This study will include volunteers diagnosed with a form of heart failure that is characterized by a weakened heart muscle that appears to be pumping in a normal manner. This condition is called "heart failure with preserved ejection fraction" or HFpEF. For these individuals, it has been determined that the health problems and symptoms experienced may be due to a significant increase in the pressure of one of the chambers of the heart. This pressure build-up causes a variety of symptoms, including tiredness, difficulty breathing, and reduced ability to exercise/walk.
This study is to help evaluate a new device (the "Satera Ablation System") designed to reduce the build-up of pressure described above. The Satera Ablation system is a catheter used to ablate or destroy the splanchnic nerve on one side of the body. The Sponsor believes by destroying this nerve there may be some reduction in the symptoms caused by HFpEF. The procedure using the Satera Ablation System will be performed in the catheterization lab and does not involve surgery. Participants will stay overnight in the hospital following the procedure for observation.
The length of subject participation in the study will be approximately 24 months and includes 5 office visits, 1 phone call and 2 procedures. Participants in this research study will be randomized to either the treatment group or the control group and have a 2:1 chance of receiving the research treatment with the Satera Ablation System at the time of randomization.
This study will help us learn more about how safe and effective the Satera Ablation System is in treating the symptoms of patients with HFpEF.
This study is for patients that have been diagnosed with recurrent or new head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Patients either have had a recurrence (the tumor has comeback) or a new head and neck cancer in a different area of the head and neck (second primary) which has been removed by surgery. The study drug used is called pembrolizumab. The purpose of this study is to see if adding pembrolizumab to radiation or if using pembrolizumab by itself after surgery compared to the usual approaches with chemotherapy and radiation will increase life expectancy. Participants can expect to be on this study for up to 12 months and then followed for 5 years.
The purpose of this research is to test out a new way of treating generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) with low intensity focused ultrasound pulsation (LIFUP). If the subject agree to participate in the research study, the participation will last approximately 10.5 hours over seven (7) days. The visits are as follows: 1- consent and MRI, 2- and 3- focused ultrasound will be delivered outside of the MRI environment, 4- MRI plus focused ultrasound, 5- assessments 1 week post focused ultrasound, and 6- one month follow-up assessments. Research studies are voluntary and include only people who agree to take part.
This study is for patients who have advanced cancers, such as head and neck cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and others. This study is testing a new treatment for these types of cancer. The new test drug is called ficerafusp alfa. Pembrolizumab is an approved drug by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the diseases described in this study and will be used as approved. The type of cancer a patient has will determine whether he/she will get ficerafusp alfa alone or ficerafusp alfa in combination with pembrolizumab. Participants will receive either ficerafusp alfa alone, ficerafusp alfa in combination with pembrolizumab or ficerafusp alfa, depending on your cancer until the cancer gets worse, they experience bad side effects, or until they withdraw consent, or until the Investigator considers it is in his/her best interest to discontinue the study drug.
This study aims to improve access of Veterans with epilepsy living in rural areas to the most important diagnostic procedure for the care of patients with epilepsy: the routine electroencephalogram (EEG). We will test a new method for recording EEG which uses a novel dry electrode system headset that does not require an EEG technologist to operate. The headset integrates the EEG electrodes and amplifier into a compact system which is easily placed on the head. This approach could make it possible for a nurse or nurse assistant with minimal training to record an EEG in a rural community based outpatient clinic (CBOC) as part of an epilepsy telemedicine outreach program along with clinical interviews. We will compare performance of this dry electrode system to standard EEG when it is used by EEG technologists in three VA medical centers. This project has the potential to improve access of Veterans to the EEG procedure and decrease cost to the Veterans Health Care System.
The purpose of this study is to understand whether there may be certain characteristics or patterns that might predict seizure events in patients undergoing EEG monitoring and at home. Researchers will also be assessing the comfort and usability of a new device called NextSense EEG earbud device at the same time as routine inpatient epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) admissions, as well as device use in the home environment. In order to enroll in the at-home extension, the participant must be enrolled in the inpatient EMU admission portion of the study. Participants will be asked to assess their mood, sleep quality, and the comfort and usability of the device during their inpatient admission at regular intervals. If participating in the at-home extension, these same assessment questionnaires, in addition to a seizure diary, will be completed by participants at regular intervals.
This study is for patients that have been diagnosed with leukemia. This study is called a screening study and we are doing this study to find better ways to diagnose and treat leukemia in children, adolescents and young adults. Bone marrow, blood, and medical information about participant's cancer and treatment will be collected. Participants can expect to be on this study for 5 years.
Sensory stimulation has been shown to enhance rehabilitation outcomes. However, most sensory stimulation devices interfere with natural hand tasks. Thus, a new wearable stimulation device has been developed to deliver imperceptible vibration to wrist skin. This study is to evaluate the community use of the device for patients with neurologic movement disorders. Participation will include wearing the provided device and charging the device every night. The knowledge regarding community use of the device may contribute to improving the device functionality and usability for future users of the device.
The purpose of this research is to compare the risks and benefits of two different procedures used to help patients with mitral valve regurgitation (also known as MR). MR is a condition where the valve does not close fully when it is supposed to, and some blood can then leak back into the left atrium instead of circulating to the rest of the body. The treatment options this study will compare are: (1) transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (abbreviated as TEER; which is a catheter procedure for repairing the mitral valve that doesn't require surgery to open up the heart) and (2) mitral valve repair surgery, which is an open-heart surgical procedure. There are no new or "experimental" procedures being tested in this study: both treatment options are well-established treatments and are regularly performed in patients who have MR.
Because head and neck cancer arises in cosmetically and functionally critical areas, head and neck cancer survivors suffer high rates of body image-related distress. Body image-related distress is a source of significant morbidity, contributing to stigmatization, social isolation, and worse quality of life. Unfortunately, effective therapies exist to manage body image-related distress among head and neck cancer survivors are lacking. We have developed a novel, scalable, tele-cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for head and neck cancer survivors with body image disturbance that could provide the first effective treatment in this population, thereby minimizing psychosocial morbidity, improving quality of life, and developing new standards of clinical care.