Clinical trials

This study aims to examine whether the AI-personalized version of the Medilepsy® app is more effective than the non-AI (standard version without AI personalization) can improve key outcomes, such as medical adherence and transition readiness, among underserved adolescents and young adults with epilepsy, ages 14-24, in Florida, USA. Outcomes are organized into primary (effectiveness), secondary (usability), and exploratory (language experience) endpoints.

The purpose of this pilot study is to estimate the prevalence of elevated Lipoprotein (a) in an adult primary care population and to describe the distribution of atherogenic lipid markers within this cohort. This pilot study will provide preliminary data to inform future cardiovascular risk assessment initiatives in primary care.

Children from low-income households have a 25-30% higher prevalence of OWOB compared to their higher-income peers. The lack of feasible and effective treatments to address obesity in children with OWOB and from low-income household's points to a real need for prioritization and urgency. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) notes several shortcomings with current behavioral interventions and clinical practice to treat children with OWOB. Current efforts lack the necessary intensity recommended by USPSTF (26-52 hours in a 6-month period); incorporate multi-component interventions that are not feasible to consistently deliver; do not consider barriers to services/programs, such as cost; do not explore collaborative relationships between providers and community programs, and are expressed as 'treatment', therefore, perpetuating the stigma of being overweight/obese. Our project rationale focuses on addressing these limitations during a critical time for accelerated weight-gain in children with OWOB, summer. Our pilot randomized clinical trial will provide free access for children to attend summer day camps (SDCs) as a treatment for OWOB. SDCs are settings where children show high levels of physical activity, consume foods/beverages that meet federal nutrition guidelines, and maintain a consistent sleep schedule during summer. Unfortunately, not all children have access to SDCs. Our team surveyed more than 100 parents/guardians (84% Medicaid) who have a child with OWOB and receives treatment at a pediatric clinic and \~75% reported that they would like to receive a voucher to attend a SDC and that cost was the number one reason why their child did not attend. The proposed pilot randomized clinical trial will randomize a total of 80 children with OWOB (5-11 years) who are covered by Medicaid, into two groups: (1) those who receive a pediatric voucher referral (PVR) from an pediatrician or nurse practitioner to attend an existing SDC for 8 weeks free-of- charge (n=40) or (2) those who continue to receive standard care (control; n=40). By leveraging the expertise of primary care providers and partnering with two well-positioned community partners, our team will evaluate a highly promising intervention to address cost as a barrier for children/families attending summer programming by addressing the following specific aims: 1) to examine the feasibility (intervention delivery) and acceptability (intervention uptake) of the PVR program, 2) to determine the preliminary effectiveness of the PVR program on weight outcomes, and the potential mediating influence of activity, sleep, and diet on any observed changes, and 3) to qualitatively explore the facilitators/barriers of participation in the PVR program and to identify what children and families face during the school year and summer in relation to weight management. Findings will inform the design of a R01 clinical trial. Long term goals of this proposal are to influence policies for subsidizing access to local community SDCs for children/families who meet health criteria (i.e., OWOB). Scalability of this approach is promising given the widespread presence of SDCs and pediatric health clinics in communities.

This study investigates how simulated knee injury-via artificial joint effusion or deafferentation-affects quadriceps motor unit behavior in healthy young adults. Participants will complete neuromuscular testing during a single 2-hour lab session. This research seeks to improve understanding of muscle inhibition and inform interventions after real-world knee trauma.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a technology-based intervention for managing nausea and vomiting in older adults with cancer. Participants will be randomized to either an intervention or control group. Outcomes such as symptom severity, quality of life, and resource use will be examined.

Individuals with chronic low back pain will undergo a yoga, yoga nidra, and control condition on separate visits. Each visit, before and after the intervention, participants with rate their pain in response to heat stimuli, a sit to stand task, and questionnaires.

Pregnant women are more sedentary (sit, recline, lie down more) on average than non-pregnant women (more than 12 versus less than 8 waking sedentary hours/day). Sedentary behavior has been related to psychological distress, pregnancy weight gain, impaired sleep and very large size infants, while adequate physical activity has been found to improve mental health, decrease risk of high blood pressure in pregnancy and lower risk of preterm birth infants (less than 37 weeks gestation). Decreased sedentary behavior and increased physical activity may be crucial and neglected lifestyle behavior changes that can be promoted to reduce these and other maternal health and birth outcome problems among pregnant women.

The purpose of this research is to better understand the impact of receiving legal aid on HIV care continuum outcomes among formerly incarcerated individuals. In addition, the investigators would like to assess the effectiveness of a comprehensive training for providers in increasing knowledge about medical legal partnerships and improving clinic level outcomes, including communication among providers. The training includes several topics including health disparities impacting formerly incarcerated individuals, health-harming legal needs and risks, screening for health-harming legal needs and risks, medical-legal partnership structure and operations, prerequisites for MLPs, embedding legal expertise within regularized case management, co-location of legal services, and data collection and analysis.

The purpose of this study is to scientifically validate the impact of music therapy on Alzheimer's disease (AD) by analyzing molecular biomarkers in salivary exosomes. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles that carry molecular signals from brain cells, providing a non-invasive method to assess physiological changes.

This study aims to develop AI models to better read diagnostic mammograms for various populations and types of breast cancer, using the images that participants donate and their responses from study questionnaire to improve patient outcomes. This study also aims to provide mammography images to participants.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) in follicular fluid (FF) as biomarkers of ovarian aging and predictors of in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. The goal is to identify noninvasive molecular markers that correlate with oocyte quality and reproductive potential, particularly in women of advanced maternal age.

The purpose of this study is to compare the frequency of symptoms, exposure and health impacts in persons living in areas where they are exposed to bloom and non-bloom periods of cyanobacteria and red tide in Florida.

Treatment of post-stroke apraxia of speech (AOS) requires frequent and ongoing practice with a speech-language pathologist to facilitate lasting behavioral change, which is costly and, therefore, inaccessible to many patients. Thus, there is a critical need to identify novel, cost-effective ways to supplement speech therapy to increase opportunities for practice and optimize treatment outcomes. Our long-term goal is to develop an effective, home-practice, computer-based, motor imagery protocol Motor Imagery for Treatment Enhancement and Efficacy (MI-TEE) which will serve as an adjunct to routine speech therapy to optimize treatment response in persons with AOS. The overall objectives of this application are to (i) evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of MI-TEE as a home practice program and (ii) determine the efficacy of MI-TEE with speech therapy, compared to speech therapy alone, in improving speech production in people with AOS. Our central hypothesis is that MI-TEE will be an accessible, feasible, and efficacious adjunct to speech therapy. To attain our objectives, the following specific aims will be pursued using two single-subject experimental designs with multiple baselines across participants (n=18): 1) Evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of MI-TEE as an adjunct to speech therapy for the rehabilitation of AOS; and 2) Compare the efficacy of adjunctive MI-TEE plus standard speech therapy to standard speech therapy alone. Under the first aim, observational data, surveys, and semi-structured interviews will be employed to assess the acceptability (perceived satisfaction, appropriateness, and intent to continue use) and feasibility (recruitment, retention, and intervention adherence rates) of MI-TEE. For the second aim, accuracy of articulation for trained words and untrained words (generalization) will be measured pre-treatment, repeatedly during the treatment phase, and post-treatment. Improvements in speech accuracy will be documented using a binary scoring system (correct/incorrect). Multilevel analyses will be used to address rate of acquisition, overall change, and response variation across participants.

The purpose of this study is to find out if there is a connection between the naturally occurring bacteria in our bodies and the progression of Huntington disease. The investigators are trying to determine if patients who are diagnosed with adult-onset HD and who exhibit a rapid rate of disease progression have unique populations of bacteria in their gut as compared to patients with slower progression.

The goal of this observational study is to learn how the menstrual cycle affects immune cell activation, recruitment, and recovery responses after resistance exercise in healthy, resistance-trained women aged 18-40. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the menstrual cycle influence neutrophil recruitment and adhesion after resistance exercise? Does the menstrual cycle affect markers of muscle damage and functional recovery? Researchers will compare three menstrual phases (early follicular, late follicular, and mid-luteal) to see if immune responses and recovery outcomes differ across these phases. Participants will: Complete resistance exercise protocols across three different menstrual cycle phases. Provide blood samples to assess immune cell activation and muscle damage markers. Track sleep, mood, and recovery with questionnaires and wear an accelerometer.

The purpose of this study is to compare the impact of yoga, pain education, and yoga nidra with pain acceptance intention to yoga, pain education, and relaxing music on pain intensity, well-being, and sleep quality. This is a pilot study trial of individuals with chronic low back pain. Participants will attend two sessions in the laboratory (week 1 and week 8) and complete their assigned intervention 2 x per week for 6 weeks at home. Participants will be randomized to either receive yoga postures targeting the low back, pain education, and yoga nidra with pain acceptance intention and motor imagery or yoga postures targeting the low back, pain education, and relaxing music.

The focus of the current study is to systematically investigate the psychometric properties of a range of aided language measures, which are based on the Graphic Symbol Utterance and Sentence Development Framework (Binger \& Kent-Walsh).

Since the inception of aerospace travel, NASA has been collecting biospecimens from professional astronauts for research. With the recent growth of civilian aerospace travelers, there is a need for biospecimen banking for civilian astronauts. This protocol addresses this gap by being a biobank for civilian astronauts, their family members (to be controls) and others who are also doing travel to extreme environments (pilots, submariners).

The purpose of this research study is to understand how people make trust-related decisions in healthy aging. Participants will be asked to complete one study session on the University of Central Florida (UCF) campus. The study session will be conducted in a private testing room and include a series of computerized cognitive tasks and learning games, as well as surveys of your beliefs, preferences, and past experiences. The study will take a total of approximately 3.5 hours to completed. You will be allowed to take breaks during the session as needed. If you begin the study but do not complete the session, you will receive credit commensurate with your participation.

This study investigates the capabilities related to diet, physical activity, screening, and knowledge among diabetic adults with or without a history of hospital admissions in Central Florida. The hypothesis is that enhancing these capabilities, based on the Capability Approach framework, can significantly reduce hospital readmissions and improve diabetes management outcomes.

Millions of persons are affected by brain diseases. The CereBank will be used to support research studies aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases. Brain diseases can be inherited; developed due to diseases or aging; or can be due to trauma. The Central Florida does not have a brain biobank to meet the needs of research. Therefore, it is necessary for the University of Central Florida to establish a brain biobank.

To evaluate if the Founder exercise will significantly change participants kinematics when performing hip hinge movement. Secondary purpose is to evaluate if completing the Founder Exercise intervention will improve confidence in performing a hip hinge.

This study uses a prospective cohort study design using a convenience sample to explore the sock's impact on various aspects of ankle function and overall stability. A secondary objective is measuring subjective changes in reported confidence levels in performing balance and stability exercises with and without sock

Research scientists of the University of Central Florida College of Medicine (COM) and Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences (BSBS) conduct laboratory studies in biomedical and translational medical research for the purpose of understanding human disease and developing innovative methods for diagnosing, measuring, or treating disease or disease symptoms. The key research divisions are cancer, cardiovascular, immunity and pathogenesis, neuroscience, and molecular microbiology.

To examine the effects of once daily supplementation with 500mg VeriSperse® resveratrol (VRES) for 17 days on muscle function, delayed onset muscle soreness, systemic concentrations of muscular damage markers and markers of oxidative stress in resistance trained young adult males following a damaging isoinertial squat protocol (ISP).