University of Maryland, Baltimore

Background: While the intensive care of patients with life-threatening brain illnesses has advanced tremendously, a large number of therapies are still without proper scientific support. This can be partly explained by the fact that mechanisms of initial brain injury are still not well understood. Why additional neurological injury occurs during a patient's stay in the NeuroCritical Care Unit (NCCU) despite current best, evidence-based clinical practices, is also not well understood. However, over the past decade, better tools have become available to measure and monitor the impact of our clinical care on the rapidly changing physiology and chemistry of the injured brain. Some of these tools are CT, MRI, ultrasound, and catheter-based technology measuring blood flow and metabolism. These tools have enabled earlier detection of injury and complications and newer therapeutic strategies. Purpose: Examine disease pathways common to all brain injuries seen in the University of Maryland's 22-bed NCCU. Life-threatening neurological illnesses cared for in the NCCU include massive stroke, bleeding in and around the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracerebral hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage, intraventricular hemorrhage), brain tumors, difficult to control seizures, neurologic infections, nerve and muscle diseases (such as myasthenia gravis or Guillain-Barre Syndrome), and spinal cord disorders among others. Many NCCU patients are comatose or paralyzed and may suffer injuries in other parts of the body as well. This effort will require the creation of a robust clinical database for the capture of data including patient characteristics (age, sex), clinical characteristics, medical treatments, surgical interventions, physiological data (such as vital signs, cerebral blood flow, intracranial pressure, cerebral oximetry, etc), laboratory data, and standard-of-care diagnostic studies such as electroencephalography (EEG), ultrasound, CT, MRI, and angiograms. Similar databases exist at other major centers for neurocritical care and have been instrumental to the identification of characteristics both predictive of and associated with outcomes of patients long after their stay in the NCCU. In addition, the samples collected will be included in the University of Maryland Medicine (UMM) Biorepository which is a shared resource to enable biomedical research by University of Maryland faculty.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Sep 2014

open study

The PHA Registry (PHAR) is a national study about people who have pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). PHAR collects information from people with PAH and CTEPH who are cared for in participating PHA-accredited Pulmonary Hypertension Care Centers throughout the U.S. PHAR will determine how people with PAH and CTEPH are evaluated, tested, and treated, and will observe how well these participants do. The goal is to see if people with PH are treated according to recommended guidelines, and to see if there are certain factors that can lead to better or worse outcomes. PHAR will include information about people with PAH and CTEPH in the U.S. who are seen at participating PHA-accredited PH Care Centers. PHAR contains data about patient care and outcomes. Specifically, data in the PHAR includes information on diagnosis; clinical status; socioeconomic status; diagnosis test results; body size; treatment information; interest in participating in clinical trials; family health and social history; and information about smoking, alcohol, or drug use. Participants are followed over time, and provide updates such as changes in therapy, how often participants need to go to the hospital, and survival. Such information may help healthcare providers provide better care.

Type: Observational [Patient Registry]

Start Date: Oct 2015

open study

The purpose of this research is to study the feasibility of a specific training program for the breathing muscles (inspiratory muscle training) and the effects on how breathing is regulated during exercise in childhood cancer survivors.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2024

open study

The proposed Conventional Cohort Expansion Study involves the use of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) are derived from the bone marrow. We previously studied the safety of subconjunctival injection of allogeneic bone marrow-derived MSCs in patients with nonhealing epitheliopathy (IRB Protocol 2020-0334). In the present study, we want to study the efficacy of this treatment on chronic epitheliopathies.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2023

open study

The prevalence of dementia will double in the next three decades in the U.S.; effective treatment or prevention for dementia is urgently needed. The current exploratory project aims to evaluate and understand how the brain and cognition may improve after a 12-week intervention that combines brain training and aerobic exercise training to improve brain function, both in those with mild cognitive impairment (some with possible prodromal Alzheimer's disease) and with healthy aging. Findings from this pilot project will guide and refine the development of a future larger clinical trial that aligns with the goals of the National Alzheimer's Plan of Action (NAPA), especially regarding "Prevent and Effectively Treat Alzheimer's Disease (AD) by 2025.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2024

open study

Individuals suffering from Serious Mental Illnesses (SMI) are at risk for serious adverse health and social outcomes compared to the general population due to a high prevalence of chronic physical health disorders such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and Type II Diabetes, along with consequences of mental distress such as suicide, substance abuse, and acute stress.While pharmacological treatments exist for these conditions, they have limited effectiveness in SMI populations because: (1) up to 60% of individuals with SMI do not take their psychiatric or somatic medications as prescribed, (2) individuals with SMI have poorer clinical outcomes and experience high rates of hospitalizations, and (3) individuals with SMI experience worse care. Challenges in the management of these complex chronic health and mental health conditions have led to the development of intensive community-based service delivery programs. However, as currently structured these intensive in-person interventions have only had limited impact optimizing service delivery, and consequently on adherence to treatment and health outcomes. While in-person clinical contact in select situations is important, telehealth may serve as an effective and nimble intervention to help meet the high need for clinical intervention for SMI populations and particularly those with geographically limited-service access. Although research exists regarding the efficacy of telehealth with SMI populations, most of the existing interventions with this population have been designed for institutional settings, not community settings, because of barriers to adoption of telehealth such as limited access to digital technology, technical support difficulties and cost of necessary technology. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for developing effective telemedicine and telemonitoring technologies to serve the unique needs of this vulnerable population in community settings. This project builds on a successful Phase I SBIR project and ongoing Phase II clinical trial of the Medherent medication management platform. This study will test an expanded set of telehealth care-coordination services that can be used to address the broad health needs of individuals diagnosed with SMI living in community settings and supported by community mental health agencies. The study team will recruit 300 individuals, including 200 individuals currently using the device and 100 new users of the device. The study will test the existing Medherent platform and a set of extended services. Our key outcomes include acute service use, receipt of preventive and other health screenings, health outcomes and costs of services. The study will use a Stepped Wedge Design approach with a matched comparison group to identify potential benefits of the intervention.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2022

open study

The purpose of this study is to develop prediction models that can prognosticate patients with sarcoidosis using clinical data and blood markers that can be obtained during a clinic visit.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jan 2023

open study

This is a Phase 4, U.S. only, multi-center study using a 7-day therapeutic response dose (TRD) of commercial Sucraid® to assess the response of treatment in 1100 symptomatic pediatric (6 months to 17 years old) subjects with low, moderate, and normal sucrase activity determined by a disaccharidase assay via EGD within 1 year of the Screening Visit. This study will also explore the relationship between known genetic CSID mutations and sucrase activities via (EGD) disaccharidase assay (low, moderate, and normal).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2022

open study

B-cell Lymphoma is an aggressive and rare cancer of a type of immune cell (a white blood cell responsible for fighting infections). The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and tolerability of epcoritamab in combination with anti-neoplastic agents in adult participants with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Adverse events and change in disease activity will be assessed. Epcoritamab is an investigational drug being developed for the treatment of NHL. Study doctors put the participants in groups called treatment arms. The combination of epcoritamab with anti-neoplastic agents will be explored. Each treatment arm receives a different treatment combination depending on eligibility. Approximately 622 adult participants with NHL will be enrolled in 100 sites globally. In both the dose escalation and dose expansion arms participants will receive subcutaneous (SC) epcoritamab in 28 day, 21 day, or 56 day cycles dependent on the arm in combination with the anti-neoplastic agents described below: 1: Oral lenalidomide in participants (PPTS) with relapsed/refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL); 2: Oral ibrutinib and oral lenalidomide in PPTS with with R/R DLBCL; 3: Intravenous (IV) polatuzumab vedotin, IV rituximab, IV cyclophosphamide, IV doxorubicin hydrochloride (HCl), and oral prednisone (pola-R-CHP) in PPTS with newly diagnosed treatment-naïve DLBCL; 4: Oral CC-99282 in PPTS with R/R DLBCL; 5: Oral CC-99282 in PPTS with R/R follicular lymphoma (FL); 6A: Oral ibrutinib in PPTS with R/R mantle cell lymphoma (MCL); 6B: Oral ibrutinib, and oral venetoclax in PPTS with R/R MCL; 7: Oral ibrutinib, and oral venetoclax in PPTS with newly diagnosed treatment-naïve MCL. 8: Oral pirtobrutinib in PPTS with R/R MCL. There may be higher treatment burden for participants in this trial compared to their standard of care. Participants will attend regular visits during the study at an approved institution (hospital or clinic). The effect of the treatment will be frequently checked by medical assessments, blood tests, questionnaires and side effects.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2022

open study

The purpose of this study is to learn about the safety of a new pneumococcal vaccine and how the new pneumococcal vaccine helps to fight against germs in infants when compared to the pneumococcal vaccine that is currently in use, 20vPnC (Prevnar 20®). To ensure that the new vaccine (PG4) stays stable, it is placed in a liquid mixture of sterile water and other substances (a solution). This study will also test if there is a difference in the safety and immune effects of the new pneumococcal vaccine when it is one type of solution compared to when it is in a different type of solution. The immune response is how the body's cells, tissues and organs work together to protect the body from infection. Blood samples will be used to measure the amount of antibodies produced after the vaccination. Antibodies are proteins that protect you when an unwanted germ enters the body. This will help understand how well the new pneumococcal vaccine works. This vaccine can possibly provide protection against pneumococcal disease. Pneumococcal disease includes a variety of infections caused by a specific germ, Streptococcus pneumoniae. This study is seeking participants who are: - male or female infants who are 2 months of age, - infants born at 36 weeks (about 8 and a half months) of pregnancy or later; and, - said to be healthy by the study doctor There are three groups in this study. All participants will be assigned to one of the three groups. All study vaccines will be given as a single shot into the left thigh muscle. Participants in the three groups will have 3 blood samples collected during the 1 and a half years they are in the study. The first 400 people who enter the study will be assigned to either Group 1 or Group 2. Half the participants in Group 1 and half the participants in Group 2 will receive 4 doses at 2, 4, 6, and 12 to 15 months of age of PG4 mixed in the first solution. The other half of the participants in Groups 1 and 2 will receive 4 doses of 20vPnC (Prevnar 20®) at 2, 4, 6, and 12 to 15 months of age. The main difference between Groups 1 and 2 is that participants in Group 2 will have the first blood sample collected at an earlier time than those in Group 1. Once 400 people have been assigned to Groups 1 and 2 then 100 new participants will be assigned to Group 3. Half the participants in Group 3 will receive PG4 in the second solution at 2, 4, 6, and 12 to 15 months of age. The other half of the participants in Groups 3 will receive 4 doses of 20vPnC (Prevnar 20®) at 2, 4, 6, and 12 to 15 months of age. Participants will take part in this study for about 16 to 19 months (about 1 and a half years). During this time, participants will have 6 study clinic visits and 1 to 2 phone calls. At these study clinic visits, parent(s) or legal guardian(s) will be asked if the participant experienced any side effects. A side effect is an unintentional or unexpected reaction to a vaccine.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2024

open study

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the overall survival of participants treated with imetelstat compared to best available therapy with intermediate-2 or high-risk Myelofibrosis (MF) who are relapsed/refractory (R/R) to Janus Kinase (JAK)-Inhibitor treatment.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2021

open study

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a serious condition that occurs as a complication of medical and surgical diseases, has a mortality of ~40%, and has no known treatment other than optimization of support. Data from basic research, animal models, and retrospective studies, case series, and small prospective studies suggest that therapeutic hypothermia (TH) similar to that used for cardiac arrest may be lung protective in patients with ARDS; however, shivering is a major complication of TH, often requiring paralysis with neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBA) to control. Since the recently completed NHLBI PETAL ROSE trial showed that NMBA had no effect (good or bad) in patients with moderate to severe ARDS, the CHILL trial is designed to evaluate whether TH combined with NMBA is beneficial in patients with ARDS. This Phase IIb randomized clinical trial is funded by the Department of Defense to compare TH (core temperature 34-35°C) + NMBA for 48h vs. usual temperature management in patients in 14 clinical centers with the Clinical Coordination Center and Data Coordinating Center at University of Maryland Baltimore. Planned enrollment is 340 over ~3.5 years of the 4-year contract. COVID-19 is considered an ARDS risk-factor and patients with ARDS secondary to COVID-19 pneumonia will be eligible for enrollment. Primary outcome is 28-day ventilator-free days. Secondary outcomes include safety, physiologic measures, mortality, hospital and ICU length of stay, and serum biomarkers collected at baseline and on days 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2021

open study

Demonstrate the relationship between DD-cfDNA levels and HLA antibodies in blood, and the Molecular Microscope® (MMDx) Diagnostic System results in indication biopsies.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Dec 2019

open study

Study ROR-PH-301, ADVANCE OUTCOMES, is designed to assess the efficacy and safety of ralinepag when added to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) standard of care or PAH-specific background therapy in subjects with World Health Organization (WHO) Group 1 PAH.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2018

open study

This study (study ID PAC203 North America; PAC303 ex-North America) is evaluating 200 mg BID of pacritinib compared to physician's choice (P/C) therapy in patients with MF and severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count <50,000/μL). Approximately 399 patients in total will be enrolled, randomized 2:1 to either pacritinib (approximately 266 patients) or to P/C therapy (approximately 133 patients) Condition or disease: Primary Myelofibrosis/Post-Polycythemia Vera Myelofibrosis/ Post-essential Thrombocythemia Myelofibrosis Intervention/treatment: Drug-Pacritinib

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2017

open study

This study will explore if a behavioral intervention program to assist people aged 50 and older with HIV is practical. The program includes a coach who talks with participants, encouraging them to be more active, reduce loneliness, and eat healthier.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2024

open study

This is a trial in which 350 primary lung transplant recipients will be randomized (1:1) to receive either Tocilizumab (six doses over 20 weeks) plus standard triple maintenance immunosuppression or placebo (sterile normal saline) plus standard triple maintenance immunosuppression (Tacrolimus, Mycophenolate Mofetil, corticosteroids). The primary objective is to test the hypothesis that treatment with triple maintenance immunosuppression plus Tocilizumab (TCZ) is superior to triple maintenance immunosuppression plus placebo (saline) as defined by a composite endpoint of a) CLAD, b) listed for re-transplantation, and c) death

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2024

open study

This is a multicenter trial to establish the efficacy of cooling and the optimal duration of induced hypothermia for neuroprotection in pediatric comatose survivors of cardiac arrest. The study team hypothesizes that longer durations of cooling may improve either the proportion of children that attain a good neurobehavioral recovery or may result in better recovery among the proportion already categorized as having a good outcome.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2022

open study

Prospective, non-randomized, multi-center clinical investigation of the NEXUS™ Aortic Arch Stent Graft System (NEXUSTM) for the treatment of thoracic aortic lesions involving the aortic arch with a proximal landing zone, native or previously implanted surgical graft, in the ascending aorta and with a brachiocephalic trunk native landing zone.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2020

open study

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the effects of Neonatal Touch and Massage Therapy on premature babies. The main questions it aims to answer are: - Do babies who receive Neonatal Touch and Massage Therapy get discharged sooner from the NICU - Does Neonatal Touch and Massage Therapy have a beneficial effect on weight gain, pain and stress responses, and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Participants assigned to the treatment group will receive Neonatal Touch and Massage Therapy while admitted to the NICU. Researchers will compare their outcomes to a control group, receiving standard NICU care, to see if there are any differences in the length of hospital stay, weight gain, pain scores, neurodevelopmental outcomes, and incidence of other common conditions associated with prematurity.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2023

open study

This is a Phase III clinical randomized control trial to investigate differences between patient with an infected nonunion treated by PO vs. IV antibiotics. The study population will be 250 patients, 18 years or older, being treated for infected nonunion after internal fixation of a fracture with a segmental defect less than one centimeter. Patients will be randomly assigned to either the treatment (group 1) PO antibiotics for 6 weeks or the control group (group 2) IV antibiotics for 6 weeks. The primary hypothesis is that the effectiveness of oral antibiotic therapy is equivalent to traditional intravenous antibiotic therapy for the treatment of infected nonunion after fracture internal fixation, when such therapy is combined with appropriate surgical management. Clinical effectiveness will be measured as the primary outcome as the number of secondary re-admissions related to injury and secondary outcomes of treatment failure (re-infection, nonunion, antibiotic complications) within the first one year of follow-up, as defined by specified criteria and determined by a blinded data assessment panel. In addition, treatment compliance, the cost of treatment, the number of surgeries required, the type and incidence of complications, and the duration of hospitalization will be measured.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2023

open study

This first-in-human study will evaluate the recommended dose for further clinical development, safety, tolerability, antineoplastic activity, immunogenicity, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of IKS03, a CD19 targeting antibody-drug conjugate, in patients with advanced B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2023

open study

This study is a 16-week intent-to-treat randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 120 suicidal juvenile justice (JJ)-involved transition-age (TA) youth (age 15-21 years) and a primary caregiver (dyads). Dyads will be randomly assigned to iKinnect2.0 (n=60 dyads) or Life360 (control app) plus an electronic suicide resources brochure (n=60 dyads). This design will test iKinnect2.0's new features for suicide prevention against TA youth awareness of and access to high-quality suicide prevention resources, while simultaneously testing features relating to conduct problems and parent management against parents knowing the TA youth's whereabouts in real-time and controlling for dyad member engagement in technology (Life360). Participants will be assessed at baseline, 4, 8 and 16 weeks. Primary youth-reported outcomes relating to suicide risk include: Suicidal behaviors (ideation, planning, attempts), non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors, self-efficacy in coping with distress, and use of imminent distress coping strategies (behavioral skills, use of crisis stabilization plan). Youth will also report on their criminal behavior. Primary caregiver-reported outcome variables relating to youth suicide include: Self-efficacy in applying family-based suicide-prevention strategies and reported use of those strategies; caregivers will also report on their own functioning (efficacy/confidence in parenting skills, life stress), TA youth functioning (internalizing and externalizing symptoms), parental management behaviors (expectation clarity, parental monitoring, discipline effectiveness/consistency, use of rewards), and parent-youth relationship quality (communication, conflict, support). App satisfaction and use of technology outcomes (i.e., degree of app usage, features used) will be examined and reported descriptively.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2023

open study

INTERLIVER is a prospective observational study of the relationship of the molecular phenotype of 300 liver transplant biopsies to the histologic phenotype and the clinical features and outcomes. A segment of a biopsy performed as standard-of-care for indications, or by center protocol, will be used for gene expression study.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Dec 2017

open study

Many human diseases are characterized by their ability to alter existing metabolic pathways and interrupt cellular processes. Cancer exploits the Warburg effect and utilizes greater glucose than normal cells and within this process uses anaerobic respiration, leading to increased conversion of pyruvate to lactate. This can be exploited by hyperpolarized imaging. Hyperpolarized 13C MRI imaging is an approach that utilizes a stable isotope of Carbon (13C) linked to pyruvate. MRI spectroscopy is used in conjunction with hyperpolarized 13C pyruvate in order to temporally detect pyruvate and its conversion to lactate in-vivo, in order to visualize downstream metabolic (glycolytic) activity secondary to the Warburg effect, which should be useful in detecting and characterizing tumors of various types. Hyperpolarized 13C pyruvate MR imaging has not been tested in most cancers. In this preliminary survey, we will test the hypothesis that hyperpolarized 13C pyruvate MR imaging can be used to image various cancers.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2024

open study