Clinical trials

Many patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer experience burdensome and difficult-to-treat symptoms. The impact of multiple symptoms (called "symptom burden") can negatively affect a patient's quality of life, decrease their ability to tolerate cancer treatments, and lead to worse survival. Current approaches to manage these cancer-associated symptoms often work poorly, with most patients reporting a moderate to severe symptom burden. Therefore, there is an urgent need for treatments that improve these symptoms in patients with advanced pancreatic and colorectal cancer, and data suggests that medical cannabis can help. In this research study, we are examining the usefulness of using medical cannabis in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer to further study how cannabis can impact their symptom burden.

The purpose of the ReTURN study is to understand how glycemia, specifically percent of time above 140 mg/dL (TA140), changes over time in people who are randomized to receive either continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)-guided care or usual care (UC) for 12 months. CGM-guided care includes daily use of a CGM system along with education and support. The hypothesis is that change in CGM-derived metrics from Baseline to Month 12 will show a larger improvement (reduction) in the CGM-Guided Lifestyle Change arm than the UC arm.

The purpose of this study is to find out whether insulin, a drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, is safe when administered as a nasal spray (intranasally) to people who have experienced a spinal cord injury. While insulin nasal spray has been shown to be safe in many patient populations, it has not yet been studied in people with spinal cord injury. This study would be the first step to developing insulin nasal spray as a treatment for spinal cord injury in the future. This study is recruiting up to 12 individuals who have experienced a spinal cord injury at least 4 months ago to administer either 76 IU insulin nasal spray or a placebo (inactive nasal spray) at home every day for up to 24 days. Participants will be asked questions about their health and symptoms related their spinal cord injury, and will have their blood collected throughout the study. Participants who are unable to administer the medication independently must have a study partner in order to participate.

This study tests an innovative system and service for collecting objective, consistent, and in-community gait parameters suitable for use as AD/ADRD biomarkers. The system is designed to be affordable, scalable, and practical for longitudinal, unsupervised, in-community use by older adults, including those with dementia symptoms. This study will be performed in two parts and involves collecting gait data from participants using the leg module and insole device either (1) for several hours in a lab setting (in-lab testing) or (2) within their home and community for 1 week (in-community testing). Thirty people who are healthy, have mild cognitive impairment, or who have Alzheimer's disease or related dementia will be recruited to participate in the in-lab testing, in which they will perform walking tasks and cognitive testing for several hours within a lab environment. After completion of in-lab testing, 120 individuals who are healthy, have mild cognitive impairment, or who have Alzheimer's disease or related dementia will be recruited to participate in the in-community testing, in which they will wear the insole and ankle device within their community for 1-week for collection of gait data in real world settings.

The purpose of this study is to examine ACLR Rehabilitation with Exercise and Psychological Support (REPS), comparing two approaches for providing psychological support along with exercise during ACL reconstruction rehabilitation. In one group, physical therapists have received training that may boost emotional support during rehabilitation. In the other group, physical therapists will not have the training. Both groups will get similar exercises and participate in the same testing. Both groups will also watch short videos during rehabilitation that are specific to their group. Participants will not know to which group they are assigned until the end of the study. Participation will attend a total of four study visits over the course of 6 months, including 1 visit before the surgery and 3 visits during follow-up.

The goal of this clinical trial is to develop and evaluate a novel diabetes ketoacidosis risk mitigation strategy to support the safe use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) therapy in participants with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and mild to moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD). The main objectives of this study are to: 1. Evaluate how ketone metrics differ between participants no chronic kidney disease (CKD), moderate risk CKD and high or very high-risk CKD in three time periods. 2. Identify potentially modifiable ketosis risk factors. 3. Use continuous dual ketone and glucose monitoring (DGK) data prior to and following treatment to determine ketosis risk factors and gain knowledge to further refine reporting of risk factors and determine which factors in the Ketone Action Plan (KAP) were most valuable. 4. Gather information on how participants and clinicians like and use the DGK reports. Participants will be asked to: * Meet with study investigators to determine if they are eligible * Sign written informed consent * Take a pregnancy test, if applicable * Have blood taken to assess kidney function and hemoglobin A1c * Take the study medication, following the study team instructions * Wear the study provided sensor throughout participation. * Complete 5 in person visits, and 11 phone check ins over a nine-month period * Provide feedback on their experience, usefulness of CGM/CKM reports, and the most valuable factors of the Ketone Action Plan (KAP).

Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) has been successful in patients with rotator cuff arthropathy, proximal humerus fractures, failed primary total shoulder arthroplasty or failed hemiarthroplasty, and massive irreparable rotator cuff tear. Patients who undergo an RTSA report pain relief and functional range of motion. It has been more than 20 years since the advent of the RTSA construct but an immediate post-operative rehabilitation with active shoulder range of motion has not been prospectively studied in comparison to the traditional post-operative rehabilitation highlighted by Boudreau et al.12 Investigators plan to prospectively follow our patients following RTSA undergoing an immediate active shoulder rehabilitation (IASR) vs traditional rehabilitation in a randomized controlled fashion. Investigators plan to document clinical outcomes, complications and cost effectiveness out to 1 year. The study will hopefully fulfill the Triple Aim model for HealthPartners by improving the health of the population, improve the experience of each individual, and make healthcare affordable by decreasing the total cost of care.

The primary objective of this single arm, open label, phase II trial is to determine if axelopran use impacts cancer control in patients with advanced cancers of the lung, breast, pancreas, and prostate. The primary study period for assessing the primary aim is through day 43 (6 weeks). The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does axelopran show a signal for efficacy in slowing tumor progression? * Is axelopran safe and tolerable for long-term use in this patient population? * Does axelopran show a signal for efficacy in improving bowel function and quality of life? * Does axelopran show a signal for efficacy in reducing systemic inflammation, cachexia, and prognostic serum biomarkers of inflammation? Patients will take axelopran as monotherapy after relapse or progression on or after standard systemic therapy. Clinician and patient must be willing to attempt a delay in next line of systemic cancer therapy (if available) until day 43 to assess change in cancer status on repeat imaging. Clinician can move to the next line of therapy whenever deemed clinically necessary. Participants will: * take oral axelopran capsules daily for up to 1 year, or longer if deriving benefit * attend 10 in-person study visits, each lasting approximately 1-2 hours * complete study procedures including but not limited to imaging exams, blood draws, electronic health surveys, and physical assessments

The overall purpose of this pilot study is to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and tolerability of light and moderate intensity exercise in adults with MGeffect of light vs. moderate intensity exercise on health outcomes. Participants will be enrolled into the NeuroWell exercise program, which is geared toward individuals with neurological disorders or injuries and led by Certified Exercise Physiologists (CEPs) at the HealthPartners Neuroscience Center. A total of 20 people with MG will be enrolled in this study and participate in a small group exercise program 3 times a week for 12 weeks. Participants will be randomized into two exercise groups: 1) Light intensity or 2) Moderate intensity. We hypothesize that light and moderate intensity exercise will be feasible, acceptable, and tolerable in adults with MG and that individuals in the light intensity exercise group will be able to achieve the same improvement in health outcomes as the moderate intensity group.

Through partnership with Ontracka, the HealthPartners Institute Cancer Research Center created a secure and compliant app-based technology with the ability to seamlessly collect patient-level data on symptoms, cannabis use, real-time response to cannabis consumption, and patient-reported changes in supportive care medications such as opioids and antiemetics. By joining this registry, patients will have access to expert cannabis education, dosing recommendations, and easy symptom tracking. Patients with cancer and their oncology clinicians can utilize this reliable, cancer-specific data to help them make informed decisions together about how cannabis could be incorporated into a treatment plan. To learn more and sign up, visit https://study.ontracka.com/cannabiscurious

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Limpet, as compared to standard of care ostomy pouches, in reducing complications for ostomy and fistula patients. Secondary objectives include evaluating dressing leak rates and causes of complications (e.g., edema, tissue oxygen saturation, and poor stoma eversion). The main questions it aims to answer are: Primary Hypothesis 1: Peristomal Skin Complications will decrease Primary Hypothesis 2: Dressing Leak Rates will decrease Participants will: * Receive either the Limpet device or standard of care adhesive ostomy pouch dressing * Return every 7 days for study visits for 30 days to receive device replacement, wound imaging, blood tests, and quality of life surveys.

Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections (NSTIs) are rapidly progressing infections that have a high morbidity and mortality, with the greatest morbidity related to managing the large wounds required to treat these patients. Initial treatment requires wide surgical removal of infected tissue and optimal management is essential to reducing morbidity in these patients. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is a widely used technology that has revolutionized wound management. NPWT is utilized across the spectrum of acute wounds, including routine postoperative incision management, traumatic wounds, and wounds related to surgical debridement of NSTIs which are frequently some of the most complicated of wounds encountered. Most NSTI cases at Regions Hospital currently utilize negative pressure wound therapy with instillation (NPWTi) where the wound is irrigated to clean out debris. Currently, there is a paucity of data comparing traditional NPWT and NPWTi and the choice of which device to use is left to surgeon discretion. This study is a first step at identifying the effects of NPWTi compared to NPWT alone on the care of NSTI patients. If the theoretical benefits of NPWTi over NPWT translate to practice, those treated with NPWTi would be expected to have a reduced rate of hospital readmission after their index hospitalization in addition to shorter time to definitive closure/coverage. This is a pilot study to assess the feasibility of enrolling patients with NSTIs in a randomized controlled trial to assess outcomes between the two devices.

The goal of this study is to determine if a developed protocol involving modulated auditory stimulation is better than non-modulated auditory stimulation in reducing anxiety and depression in human subjects.