Treponema pallidum is a bacterium that causes the disease syphilis. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the testing performance of two diagnostic molecular techniques [quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and transcription-mediated amplification (TMA)] for the detection of Treponema pallidum in maternal and neonatal specimens from participants with the diagnosis of syphilis using the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC's) Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Treatment Guidelines for adult and congenital syphilis.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to test the safety, tolerability, and effects of choline in people with increased risk of Alzheimer's Disease (AD), also known as pre-symptomatic AD. Choline is a dietary supplement, but is being investigated to see if it has any effects on the progression to AD.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2023

open study

This study intends to explore feasibility, acceptability, and outcomes related to the use of a digital health coaching intervention for individuals who have completed primary therapy for cancer. Up to 500 individuals with diverse cancer diagnoses will be enrolled across up to 5 clinical sites to participate in a randomized wait-list control study. Those in the intervention group will receive 6 months of digital coaching up front followed by 6 months of ongoing monitoring via patient reported and clinical outcomes, as well as wearable data. Those in the control group will be monitored via patient reported and clinical outcomes as well as wearable data for the first 6 months followed by 6 months of digital health coaching. Both groups will collect fecal microbiome samples at enrollment and month 6. The study aims to explore if and how digital health coaching may be used to enhance outcomes for individuals following completion of primary cancer therapy.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2022

open study

The Houston Emergency Response Opioid Engagement System for Youths and Adolescents (Young HEROES) is a community-based research program integrating assertive outreach, medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), behavioral counseling, and peer recovery support. The objective is to compare differences in engagement and retention in treatment for individuals with opioid use disorder. The investigators also intend to understand the prevalence of opioid overdoses and OUD among youth in Houston.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2021

open study

There is a fundamental gap in understanding the maternal and neonatal effects of antenatal corticosteroid (ACS) administration in women with threatened preterm birth (PTB) who have diabetes. Since the initial discovery of ACS for neonatal benefit in 1972, more than 40 randomized controlled trials have been performed evaluating its efficacy. However, none of these trials have included women with T2DM, and there is limited data among women with gestational diabetes. While ACS have been shown to reduce neonatal morbidity associated with PTB in non-diabetic women, the side effects of ACS (maternal hyperglycemia and fetal hyperinsulinemia) may mitigate the neonatal benefit of ACS in women with diabetes. Before neonatal benefit of ACS can be evaluated in this population, the first step is to optimize maternal glycemic control after ACS. Previous studies evaluating maternal hyperglycemia after ACS have been limited by small sample size, retrospective study design, or insufficient glucose data. Use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in a randomized clinical trial provides a unique opportunity to overcome these challenges. Our long-term goal is to improve maternal and child health among women with diabetes as an independently funded clinical researcher. The research objectives of this proposal are to test the efficacy of three treatment strategies at achieving maternal glycemic control after ACS and evaluate the association between maternal glycemic control and neonatal outcomes. Our central hypothesis is that treatment with a continuous insulin infusion will improve maternal glycemic control, which is key to improving neonatal outcomes, but at the cost of less patient satisfaction and more health resource utilization. This hypothesis will be tested by pursuing the following specific aims: 1) Test the efficacy of three treatment strategies (addition of sliding scale insulin, up-titration of home insulin, and continuous insulin infusion) at achieving maternal glycemic control after ACS and 2) Quantify the association between maternal glycemic control after ACS and neonatal morbidity. Completion of these aims will determine the optimal strategy to achieve maternal glycemic control after ACS and inform a larger, multicenter trial to improve neonatal outcomes among women with diabetes and threatened PTB.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2022

open study

The objective is to test the efficacy of a laparotomy-assisted fetoscopic surgical approach to cover spina bifida spinal cord developmental defects using cryopreserved human umbilical cords (NEOX Cord 1K®) as a meningeal and skin patch.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2023

open study

This study will evaluate the safety, efficacy, and PK of low dose (750 mg) and high-dose (1250 mg) XG005 oral tablets compared with placebo in subjects undergoing bunionectomy. Subjects will be confined in the clinic from check-in through 72 hours post-surgery to monitor subject safety.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) will engage reward-related brain circuitry, more specifically the uncinate fasciculus (UF) tract, which connects the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) regions. Also to evaluate whether the changes in the fractional anisotropy (FA) of the UF tract are associated with changes of clinical symptoms of anhedonia and finally to investigate the moderation role of simulated electric fields (EFs) in an association between FA of the UF and symptoms of anhedonia.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2022

open study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of small phlebotomy tubes to reduce RBC transfusions in medical intensive care unit (ICU) and Intermediate care unit (IMU) patients with low hemoglobin compared with standard size tubes, to compare the intervention and the control groups in regards to: ICU length of stay (LOS), ICU mortality, hospital LOS, and hospital mortality and to assess the acceptability of small phlebotomy tubes in adult ICU and IMU patients.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to assess if the benefits for children with medical complexity (CMC) receiving comprehensive care (CC) in an enhanced medical home can be further improved by enhanced telemedicine program (ETM) provided during clinic hours using mobile devices to measure temperature& oxygen saturation, auscultate the heart & lungs, and view the skin, throat, & tympanic membranes in the home.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2022

open study

The purpose of this study to determine the therapeutic response of non-allergic rhinitis patients that have been subtyped as non-allergic rhinitis with local IgE elevation or non-allergic rhinopathy to intranasal capsaicin based on visual analog scale and optical rhinometry, to determine the prevalence of non-allergic rhinitis with local IgE elevation in this study's cohort of patients with non-allergic rhinitis identified by rhinitis history and negative skin testing for allergic rhinitis, and to determine the change, if any, in intranasal IgE levels after capsaicin treatment.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2019

open study

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a spectrum of liver conditions associated with fat accumulation that ranges from benign, non-progressive liver fat accumulation to severe liver injury, cirrhosis, and liver failure. NAFLD is the most common liver disease in US adults and the second leading cause for liver transplantation in the US. The natural history of NAFLD in the general population has been well described, with those with non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL, or simple steatosis) destined to have rare incidence of hepatic events compared to those with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), who are at high risk for future development of cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. The NASH Clinical Research Network (NASH CRN) was established by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in 2002, through the mechanism of RFA-DK-01-025, to further the understanding of diagnosis, mechanisms, progression and therapies of NASH. The NASH CRN effort has resulted in numerous seminal studies in the field. However, NASH CRN studies have systematically excluded persons living with HIV (PLWH), as NAFLD in these persons was thought to be different from that in the general population due to HIV, ART, concomitant medications, and co-infections. This has resulted in major knowledge gaps regarding NAFLD in the setting of HIV. This ancillary study of NAFLD and NASH in Adults with HIV (HIV NASH CRN), HNC 001 goal is to examine the prevalence of hepatic steatosis and NAFLD in a large, multicenter, and multiethnic cohort of PLWH (Steatosis in HIV Study)

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jul 2021

open study

The Montalcino Aortic Consortium (MAC) will provide the infrastructure to assemble large cohorts of patients with mutations in known heritable thoracic aortic disease (H-TAD) genes, define the phenotype associated with these genes, and determine genetic and environmental modifiers of H-TAD.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Apr 2016

open study

The purpose of this study is to determine if exenatide improves end-of-treatment smoking abstinence rates and to determine if exenatide mitigates post-cessation weight gain.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2022

open study

The purpose of this study is to compare and capture key elements of the patient experience, quality of recovery, preferences and satisfaction after laparoscopic salpingectomy done via 3 different routes.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2022

open study

The objectives of this study are to determine the feasibility, tolerability, and treatment effect of Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) plus standard-of-care Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in the treatment of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) will be performed before tumor resection surgery, with the goal of shrinking a tumor or stopping the spread of cancer so that surgery might be less invasive and more effective.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2021

open study

To establish a clinical registry of suspected cases of AFE. The existing registry will be migrated to a new platform,

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Jul 2022

open study

The NICHD Neonatal Research Network's Follow-Up study is a multi-center cohort in which surviving extremely low birth-weight infants born in participating network centers receive neurodevelopmental, neurosensory and functional assessments at 22-26 months corrected age (Infants born prior to July 1, 2012 were seen at 18-22 months corrected age). Data regarding pregnancy and neonatal outcome are collected prospectively. The goal is to identify potential maternal and neonatal risk factors that may affect infant neurodevelopment.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jan 1993

open study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the best method for keeping patients warm during cesarean deliveries and the effect of temperature change on the patient and baby

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2021

open study

The purpose of this study is to map the acute, short-term cortical evoked responses to thalamic electrical stimulation in persons with intractable epilepsy

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2022

open study

The purpose To determine the diagnostic potential of various biological markers in blood and cyst fluid aspirates from patients with Pancreatic Cystic Lesions (PCLs). Research design This is a 10-year prospective cohort and pancreatic cyst fluid repository study enrolling all patients diagnosed with pancreatic cyst and undergoing the cyst aspiration. Procedures to be used Blood Sample Cyst Fluid Sample Data Collection: Medical Record Number Demographics (age, sex, gender, race) Contact information History of alcohol use and IV and other recreational drugs and narcotics use/abuse Medication history Past hospitalizations, diagnoses, and treatment Physical examination findings Imaging data of abdominal and chest regions, including and not limited to ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) Future admissions, diagnoses, treatment including histopathological findings of resected specimens and blood reports End of study data: clinical progression of disease, cyst size, wall thickening, calcification, communication with pancreatic duct, string sign, cytology, immunohistochemical findings, assay levels of lipase, amylase CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen), carbohydrate antigen19-9 (CA 19-9), and other biomarkers. Risks and potential benefits The risks associated with this study are slight discomfort or bruising from the blood sampling and the possible loss of confidentiality if the patient data or information is inadvertently disclosed outside of this study. The patient will not receive any additional benefit from the study aside from those received as part of routine standard of care. Importance of knowledge that may reasonably be expected to result The knowledge gained from this study may benefit other patients with Pancreatic Cyst Lesions in the future.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: May 2015

open study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of autologous umbilical cord blood (UCB) mononuclear cells to mitigate hypoxic neurologic injury among infants with high-risk congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2018

open study

The purpose of the study is to conduct a randomized controlled trial comparing best medical therapy (BMT) alone to BMT with thoracic endovascular aortic repair (BMT+TEVAR) for uncomplicated acute type B aortic dissection.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2018

open study

The purpose of this study is to determine whether participation in the Play and Learning Strategies (PALS) parenting intervention results in increased caregiver responsiveness behaviors and to test if participation in PALS results in increases in toddler skills and/or toddler neurological development.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2020

open study

The purpose: To determine the safety and efficacy of Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) HALO Ultra system in patients with Gastric Antral Vascular Ectasia patient cohort (GAVE). Research design: This is a prospective observational study. Procedure Used: Radiofrequency Ablation Risks and potential benefits: There are no risks associated with this study as it is a retrospective chart review. Potential benefits include the knowledge gained from this study which may be of help to patients in the future. Importance of knowledge that may reasonably be expected to result The knowledge gained from this study may be of help to other patients in the future.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Aug 2015

open study