UAB - Center for Clinical and Translational Science

Without an explanation for severe and sometimes life-threatening symptoms, patients and their families are left in a state of unknown. Many individuals find themselves being passed from physician to physician, undergoing countless and often repetitive tests in the hopes of finding answers and insight about what the future may hold. This long and arduous journey to find a diagnosis does not end for many patients- the Office of Rare Diseases Research (ORDR) notes that 6% of individuals seeking their assistance have an undiagnosed disorder. In 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP) was established with the goal of providing care and answers for these individuals with mysterious conditions who have long eluded diagnosis. The NIH UDP is a joint venture of the NIH ORDR, the National Human Genome Research Institute Intramural Research Program (NHGRI-IRP), and the NIH Clinical Research Center (CRC) (1-3). The goals of the NIH UDP are to: (1) provide answers for patients with undiagnosed diseases; (2) generate new knowledge about disease mechanisms; (3) assess the application of new approaches to phenotyping and the use of genomic technologies; and (4) identify potential therapeutic targets, if possible. To date, the UDP has evaluated 3300 medical records and admitted 750 individuals with rare and undiagnosed conditions to the NIH Clinical Center. The NIH UDP has identified more than 70 rare disease diagnoses and several new conditions. The success of the NIH UDP prompted the NIH Common Fund to support the establishment of a network of medical research centers, the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN), for fiscal years 2013-2020. The clinical sites will perform extensive phenotyping, genetic analyses, and functional studies of potential disease-causing variants. The testing performed on patients involves medically indicated studies intended to help reach a diagnosis, as well as research investigations that include a skin biopsy, blood draws, and DNA analysis. In addition, the UDN will further the goals of the UDP by permitting the sharing of personally identifiable phenotypic and genotypic information within the network. By sharing participant information and encouraging collaboration, the UDN hopes to improve the understanding of rare conditions and advance the diagnostic process and care for individuals with undiagnosed diseases....

Type: Observational

Start Date: Sep 2015

open study

The purpose of this research study is to explore whether genetic testing can offer a personalized and timely approach to assist physicians in making more informed medication decisions for stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients during their hospital stay.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2025

open study

The WeDecide study is a large observational study comparing the long-term effects of matched related donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (MRD HCT) and non-transplant disease-modifying therapies (NT-DMT) for pediatric patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). The study aims to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL), cognitive function, risks, and benefits of both treatments, including survival rates, chronic complications, and organ damage prevention. With 160 children in the MRD HCT group and 320 in the NT-DMT group, aged 3-20.9 years, the study will follow participants for three years, examining factors like disease severity, treatment history, and social determinants of health. By providing a comprehensive comparison, the study seeks to inform clinical decisions and improve understanding of SCD treatment outcomes, ultimately supporting families and healthcare providers in choosing the best treatment options.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jun 2024

open study

Radiosurgery is the use of a focal high dose of radiation therapy to ablate or kill a tumor. This trial will enroll patients with brain metastases 4 cm or less in greatest diameter and will compare 0mm margin to a 2mm margin for treatment.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2025

open study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Arlocabtagene Autoleucel (BMS-986393) in participants with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 2024

open study

VictORION-INCLUSION (V-INCLUSION) seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of inclisiran as an innovative therapy with the potential to help bridge care gaps in historically understudied and undertreated populations by leveraging electronic health records (EHR) in multiple US Healthcare Systems (HCS) to systematically identify those at high risk for and already diagnosed with ASCVD for more expeditious achievement of LDL-C targets.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2024

open study

The Short-Cut trial is a prospective, investigator-initiated, multicenter, randomized controlled trial that is designed to compare the efficacy of cutting balloon angioplasty vs. intravascular lithotripsy prior to drug-eluting stent implantation in patients with moderate to severely calcified coronary arteries.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2023

open study

To determine the safety and effectiveness of IMPEDE-FX RapidFill to increase the percentage of subjects with shrinkage of the abdominal aortic aneurysm sac when used as an adjunct to on-label endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) stent graft treatment in trial subjects considered candidates for elective EVAR.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Apr 2024

open study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of BMS-986278 in Participants with Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the brain activity associated with cognitive tasks (thinking, reasoning, remembering) in order to understand how the brain works during certain tasks and to improve treatment for diseases like dementia and attention deficit disorders. Cognitive (thinking) impairment may include poor memory function, poor attention span, or psychiatric disorders (ex: ADD, depression). The investigators are interested in the brain activity related to these issues, and want to investigate changes in brain activity while we record activity from specific areas of the brain. These recordings are in addition to clinical (routine or standard of care) recordings being performed to monitor for seizures and do not impact the clinical care.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Mar 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to learn about the effects, safety and how PF-06823859 is processed in adults with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) showing some skin symptoms. This study is seeking for participants who: - are adults of 18 years of age or older. - are confirmed to have CLE or SLE with involvement of the skin. - have a Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index activity (CLASI-A) score of at least 8. About 48 participants will be selected to receive active study medicine (PF-06823859) or placebo (an infusion without drug). About 32 are grouped to receive the active study medicine and 16 are to receive placebo. They will be receiving the treatments by intravenous infusion (injected directly into the veins). At week 16 all participants receiving the active study drug since day 1 and participants who have received placebo since day 1 and are not responding clinically will receive active study medication. Patients who have received placebo since Day 1 and who have had a clinical response will continue to receive placebo till week 40. All participants will have last follow-up visit at Week 60. The study will compare participants receiving PF-06823859 to participants who receive placebo. This will help us see if PF-06823859 is safe and effective to treat CLE or SLE with skin symptoms and improve participant's CLASI-A score. Participants will take part in this study for about 65 weeks. This includes up to a 5-week selection period, a 12-week Q4Wk treatment period, a 36-week Q8Wk treatment period, and a 12-week follow-up period.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of sefaxersen (RO7434656), a novel Antisense Oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy in participants with primary IgA nephropathy (IgAN) who are at high risk of progressive kidney disease despite optimized supportive care.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2023

open study

The main purpose of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of vixarelimab compared with placebo on lung function in participants with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and in participants with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). Participants who complete 52-weeks of treatment in the Double-blind Treatment (DBT) period can choose to enroll in the optional Open-label Extension (OLE) period to receive treatment with vixarelimab for another 52 weeks. Cohort 1 has completed enrollment and has been closed for further enrollment. Cohort 2 is enrolling participants.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2023

open study

Cognitive aging in people with HIV (PWH) is of increasing concern for several reasons: 1) between 52%-59% of PWH experience cognitive impairment known as HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND) which impacts everyday functioning and quality of life; 2) HAND increases in severity and prevalence with age; and 3) 70% of PWH in the United States will be 50 and older by 2030. Fortunately, cognitive training programs can individually target specific cognitive impairments in PWH and possibly reduce the severity and prevalence of HAND and improve everyday functioning and quality of life. This approach is based around the underlying concept of intra-individual variability as controlled through higher level allocation of cognitive resources, known as executive functioning. This feasibility study will use a two-group pre-post experimental design of adults with HAND including: 1) a 20-hours of Executive Functioning Training group (enroll 60, n=48 with attrition), and 2) a no-contact control (enroll 60, n=48 with attrition). Aim 1 - Feasibility: To determine feasibility and acceptability of the intervention (i.e., attrition, feedback). Exploratory Aim 1 - Cognition: Compare adults who receive Executive Functioning Training to those who receive no training to determine whether they improve in global cognitive ability and overall cognitive IIV. This high impact study is innovative in the following ways: 1) This is the first study aimed to reduce cognitive IIV in PWH. 2) This is the first study to use IIV as a guide to target solely executive functioning training to improve global cognitive ability, which may reduce the severity and prevalence of HAND. 3) Over the last decade, the epicenter of HIV has emerged in the Deep South where this study will occur. Most participants in this study will be older PWH who identify as lower social economic status (SES) and/or African Americans and experience HAND symptoms.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2023

open study

The purpose of this 2-site (CT, AL) study is to test innovative interventions to reduce stigma and improve the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and opioid use disorder (OUD) care continua in women involved in the criminal justice system (WICJ). This study evaluates a newly validated PrEP decision aid and eHealth for integrated PrEP and MOUD compared to a decision aid-only for WICJ with OUD.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2023

open study

The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy, safety, PK, and PD of satralizumab in participants with NMDAR and LGI1 encephalitis.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2022

open study

The investigators are investigating the brain activity associated with sensory information in movement disorders in order to improve treatment of these symptoms beyond what is currently available.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Jun 2022

open study

The purpose of this study is to adapt and evaluate a combination intervention that includes: (1) a data-driven approach to directed community-based HIV testing to areas with high need, (2) Project Connect to expedite linkage to care at time of diagnosis, (3) and a Rapid ART (antiretroviral therapy)Start program, all in Mobile County Health Department (MCHD) jurisdictions in Alabama.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Mar 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

This research study will determine the proportion of patients with lowest minimal residual disease (MRD) response obtainable after receiving 6 cycles of study treatment. Minimal residual disease is multiple myeloma cells below the level of 1 cancer cell out of 100,000 in the bone marrow. For patients who become MRD "negative" (i.e. less than 1 cancer cell out of 100,000) at the end of 6 cycles of therapy, this study will study if that good response can be maintained with 3 additional cycles of treatment instead of use of autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT). For patients who are MRD "positive" at the end of 6 cycles of therapy, this study will answer whether more patients can become and remain MRD "negative" with AHCT plus teclistamab in combination with daratumumab when compared with patients who undergo AHCT followed by lenalidomide (an established anti-myeloma drug) plus daratumumab.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2023

open study

This is a Phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled, safety and efficacy study of daily SC metreleptin in subjects with Partial Lipodystrophy.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2021

open study

Our aim is to conduct a multi-center, Bayesian, randomized clinical trial to evaluate the primary technical success of coils and vascular plugs for proximal splenic artery embolization in the setting of high-grade splenic trauma. The investigator has previously demonstrated the feasibility of such a study in a single center pilot trial.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2022

open study

This phase II trial determines if the combination of ONC201 with different drugs, panobinostat or paxalisib, is effective for treating participants with diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs). Despite years of research, little to no progress has been made to improve outcomes for participants with DMGs, and there are few treatment options. ONC201, panobinostat, and paxalisib are all enzyme inhibitors that may stop the growth of tumor cells by clocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth. This phase II trial assesses different combinations of these drugs for the treatment of DMGs.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Oct 2021

open study

This phase II trial studies the effect of lutetium Lu 177 dotatate compared to the usual treatment (everolimus) in treating patients with somatostatin receptor positive bronchial neuroendocrine tumors that have spread to other places in the body (advanced). Lutetium Lu 177-dotate is a radioactive drug. It binds to a protein called somatostatin receptor, which is found on some neuroendocrine tumor cells. Lutetium Lu 177-dotatate builds up in these cells and gives off radiation that may kill them. It is a type of radioconjugate and a type of somatostatin analog. Lutetium Lu 177 dotatate may be more effective than everolimus in shrinking or stabilizing advanced bronchial neuroendocrine tumors.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2023

open study

A randomized trial to determine whether simultaneous treatment with spectacles and patching has an equivalent VA outcome compared with sequential treatment, first with spectacles alone followed by patching (if needed), for previously untreated amblyopia in children 3 to <13 years of age.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2020

open study