The purpose of the study is to evaluate the safety and how well the medication levosimenden works versus placebo in treating Pulmonary Hypertension and Heart Failure with a Preserved Ejection Fraction measured by a 6 minute walk. This is a condition where the lower left chamber (left ventricle) of the heart is not able to fill properly with blood during the filling phase and the amount of blood pumped out to the body is below normal. The study will also look at information obtained from the tests performed as part of the study to see if subjects have improvement in symptoms of heart failure. Levosimendan is a drug that has been FDA-approved for intravenous (IV) delivery to your body. This study aims to determine if the tablet form of the drug is as effective as the IV route. Tablets are much more attainable for patients to manage their heart failure from home, rather than going to an infusion clinic for treatments. Participation in this study will last approximately 12 weeks with the option to continue to the stage 2 phase of the study. If the stage 2 phase is selected as well, participation will last approximately 26 months or a little over 2 years. These visits will include such activities as blood tests, questionnaires, physical evaluation by a study doctor, echocardiogram, and 6 minute hall walks.
Participants will be randomized to either the treatment group (and receive the medication) or the control group (receive an inactive medication). Subjects will have a 50:50 chance of receiving the study medication during their participation in the trial. The treatment assignment is determined by randomization, where a computer selects at random which treatment group you will be in (like drawing straws). Neither the subject, nor the blinded personnel will know which group subjects are in. Neither the subject nor the study doctor will decide what group subjects are assigned.
The study is being conducted in order to assess the long-term safety of rocatinlimab in adult and adolescent subjects with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD). The study population will include subjects who completed an end of treatment duration visit in a parent study and meet eligibility criteria. Subjects will be randomized to receive a dosage of rocatinlimab based on age and their previous dosage from the parent study. The total duration of participation, including the parent study, will be up to 2.5 to 3 years, with a safety follow-up period after the last dose of investigational product at week 104.
This study involves research, and participation is voluntary. The purpose of the study is to see if a single dose and multiple doses of the study drug, AV 380, are safe and tolerated in cancer participants. This study will also help to look at how AV 380 behaves inside the human body (called pharmacokinetics), how the body responds to AV 380 (called pharmacodynamics), and how the immune system responds to AV 380 (called immunogenicity) when administered along with the standard anticancer treatment that a participant would usually receive if they were not in this study. First, the participant will have some tests to decide if it is safe for to join the study. These tests include blood and urine sampling, electrocardiogram, vital sign measurement, physical examination, cachexia assessment,which checks changes in proteins that affect appetite and computed tomography (CT) scan. If the study doctor thinks a participant is eligible to join, they will be assigned to one of 5 cohorts (a group of people with shared characteristics) (corresponding to 5 dose levels of AV 380) in which then they will receive AV 380 together with the Standard of Care treatment chemotherapy. Participants will need to visit the study site approximately every 1 week for the first 8 weeks and then every 2 weeks. In addition to the above-mentioned tests, then they will be also asked to have exercise tests and complete questionnaires during the study. Participants will also have post study treatment follow up visits 3 times after completion or discontinuation of AV 380. The total duration of the study is up to 7 months (including follow-up visits). Some reasonably foreseeable risks or discomforts with this study include chills, headache, and elevations in an enzyme called creatine phosphokinase which is found mainly in the heart, brain, and skeletal muscle. There is no direct benefit with participating in this study, but the information we get from this study will us improve treatment for people in the future.
This study is seeking participants with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), also known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C), due to a genetic abnormality known as a PKP2 variant. ARVD/C is an inherited disease where the muscle tissue in the right ventricle, one of the lower pumping chambers of the heart, dies and is replaced with scar tissue. This causes a weakened heart muscle and disrupts the heart's electrical system which can lead to heart failure and/or fatal heart rhythms. This study is looking at the safety and effectiveness of an investigational medication, meaning it is not yet approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study medication is a gene therapy called LX-2020, and is designed to add new PKP2 genes to replace the faulty ones so your cells can make the correct PKP2 genes. The study medication is given via an intravenous (IV) line meaning in a vein. Participation in this study involve up to 25 visits including a hospitalization over the course of 1 year with an additional 4 years of follow up afterwards. Study related procedures include a variety of heart testing like electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram, a test that records a tracing of the heart's electrical activity, Echocardiogram, (echo) a test that uses ultrasound to capture moving images of the heart, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a test that shows an image of the heart and surrounding structures, sample collection including blood, urine, tissue, nasal mucus, saliva and stool, liver ultrasound, questionnaires, physical exams, and at least a two night stay in the hospital. Medications to suppress (meaning weaken) the immune system, before receiving the LX2020 are also required. Risks associated with gene therapy include an immune response that may cause inflammation in the liver, heart or other organs. It may damage red blood cells, cause a low platelet count or cause the formation of small blood clots. There are also risk related to the study procedures including bleeding associated with the heart biopsy, risks related to drawing blood, risks of radiation, and loss of confidentiality. There is potential benefit and in the future, others with ACM may benefit from the knowledge gained from this study.
This research is being done to assess whether it is safe and effective to stop oral anticoagulation medications (a blood-thinning medication) during prolonged periods of normal heart rhythm in participants with infrequent episodes of atrial fibrillation (AF).
You may qualify for this study if you have a history of atrial fibrillation (AF) and are currently taking an oral anticoagulant (a blood-thinning medication). You will be randomized to one of two groups: Control Group or Study Intervention Group.
If you are randomized to the Control group, you will be asked to stay on your previously prescribed oral anticoagulant. If you are randomized to the Study Intervention group, you will be asked to take the oral anticoagulant for 30 days only if a prolonged episode of AF is detected on an AF-sensing Apple smartwatch you will be provided.
This research is being done to assess whether it is safe and effective to stop oral anticoagulation medications (a blood-thinning medication) during prolonged periods of normal heart rhythm in participants with infrequent episodes of atrial fibrillation (AF).
You may qualify for this study if you have a history of atrial fibrillation (AF) and are currently taking an oral anticoagulant (a blood-thinning medication). You will be randomized to one of two groups: Control Group or Study Intervention Group.
If you are randomized to the Control group, you will be asked to stay on your previously prescribed oral anticoagulant. If you are randomized to the Study Intervention group, you will be asked to take the oral anticoagulant for 30 days only if a prolonged episode of AF is detected on an AF-sensing Apple smartwatch you will be provided.
This study is designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of using a combination of two different medications (extended release naltrexone and bupropion) compared to matching placebo (an inactive substance) in the treatment of methamphetamine use disorder. Participants will undergo screening, and if eligible, will receive study medications along with brief medication management for twelve weeks, with follow up visits at weeks 14 and 16. The total study duration is around 19 weeks.
The purpose of this study is to test whether a drug called NS-229 (the study drug) is a potential treatment for patients with Eosinophilic Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis (EGPA).
NS-229 is an investigational drug that is provided in an oral pill form. An investigational drug is not approved by The US Food and Drug Administration. It can only be used in a research study like this one. In this study, NS-229 will be compared with a placebo (dummy drug), having no active drug in it. This is a randomized study, meaning that you will be assigned by chance (like flipping a coin) to receive either the study drug or placebo. The study is also double-blinded study, meaning you and your study doctor will not know what you are receiving, the NS-229 or placebo.
The study is sponsored by a NS Pharma, Inc. Participation in the study will require 12 visits to the MUSC main campus over approximately 8 months. Visits are much like the your standard of care and include the following procedures: blood draw, urine collection, physician-led assessments of your disease (for example physical exam and medical history review), tests to assess your lung function and health (Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) and spirometry, health questionnaires. You will also be asked to complete a daily diary regarding your medication use and vasculitis symptoms.
Compensation is available for participation
Transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) is a new noninvasive way to stimulate the brain in an awake and alert person. We do not yet have an easily observable way to know whether we are in the right brain location with the correct dose for that person. We wonder if we can produce a transient change in someone's visual field, called a scotoma, and whether we can use that to determine the minimum tFUS dose for that person.
This study will evaluate possible new treatments for advanced stage head and neck cancer. Patients who have undergone surgery to remove their tumor may qualify if the tissue is positive for a specific type of squamous cell cancer. The purpose of this study is to compare the current standard treatment, radiation therapy along with chemotherapy with a drug called cisplatin, to two other treatments. One experimental treatment is radiation therapy along with two chemotherapy agents, docetaxel and cetuximab, and the other experimental treatment is the standard treatment currently used along with the addition of an immunotherapy drug atezolizumab. Patients who qualify for participation will be randomly assigned to one of the 3 treatment groups (done with a computerized system). In the current standard treatment group, participants will receive radiation therapy 5 days per week for 6 weeks, and cisplatin once a week through a vein for the 6-week treatment period. The group receiving doxetaxel and cetuximab (both FDA approved medications for the treatment of certain cancers) will receive the same 6 weeks of radiation along with cetuximab through a vein 1 week prior to the start of radiation therapy, and then once a week for the 6 weeks of radiation and the doxetaxel will also be given through a vein once a week for the 6 weeks of radiation therapy. The final group will get the current standard treatment with 6 weeks of radiation and 6 weeks of cisplatin, along with atezolizumab through a vein 1 week prior to your starting radiation and then every 3 weeks for a total of 8 doses, There will be twice as many patients in this last group than the other two groups.
Follow-up will be at Month 1 & 3 and then every 3 months for 2 years, and then every 6 months for 3 more years, and then annually for as long as a participant is willing and able. There will be blood tests and CT scans that will occur throughout the study, however they are standard for the type of cancer being treated and how each individual responds to the treatment. The benefit of participation is there may be improved outcomes in this group of patients however the risks involved with receiving new treatments may be more than with the usual standard treatment. Some of the most common side effects that the study doctors know about are infection, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pain, tiredness, kidney problems, numbness/tingling in hands and feet. There may be some risks that the study doctors are not aware of at the moment. There will be a total of up to 480 participants across all sites and approximately 24 participants at MUSC.