. If they are considered eligible for the study, brain imaging visits will occur within 1-2 weeks at which a 1-hour MRI will be completed along with additional clinical interviews, surveys, and labwork. Brief follow-up phone call interviews will be completed with participants every 3 months for 1 year. Study participation is confidential and compensated.
Cigarette smoking is a significant public health concern. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive form of brain stimulation that has already displayed remarkable potential for producing novel, non-pharmacological interventions for depression and cigarette smokers. In this study, we will use brain MRI to guide TMS therapy for smoking cessation.
This is a study to find out if a device that temporarily alters brain activity (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, rTMS) might be used to change how people with anxiety or related concerns cope with emotional situations. The study is recruiting people who recently started treatment for anxiety or a related concern. The study involves 3 visits to MUSC. At the first visit, participants do interviews and surveys asking about anxiety and related concerns, and they also do tasks where they see and react to emotional pictures while their brain activation is measured. At the next two visits, participants receive rTMS that uses a magnet placed on top of the head to alter brain activity temporarily (for about an hour). After rTMS, participants do two tasks where they see and react to emotional situations while wearing sensors on their hand, arms, face, and head.
Each visit in this study is expected to last between 2 – 3 hours. This study is not a treatment study, but it could help improve treatment in the future. Participants in this study are paid for their time.
This Phase II clinical research study evaluates both the safety and effectiveness of an FDA-regulated medication presently in the initial stages of development for alcohol use disorder treatment (GET73), and will test whether GET73 alters brain chemicals and function, response to alcohol ingestion, and the desire for alcohol. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two medication treatment groups (GET73 or placebo). Study medication will be taken for 8 days, with approximately 4 study visits, and a "bar-lab" procedure and 2 MRI brain imaging scans will be completed. Questionnaires and clinical interview measures will be completed at study visits along with consistent assessment of potential side effects from study medication.
This study is for patients with recurrent/progressive medulloblastoma, which is a type of childhood brain tumor. Participants in this study will receive intravenous (IV, into the veins) bevacizumab and intrathecal (into the spinal fluid) or intraventricular (into the fluid surrounding the brain) etoposide and cytarabine in combination with five oral (taken by mouth) chemotherapy drugs as a possible treatment for recurrent/progressive medulloblastoma. Total study duration is about 1 year and depending on how well a participant tolerates the medications and the response of the disease, the patient may continue the treatment after the first year.