It is well understood that gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a serious health condition.1 GERD, which often manifests as heartburn or regurgitation, is a chronic disorder associated with substantial morbidity and has a major adverse impact on patients quality of life.2, 3 Currently, there are limited options for GERD patients seeking a surgical option to treat their disease. One option for anti-reflux surgery is the LINX® Reflux Management System.4 The RETHINK REFLUX Registry (Research to further inform thinking about the role of LINX for Reflux Disease) will monitor long-term outcomes in the areas of safety, effectiveness, health economics and healthcare utilization over 10 years post-LINX surgery.

The Sponsor of this research study is trying to develop a new experimental diagnostic blood test that may help detect colorectal cancer and other diseases. A diagnostic test identifies a specific disease or condition. Experimental means the test has not received approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for sale.
The main goal of this research study is to collect health information and blood samples from people who are going to have a standard-of-care screening colonoscopy. The blood samples along with other health information from patients who take part in the study may help the Sponsor develop new diagnostic tests that may help detect cancer or other diseases in other patients in the future.

The goal of the COSMID (Comparison of Surgery and Medicine on the Impact of Diverticulitis) trial is to determine if elective colectomy is more effective than best medical management for patients with quality of life-limiting diverticular disease. The COSMID trial focuses on both patient-reported outcomes and clinical outcomes that matter to patients. The results are expected to establish an evidence-based approach to the care of millions of patients per year in the United States and help people impacted by this common condition make more informed treatment decisions.

An open-label clinical study in which all subjects will receive the same investigational drug, for people with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), which is an infection in the intestines. This infection causes severe diarrhea. Recurrent Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection is being studied as part of a medical research study for an investigational new drug called RBX2660, an enema made of a solution of stool (poop or feces).

Non-Alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common liver disease, and involves fat deposition in the liver. The fat in the liver can lead to inflammation, scarring, end stage liver disease and potential liver cancer. Some patients with fat in their liver do not see these changes, and our current understanding of why some people are not affected while others see progression of their disease is poor. We are currently in process of initiating studies to learn more about fatty liver disease, and having a database of patients at the VA medical center who are willing to participate in these studies and future studies would help both the patients learn about the new and upcoming therapies, and help the clinical investigators to quickly screen their patients and invite them to participate in their studies.

TARGET-HCC is a 5-year, longitudinal, observational study of the natural history and management of patients with HCC. The study will address important clinical questions that remain unanswered in the management of HCC with a unique research registry of participants with HCC from academic and community real-world practices. TARGET-HCC is disease focused, not drug specific, which allows for continuous acquisition of real-world evidence regarding the natural history, management, and outcomes of treatment with current therapies and new treatments that may be utilized in usual clinical practice.

The purpose of this research study is to learn more about the outcomes of total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation (TPIAT). Total pancreatectomy is the removal of the pancreas and islet autotransplantation is the placement of the insulin producing cells back into you to prevent diabetes. This study is looking to enroll patients who are scheduled to have a TPIAT surgery to treat pancreatitis (inflammation and scarring of the pancreas).

In addition to the routine care for pancreatitis and TPIAT surgery, participation in this study will involve completion of some brief surveys about the subject's health before TPIAT, at 6 months after TPIAT, and each year after the TPIAT surgery for 4 years, as well as a lab test conducted at each of the follow-up visits.

Treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is now possible with all oral medications. While most patients achieve a sustained virologic response (SVR) after treatment, synonymous with cure, some patients relapse after treatment for reasons that are unclear. The goal of this research is to understand how a person's immune system changes during treatment of HCV infection with all oral therapy, and how these changes might impact the chances of relapse after treatment. To address these questions, blood and clinical information will be collected from study participants over the course of receiving standard of care treatment for HCV infection. This blood and clinical information will be used to conduct laboratory research focused on the immune system.

This study is to find the best time that a follow up appointment can be scheduled to benefit the patient with liver cirrohis to return after having the bleeding vessels in the esophagus repaired by directing a scope in the esophagus and using bands to stop the bleeding.

The study will compare two durations of treatment with Octreotide in patients with confirmed esophageal variceal hemorrhage who have undergone successful endoscopy and possible endoscopic therapy for control of bleeding. All procedures including the treatment are the standard of care. Octreotide infusion and endoscopic therapy for esophageal variceal bleeding are not investigational.