Clinical trials

The OLEA-HF study aims to explore whether daily supplementation of extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) for 12 weeks during participation in a cardiac rehabilitation program (standard of care) is feasible in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The investigators will also determine the effects of EVOO on functional capacity and quality of life.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if teaching speech skills to infants with cleft palates, prior to palate repair, will help them to develop speech and language skills. It will also learn about whether the skills are linked to fewer speech sound difficulties when they start school. The main questions it aims to answer are: Do standard, early intervention techniques to promote language development, that are used in children who are late talkers, work in infants with cleft palates? Will infants with cleft palates increase the number of sounds they use after targeted intervention? Can infants attempt to make stop sounds, like b and p, after targeted intervention? Can infants with cleft palate learn new words more quickly when they are used with gestures? Participants will: Participate in a baseline evaluation of speech and language skills, either in person, or via Telehealth. Attend the clinic for twice-weekly visits, for six weeks, to learn techniques to help their infants develop their speech and language skills, in a group setting with other families of infants with cleft palate. Participate in a final evaluation of speech and language skills, either in person, or via Telehealth.

The goal of this study is to determine the effectiveness of a mobile exercise app in improving cardiovascular health and motivation to exercise in pregnant women who are healthy, in their 2nd trimester, between 18-45 years age, and do not do exercise currently. The aims of this study are determine i) the effect of a mobile app (BumptUp) to increase motivation to exercise as assessed by questionnaire, and ii) the changes may occur in cardiovascular health outcomes such as increased percent Flow-Mediated Dilation (FMD), Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and decreased Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) over an 8-week period of intervention. Researchers will compare this to pregnant women who are healthy, in their 2nd trimester, between 18-45 years age, and who will not be using the mobile app (BumptUp) for exercise. Participants who are in the experimental group will be given access to the mobile app (BumptUp) for 8 weeks. Both the control and experimental group will visit the lab for their baseline measurements (study visit 1), followed by two visits at 4 weeks (study visit 2) and 8 weeks (study visit 3) to have their heart rate variability, arterial stiffness (PWV), and vascular function (FMD) assessed. At each study visit, blood pressure, heart rate, height, and weight will also be measured. Additionally, at all three study visits, participants will fill out a questionnaire to determine motivation to exercise.

Many athletes anecdotally report modifying their nutritional intake before competition in order to avoid gut problems, but no studies have evaluated whether emotional state impacts tolerance to pre-exercise feeding. Therefore, this study will use movie clips (stressful, horror, and funny/amusing) to induce different mood states and emotions, which will be followed by ingestion of food before endurance running on a treadmill. In addition, metabolic and physiologic responses to mood induction will be evaluated.

Consuming a carbohydrate-rich food as the final food in a meal, as compared to the first food in a meal, has been shown to reduce blood glucose levels after eating in both diabetes patients and in healthy controls. However, gaps remain in the literature in this area of research, and currently little is known about how substrate (fuel) use is impacted by altering food order. In addition, most studies to date have used a mix of meat and plant foods, while little research has focused exclusively on vegetarian foods. This randomized experiment will examine how altering the order of foods eaten in a vegetarian meal impacts blood glucose and fuel utilization at rest.

The purpose of this study is to determine if an acute bout of removal of exercise reduces enothelial function and glycemic control in an active, older adult population; and whether a 3 day return to exercise restores this response. Glycemic control is the blood glucose response following the consumption of a meal. It is an indicator of insulin resistance (or type 2 diabetes) and impaired glycemic control has been suggested to lead to cardiovascular disease. Endothelial function has been shown to be improved by chronic or acute increases in physical activity. Both of these have been shown to be impaired to acute bouts of inactivity in young populations; however the impact of acute inactivity in older adults is less understood. In this proposal the investigators will examine 1)how quickly impairments in glycemic control occur to acute physical inactivity in older adults who exercise, 2) how quickly impairments in endothelial function occur to acute inactivity in older adults who exercise, and 3) whether 3 days of a return to exercise restores these responses.