Search Results

This protocol will characterize the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) location (both adverse and beneficial) on motor signs in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This information can be used to inform future DBS protocols to tailor stimulation to the specific needs of a patient. If targeted dorsal GP stimulation is shown to significantly improve motor features that are typically resistant to dopamine replacement therapy, these experiments will likely have major impact on clinical practice by providing a potential strategy to these medically intractable symptoms.

Kelly Ryberg - rybe0010@umn.edu

This is a prospective study aimed at quantifying walking and balance in Parkinson's Disease patients in the clinical setting. To accomplish this, we will use a portable motion capture system that is widely used to study biomechanics in humans. Once quantified, we want to test the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) frequency in patients who already have DBS systems in place. Thus, our objectives are: 1. Develop an anonymized database of quantitative postural responses and gait of PD patients. 2. Develop software that can quantify the postural response and gait of PD participants using only standard video camera footage. 3. Test the effectiveness of bilateral high and low frequency STN-DBS on the postural responses and gait of PD patients using the portable motion capture system. 4. We will passively record thalamic LFPs from patients with Medtronic Percept DBS devices while the DBS is OFF, set to low frequency, and set to high frequency.

Thomas Lisko - tlisko@umn.edu

This is a study to assess the safety and efficacy of PR001A, an Aden-associated (AAV9) viral vector to treat neuronopathic Gaucher disease type 2 (GD2) in infants. PRA001A will be administered via suboccipital injection to the cisterna magna during a single neurosurgical session. GD2 is a fatal disease of early infancy that does not have any therapeutic options beyond palliative care. This study will enroll infants 0-24 months of age.

Brenda Diethelm-Okita - dieth001@umn.edu

The proposed study uses a recombinant AAV2/6 vector encoding the cDNA for human α-Gal A (ST-920). The α-Gal A produced by this cDNA has an identical amino acid sequence to the native enzyme, and also to Fabrazyme® (agalsidase beta or equivalent), a clinically approved recombinant protein product. The ST-920 construct encodes a liver-specific promoter, the human α-1-antitrypsin (hAAT) promoter and includes liver-specific regulatory elements. In addition, rAAV2/6 exhibits liver tropism thus providing the potential for long-term hepatic production of α-Gal A in Fabry disease subjects. Studies of ST-920 in a Fabry disease mouse model administered rAAV2/6 encoding hGLA cDNA by intravenous (IV) injection show generation of therapeutic circulating levels of α-Gal A. The one-time treatment with ST-920 minimizes the risk of infusion--related reactions. The goal of ST-920 is to provide stable, long-term production of α-Gal A at therapeutic levels in subjects with Fabry disease. The constant production of α-Gal A in humans should, importantly, enable reduction and potentially clearance of Fabry disease substrates Gb3 and lyso-Gb3.

Brenda Diethelm-Okita - dieth001@umn.edu

A single visit study with muscle and/or skin biopsy / blood draw, performed to determine whether a molecular or cellular defect can be attributed to cells of FSHD muscle. This study is recruiting both individuals with genetically confirmed FSHD as well as unaffected healthy (control) individuals.

Ana Mitanoska - mitan001@umn.edu

This is a prospective, longitudinal cohort study involving data collection regarding performance of children with ALD and typically developing (TD)children on neurocognitive testing and collection of neuroimaging data. The first goal of this study is to understand more about how ALD affects a child’s brain and development in childhood as they take part in their normal medical care and monitoring. This is important to identifying the best ways to detect and treat manifestations of ALD such as cerebral ALD. The second goal is to learn about how ALD affects caregivers, so that clinicians can offer better support to families in the future.

Brain Study - brainstudy@umn.edu

One treatment for certain types of chronic pancreatitis is total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation (TPIAT). In this procedure, the pancreas is removed (eliminating the source of the pain) and the islets, which produce insulin and other important hormones, are taken from the pancreas and transplanted in to the liver. This is a small study to evaluate a new procedure for transplanting some islets to a new location in the body.

Gregory Beilman - beilman@umn.edu

This is pilot study designed to test the hypothesis that maternal probiotic supplementation is associated with infant gut microbiome variation and improved neurodevelopmental outcomes as measured by ERP performance. The primary aim is to determine if maternal probiotic supplementation during pregnancy and lactation is associated with improved recognition memory performance in infants of diabetic mothers (IDMs). This will involve recruitment and enrollment of pregnant mothers who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes and randomization to an intervention or control group. Women in the intervention group will receive a standardized probiotic supplement during the third trimester of pregnancy through the first month of lactation. We will compare the IDMs who are exposed to probiotics via maternal supplementation or not with respect to auditory and visual ERPs at 1 and 6 months of age to determine if probiotic supplementation is associated with improved hippocampus function in infancy. The secondary aim is to examine whether maternal probiotic supplementation during pregnancy and lactation is associated with differences in maternal milk and infant fecal microbiome signatures as well as maternal milk and infant serum inflammatory protein levels. Microbial analysis will be performed on infant stool and maternal breast milk samples at one and six months of age. Infant serum and maternal breast milk inflammatory protein levels will be measured at one and six months postpartum.

Maria Bunch - mbunch@umn.edu

We are trying to learn more about how the brain controls movement and how this affects function after stroke. We expect differences in the side of brain damage to result in distinct movements of each arm. We will collect information with standard clinical exams and movements during tasks completed on the Kinereach virtual reality system. We will compare results between people who have and have not had a stroke.

Shanie Jayasinghe - jayas045@umn.edu

Freezing of gait is a common problem in people with Parkinson's disease. Episodes of freezing can be overcome when a sensory cue is provided. This study will further develop and study the efficacy of a wireless shoe insole that can monitor walking and provide a cue (acoustic or vibrotactile) when a freezing event is detected. The experiment is designed to further test the ability of the device and algorithm to reliably detect freezing and release the episode with an external cue. This study has the potential to develop a tool that can help reduce the incidence and severity of freezing events in people with Parkinson's disease.

Madison Wylie - aasen056@umn.edu

The purpose of this investigation is to identify the potentially crucial role of anticipatory reward mechanisms maintaining bulimic behavior (i.e., binge eating and purging) in bulimia nervosa (BN).

Emma Rasmussen - rasmu960@umn.edu

This is a prospective study aimed at quantifying walking and balance in patients with parkinsonism in the clinical setting in addition to a living environment setting. To accomplish this, we will use a portable motion capture system that is widely used to study biomechanics in humans. Once quantified, we want to test the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) frequency in patients who already have DBS systems in place. Thus, our objectives are: 1. Demonstrate that parkinsonism patient-specific kinematics can be used to detect postural instability in the clinic using wearable IMUs. 2. Demonstrate that individualized, home-based postural response curves can detect postural instability and prospectively predict fall risk in patients with parkinsonism.

Thomas Lisko - tlisko@umn.edu

The effect of enzyme replacement therapy on how well your kidneys are responding to enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is not clear from blood and urine tests alone, but may be more clear in comparisons of kidney biopsies performed before and some time after ERT has been initiated, and this is what we are focusing our study efforts on. The purpose of this study is to obtain your permission to allow us to study the kidney biopsy tissues (collected for medical reasons) after the regular routine studies have been completed. Through our special research measurements and additional study, we hope to be able to see and measure very specific changes in the kidney tissues from Fabry patients taking ERT. We also hope that through these studies of what happens within the kidney before and after starting ERT, we are able to reveal valuable information about the importance of factors like your age that you started ERT, the amount or dosage of ERT, and any differences seen between males and females.

Michael Mauer - mauer002@umn.edu

This is a multi-center, prospective, observational cohort registry study looking at kids and their relatives with Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia (CPVT).

Brittany Faanes - grego318@umn.edu

The International Registry of Aortic Dissection (IRAD) was created in 1996 by cardiovascular specialists committed to expanding current knowledge of aortic dissection with the goal of improving patient outcomes. This registry study uses a standardized form to capture data from consecutive patients with aortic dissection at participating hospitals.

Nicholas Lemke - ntlemke@umn.edu

This is a prospective, non-interventional, research study for patients with IBD under the care of a certified gastroenterologist. The primary objective for this registry is to prospectively study the natural history of IBD, the prevalence and incidence of comorbidities, targeted adverse events, and more, via questionnaires.

Lulu Chen - chen8124@umn.edu

The primary objective of the study is to assess the efficacy of patient controlled sedation (Self-management of sedative therapy) using dexmedetomidine to reduce anxiety, delirium incidence and duration of mechanical ventilation compared to usual sedation practices in mechanically ventilated subjects.

Linda Asubonteng - asub0002@umn.edu

The purpose of this research project is to develop a registry and database of families with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Shelby Wren - flana064@umn.edu

Background: Distal radius fractures (DRF) account for nearly one-fifth of all fractures in older adults, and women experience them 5x as often as men. Most DRF occur with low impact injuries to the wrist with an outstretched hand, and are often managed via closed treatment and cast immobilization. Women sustaining a DRF are at risk for upper limb immobility, sensorimotor changes, edema and type I complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Since CRPS onset is likely influenced by alterations in the brain’s somatosensory region, a rehabilitation intervention, Graded Motor Imagery (GMI), aims to restore cortical representation, including sensory and motor function, of the affected limb. To date, there are no studies on the use of GMI in reducing risk of or preventing the onset of type I CRPS in women with DRF treated with cast immobilization. Due to a higher likelihood of women with this injury developing type I CRPS, it is important to early intervention is needed. Methods/Design: This article describes a six-week randomized comparative effectiveness trial, where the outcomes of a modified GMI program (mGMI) + standard of care (SOC) group (n=33) are compared to a SOC only control group (n=33). Immediately following cast immobilization, both groups participate in four 1-hour clinic-based sessions, and a home program for 10 minutes three times daily until cast removal. Blinded assessments occur within 1 week of cast immobilization (baseline), at three weeks post cast immbolization, cast removal, and at three months post cast removal. The primary outcomes are patient reported wrist/hand function and symptomology on the Patient Rated Wristand Hand Evaluation, McGill Pain Questionnaire, and Budapest CRPS Criteria. The secondary outcomes are grip strength, active range of motion as per goniometry, circumferential edema measurements, and joint position sense. Discussion: This study will investigate the early effects of mGMI + SOC hand therapy compared to SOC alone. We intend to investigate whether an intervention, specifically mGMI, used to treat preexisiting pain and motor dysfunction might also be used to mitigate these problems prior to their onset. If positive effects are observed, mGMI + SOC may be considered for incorporation into early rehabilitation program.

Corey McGee - mcge0062@umn.edu

The Syner-G regimen research study seeks to evaluate the use of a combination of a medication called miglustat and a ketogenic diet for treatment of the gangliosidoses to learn if this combination will provide improved clinical outcomes compared to what we currently know about the natural course of the disease.

Jeanine Jarnes - utzx0002@umn.edu

This study's primary aims are to define and characterize disease progression for the infantile and juvenile forms of the gangliosidoses, and the late-onset forms of gangliosidosis, including their heterogeneity; and to observe treatment outcomes for any treatments tried. The secondary aims of this study are to understand the neurological involvement in late-onset gangliosidosis; and to collect data on disease progression that can be used for creation of an objective disease stage and severity index.

Jeanine Jarnes - utzx0002@umn.edu