Clinical Trials

Do you or your child have sickle cell disease? This study aims to develop a mathematical equation to estimate the functioning of the kidneys in children and adults with sickle cell disease. To participate in this study, you or your child must be between 5 and 50 years old. This study takes place in Birmingham, Alabama; Chicago, Illinois; and Memphis, Tennessee.

Are you an adult with sickle cell disease who doesn't experience pain episodes? This study uses machine learning to identify sickle cell disease patients who may be at increased risk of chronic kidney disease. To participate in this study, you must be between 18 and 65 years old with sickle cell disease and not experiencing any painful episodes. This study takes place in Chicago, Illinois, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Memphis, Tennessee.

Are you a female between 18 and 55 years old who has postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS)? This study is looking at the sympathetic nervous system and its effect on the increased heart rate and dizziness upon standing that people with POTS experience. This study is located in Nashville, Tennessee.

Do you have low blood pressure due to primary autonomic failure or multiple system atrophy? Autonomic failure is caused by problems with a part of the nervous system called the autonomic nervous system. People with these conditions can suffer debilitating low blood pressure upon standing. This study is testing the use of compression garments to improve blood pressure in people with these conditions. To participate in this study, you must be between 40 and 80 years old and have low blood pressure when standing. This study takes place in Nashville, Tennessee.

Are you older than 40 and have a history of peripheral artery disease (PAD)? This study will examine whether the drug rivaroxaban improves symptoms associated with peripheral artery disease (PAD). To participate in this study, you must be at least 40 years old and have a history of PAD. This study takes place in Nashville, Tennessee.

Do you or your child have severe asthma that is not easily controlled by inhaled corticosteroids? This study evaluates the use of five different asthma medicines to treat adults and adolescents with severe asthma. To participate in this study, you or your child must be 12 years old or older. This study takes place in multiple locations across the United States.

The purpose of the research is to understand structural plaque abnormalities that make a carotid plaque unstable and brake off (embolize) which would help to predict and treat individuals who are likely to suffer not only classic episodic major strokes but also cognitive impairment.

The main goal of this study is to determine whether the treatment will lead to a complete absence of severe vaso-occlusive events (VOEs) in patients with severe SCD.

This study will pilot test a just-in-time (JIT) adaptive intervention to reduce severe respiratory illness, for children with severe cerebral palsy (CP). The intervention program, called RE-PACT, delivers timely, customized action planning and health coaching when mobile text messaging with families predicts hospitalization risk is elevated. A total of n=90 caregivers of children with severe CP will be enrolled from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and can expect to be on study for up to 6 months.

The purpose of this research is assess imaging and identification of soft plaque that undergoes large deformations or strain will identify plaque vulnerable to rupture which could lead to 'silent strokes'. Validation of current study results with MRI will foster use of real-time ultrasound (US) strain imaging and strain indices as a screening tool for identifying normal human participants susceptible to increased vascular aging and developing plaque prone to rupture or micro-embolization.

Current research will evaluate Lagrangian carotid strain imaging (LCSI) for prediction of vascular health on volunteers. In this study, investigators will evaluate age-related strain variations (due to plaque deposition) in the carotid artery, establishing groundwork that will help identify typical and atypical values for these indices. Investigator's hypothesis is that plaques with higher strain indices (softer plaques) are more prone to rupture than plaques with lower strain indices (stiffer) plaques, thus requiring intervention. Clinical criteria for treatment has focused primarily on the degree of stenosis. Long-term objectives are to provide non-invasive methods for screening participants at risk for vascular aging or plaque rupture in asymptomatic participants, expanding upon current criteria for risk assessments based on focal transient ischemic attack (TIA) or strokes. Variations in vessel strain have been associated with, or are precursors to, plaque deposition, vascular aging, or cerebrovascular diseases. Increased arterial strain and pressure changes have been linked to brain aging using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based vascular indices, and memory deficits commonly linked to Alzheimer dementia. Stiffening and thickening of the arterial walls have also been associated with cerebrovascular disease. Investigators hypothesize that strain indices as vascular biomarkers can be utilized for screening possible 'vulnerable participants' validated with MRI, with the potential ability to improve endothelial function and reverse vascular aging. Strain indices may enable differentiating study participants with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) from other dementias. Cognitive testing is unable to make this differentiation.