The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) can help preserve muscle strength and muscle thickness in individuals living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a progressive disease that causes weakness and muscle loss over time. NMES is a therapy that uses small electrical impulses delivered through adhesive pads placed on the skin to stimulate muscles to contract.
Participants in this study will use a portable NMES device at home approximately three times per week for 12 weeks. One muscle group will receive active electrical stimulation while the same muscle group on the opposite side of the body will receive low-intensity stimulation that does not produce a visible muscle contraction. This allows researchers to compare the effects of stimulation within the same participant.
During the study, participants will attend periodic clinic visits where researchers will measure muscle strength, evaluate muscle thickness using ultrasound, and ask questions about symptoms such as fatigue, muscle cramps, and comfort with the device. A follow-up visit will occur four weeks after the stimulation period ends. The goal of this pilot study is to determine whether home-based NMES is safe, feasible, and acceptable for individuals with ALS and to gather preliminary information about whether it may help slow muscle decline.
The goal of the DDRCC Biorepository is to collect human samples and health information to store for future research. Samples to be collected are blood, tissue (gastrointestinal, liver, pancreas and/or lymph nodes), stool, and cheek swabs. Participants may be eligible to enroll if scheduled for a clinical visit or surgical procedure during which these samples could be collected.
This study is for patients diagnosed with early-stage melanoma and are the age of 75 or older. The usual approach for patients who are not in a study is treatment with two surgical procedures, a wide local excision (WLE) plus a sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy, followed by immunotherapy. The purpose of this study is to find if performing the WLE alone is just as effective as the usual approach and if it leads to improvements in patients' overall well-being.
A wide local excision (A wide local excision (WLE) is a surgical procedure performed to cut out an abnormal lesion and some surrounding normal tissue; this is sometimes followed by a sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy, in which lymph nodes that cancer cells could spread to are removed as well. Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses your body's immune system to identify and attack cancer cells.
Patients may participate in this study for up to 5 years. Procedures include a surgical biopsy, surveys, and regular visits with your doctor including follow-up study visits or phone calls every 6 months. There will be about 428 people taking part in this study, approximately 39 participants will be enrolled at MUSC.
Risks include infection, scarring, and bleeding. Participants may or may not receive a direct benefit from participating in this trial, however, information learned from the trial may help other people in the future.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ibuzatrelvir with and without remdesivir compared with remdesivir alone for the treatment of symptomatic COVID-19 in adult participants who are severely immunocompromised. This study is being done to learn how the study drug, called ibuzatrelvir, works in treating people with COVID-19 who have a severely compromised immune system. Ibuzatrelvir stops the virus that causes COVID-19 from multiplying in cells and spreading around the body. It may help people to get better and stay out of the hospital.
Feeding requires babies to coordinate sucking and swallowing, which depends on healthy brain development. Some newborns who experience brain injury or serious illness cannot safely practice feeding by mouth, which disrupts the development of these important brain circuits. As a result, many of these infants require a feeding tube placed in the stomach (called a G-tube) when they leave the hospital. Unfortunately, long-term feeding tube dependence is linked to poorer growth, delayed development, and breathing problems. Despite how common and serious these feeding difficulties are, there are currently no effective therapies for infants with the most severe swallowing problems. This study will test a non-invasive therapy called transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), which gently stimulates a nerve in the ear that connects to the brain. When paired with structured oral motor exercises, this approach may help strengthen the brain circuits needed for feeding. We will study 12 infants with severe feeding impairments to evaluate whether this therapy is safe, feasible, and shows early signs of benefit. This project will provide early evidence about whether a targeted brain-based therapy can improve feeding outcomes during a key window of early development.
This study is being conducted to evaluate the drug AZD0292, including how safe it is, how long it stays in the blood, and if it may help in reducing the number of exacerbations in people with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in their lungs. These patients have more frequent lung exacerbations and reduced quality of life. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacteria that can make the symptoms of bronchiectasis worse. The study drug (AZD0292) works by attaching to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, thereby reducing its effects on the lungs and improving symptoms.
This study aims not only to test AZD0292 but is also being done to better understand bronchiectasis disease and its associated health problems.
Study drug (AZD0292) or placebo, will be given to participants as an intravenous (IV) infusion. The study is double-blinded.
About 435 participants with bronchiectasis 12 years of age and older, weighing at least 35kg will take part in this study. This study will be conducted globally in approximately 25 countries.
Individuals with obesity and a history of heart failure (condition where heart does not effectively pump) with a preserved or mildly reduced ejection fraction (measure of the heart's pumping ability) will be eligible for participation. Study participants will have a 50:50 chance to be randomly assigned to either the treatment (NNC0487-0111) or control (placebo) group. NNC0487-011 and placebo will be delivered in an injectable pen device for a subcutaneous, once weekly injection. Placebo means there is no active study treatment) Study participation will last approximately three years and begin with a screening period to ensure correct patient selection. After the screening period, research clinic visits will occur every 4 weeks initially and then every 12 weeks. Some visits may be completed virtually through telehealth or by phone. Study procedures include but are not limited to: blood draws, questionnaires, self injection of study medication, medical history review, vital signs, and electrocardiogram (test that records the heart's electrical activity) The study's primary objective is to demonstrate that study drug vs. once weekly placebo, with standard of care, reduces the risk of a composite heart failure outcome consisting of cardiovascular death, heart failure hospitalization, or urgent heart failure visit in patients with heart failure with a preserved or mildly reduced ejection fraction and obesity.
Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of organ dysfunction, usually occurring after 20 weeks of pregnancy. It can lead to serious health problems for both the pregnant person and the baby. Although some risk factors for preeclampsia are known, effective strategies to prevent the condition remain limited.
The purpose of this research study is to determine whether vaginal progesterone can help prevent preeclampsia in pregnant individuals. Progesterone is a hormone that is naturally produced during pregnancy and is already used for certain pregnancy-related conditions.
Participants who choose to join the study will be randomly assigned (by chance, like flipping a coin) to receive either vaginal progesterone or no medication. Participants will use the study medication as directed during pregnancy and will continue to receive their routine prenatal care.
Researchers will collect information from prenatal visits, medical records, and delivery outcomes to determine whether progesterone reduces the risk of developing preeclampsia and improves pregnancy outcomes. The information gained from this study may help identify a safe and effective way to prevent preeclampsia and improve the health of pregnant individuals and their babies in future pregnancies.
The purpose of this research is to assess a stepped care model of a telehealth parenting program for children ages 2-6 years old with a neurodevelopmental diagnosis and behavior problems. Families will complete an online intake assessment, 6 group-based tele-health Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) sessions, and an online post intervention assessment. Some families may receive additional individual virtual booster sessions and will complete a second online post assessment.
Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina are studying speech and language in people with Parkinson's disease (PD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and multiple system atrophy (MSA), and in healthy adult volunteers. These conditions can change how a person speaks and uses language, and the changes may differ from one condition to another. The study uses a tablet-based set of short speech and language tasks, called SLANG, together with computer software that measures features of the recorded speech, such as pitch, timing, and word choice. Participants also complete standard speech, language, and thinking tests and a brief exam by a neurologist, which researchers compare against the tablet measurements. The purpose of this study is to gather early research data: to build a database of these measurements across the groups, to check whether the tablet captures them reliably, and to explore whether they differ between conditions. SLANG is not used to diagnose participants or to guide their medical care in this study. The long-term goal of this research is to develop a tool that could someday help clinicians recognize and tell these conditions apart earlier, but testing such a tool for diagnosis is beyond the scope of the current study.