Clinical trials

This study examines how adolescents with trauma-related symptoms respond to stress and strong emotions. The study assesses brain activity, physiological responses, and behavior during experimental tasks that involve responding to potential threats, regulating emotions, and repeatedly imagining details of a personally experienced stressful or traumatic event using a script-driven imagery task. The study evaluates whether repeated imaginal exposure is associated with changes in anxiety and physiological responses across sessions, and whether baseline patterns of threat reactivity and emotion regulation are associated with individual differences in response to the exposure task. Outcomes include self-reported anxiety, subjective distress ratings, and psychophysiological indices such as heart rate, skin conductance, and electromyographic activity. The goal of this research is to improve understanding of biobehavioral processes related to trauma exposure in adolescents and to identify potential predictors of response to exposure-based intervention components relevant to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In this pilot randomized controlled trial, patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and at least mild distress (N=80) will be randomized to receive LiveWell, an adapted Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Skills Training protocol) or Usual Care. The investigators will evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of LiveWell to reduce distress (primary outcome) and improve psychological well-being, symptom burden, and quality of life (secondary outcomes). The investigators will explore emotion regulation as a potential mechanism of change.

The study will examine a 10-week resistance training program, with or without creatine monohydrate supplementation, in adult survivors of head and neck cancer. Participants will undergo screening and complete study assessments before and after the training period and at a follow-up evaluation. The study will evaluate feasibility, safety, body composition, physical function, cancer-related fatigue, quality of life, and symptom burden in this population.

Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often experience dyspnea, low physical activity, and reduced quality of life. RESP-FIT is a randomized controlled trial evaluating a remotely delivered respiratory muscle strength training intervention combined with mobile health tools to improve dyspnea, respiratory muscle strength, and physical activity in adults with COPD.

This NIH-funded single-arm pilot tests the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of embedding brief guided mindfulness practice (via the Waking Up smartphone app) into the inter-session intervals of clinically administered accelerated intermittent theta-burst stimulation (aiTBS) for major depressive disorder (MDD). Participants receive aiTBS as standard clinical care at MUSC; the research intervention is daily guided mindfulness practice during the aiTBS course. Outcomes include feasibility/acceptability, changes in state mindfulness and hedonic tone (Day 0 to Day 5), perceived ease of meditation, trait mindfulness at 4 and 12 weeks, and durability of antidepressant response (PHQ-9) at 4 and 12 weeks.

The objective of this research study is to understand how Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) targeting the subthalamic nucleus (STN) affects cognitive networks in the brain, potentially leading to cognitive decline in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD). A total of 55 participants with PD who have undergone DBS surgery will be recruited from MUSC's Clinical DBS Program. Participants will attend two post-DBS visits: a 3-hour visit for consent, demographic, and cognitive assessments, and a 3-hour DBS-MRI visit to evaluate brain network connectivity with stimulation ON and OFF. These findings will help improve patient selection for surgery and optimize the selection of stimulation targets that minimize undesirable cognitive side effects.

This study will examine sex differences in the effects of cannabis in people that regularly use it. Men and women that use cannabis at least 4 days a week will participate in a study involving 3 in-person visits. The first visit will be used to determine eligibility for the study. The other two visits will last 7 hours each and take place at least two days apart. Visits include administration of either THC, the chemical responsible for many of the psychoactive effects of cannabis, or a placebo; completion of questionnaires; and a 1-hour brain scan. One visit will also include a blood draw for genetic testing.

This study investigates the causal effects of low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) on odor valence perception and odor-elicited avoidance behaviors in healthy adults. Participants undergo sham and active tFUS targeting the amygdala (AMYG) and ventral striatal olfactory tubercle (VSOT) in a within-subject, randomized, sham-controlled crossover design. Outcomes include subjective odor ratings and objective neurophysiological and behavioral indices of odor valence processing. This research is exploratory and mechanistic in nature and is not intended to evaluate clinical safety or therapeutic efficacy.

This pilot study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of the Trauma Resilience and Recovery Program Plus (TRRP+), a Community Health Worker-enhanced intervention designed to improve behavioral health engagement and recovery among adult trauma survivors with unmet social needs. One hundred adult trauma patients admitted to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Level I Adult Trauma Center who screen positive for risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression and report at least one unmet social need will receive TRRP+ services. Participants will complete assessments at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months after enrollment. The study will also examine implementation barriers and facilitators to support future dissemination and scale-up of the intervention.

This pilot randomized behavioral study evaluates the feasibility, adherence, and acceptability of an intervention to restrict flavored ready-to-drink (RTD) alcoholic beverages among young adults who regularly use both alcohol and e-cigarettes. Participants will complete a 2-week baseline period followed by a 2-week intervention period. Participants will be randomized to either avoid flavored RTD alcoholic beverages or continue their usual alcohol consumption. Primary outcomes include feasibility, adherence, acceptability. Secondary outcomes include preliminary efficacy of flavored RTD restriction on alcohol consumption and e-cigarette use measured through daily electronic diaries; biomarkers of alcohol and nicotine exposure, including urinary ethyl glucuronide (EtG), urinary cotinine, and blood phosphatidylethanol (PEth).

This protocol aims to test whether an infusion of allogeneic bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) can reduce pain associated with chronic pancreatitis (CP) and explore potential mechanisms of MSC action.

The purpose of this project is to assess the feasibility, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of using an accelerated, intermittent theta burst stimulation (a-iTBS-rTMS) protocol targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (l-dlPFC) for Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES) or Seizure-Type Functional Neurologic Disorder (FND-seiz) in an open-label fashion. Following screening, consent, and enrollment, participants will receive 6-to-10 iTBS-rTMS sessions per day (i.e., theta burst; 600 pulses per session; 6000 pulses per day) over a 3-to-5 treatment days with a target of 30 total sessions (18,000 total pulses). TMS will be targeted to Beam F3 for comparison to the bulk of the literature and to most mimic replicable and clinical use. This proposed iTBS-rTMS protocol was chosen given its previously shown safety, tolerability, and effectiveness in other conditions, but also as it has the potential to shorten treatment to only 3 days, which investigators theorize will be more feasible for patients with FND-seiz. Feasibility will be measured as the percentage of participants who receive at least 20 treatment sessions within the 3-to-5-day window. Other than self-assessments used in the safety screening process or to monitor TMS benefits and risks, secondary subjective measures will assess previously investigated FND-seiz-specific outcomes, which will be obtained prior to intervention and 4-weeks post-intervention. In addition to monthly seizure frequency, this will include validated measures regarding stigma, health-related QOL, depression, PTSD, somatic symptoms, psychosocial functioning, psychological distress, and clinical and participant impression of improvement and satisfaction. Sub-analysis will further divide participants with mild to no depression and/or PTSD versus moderate to severe depression and/or PTSD to further assess how the TMS effects known to effect other highly comorbid disorders with FND-seiz, may indirectly affect FND-seiz outcomes.

The prevalence of Chronic Sinusitis with Nasal Polyps (CRSwNP) in the United States is estimated at roughly 4%, which equates to over 13 million Americans. Until recently, the only medical treatment options available for patients with CRSwNP were corticosteroids, with surgery reserved for medical failure. The development of biologic medications over the last 5 years has revolutionized the treatment of CRSwNP. Three biologic medications have been FDA approved and available for the treatment of CRSwNP: dupilumab, omalizumab, and mepolizumab. However, data from the clinical trials for these drugs do not show universal improvement across all patients with CRSwNP. In fact, there is a wide range of outcomes for patients in these trials. The result is that clinicians have no way of knowing which specific biologic would be the best option for any given patient, nor do they know whether biomarkers can be used to predict response to biologics. It is hoped that findings from this study will inform whether any one biologic has superior outcomes to another and whether clinicians can identify patients at baseline who are most likely to improve on biologic therapy.

This study is to develop and test a medical health application based on cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and augmented with other evidence-based sleep interventions that address common sleep-related problems in opioid use disorder. An initial program will be built utilizing input from persons beginning medications for opioid use disorders.

This is a study to find out if a device that temporarily alters brain activity (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, rTMS) might be used to change how people with anxiety or related concerns cope with feared or anxiety-producing situations. The study is recruiting people who recently started treatment for anxiety or a related concern. The study involves 3 visits to the Medical University of South Carolina. At the first visit, participants do interviews and surveys asking about anxiety and related concerns, and they also do tasks where they see and react to emotional pictures while their brain activation is measured. At the next two visits, participants receive rTMS, which works by rapidly turning a focused magnetic field on and off repeatedly over the head in a way that passes directly through the hair, scalp, and skull and onto the brain and can temporarily increase brain activity under the magnetic field. After rTMS, participants do two tasks where they see and react to emotional situations while wearing sensors on their hand, arms, face, and head. Each visit in this study is expected to last between 2 - 4 hours. This is not a treatment study, but the study is being conducted with the hope that it will help improve treatment in the future.

This is a randomized placebo controlled partially blinded window of opportunity trial. A maximum of 84 patients with invasive breast cancer will be enrolled. Patients will be randomized 2:2:1:1 to either CBD low dose, CBD high dose, matching low dose placebo, or matching high dose placebo using permuted block randomization with random block sizes of 6 or 12. The time window between CBD or placebo initiation and surgery will be between 5 and 56 days.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether combining transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) with computerized cognitive training might help improve thinking abilities and mood. Participants will self-administer these treatment in their homes and undergo pre- and post-treatment assessments of thinking abilities and mood and brain MRIs.

This proof-of-concept trial evaluates the efficacy, safety, and patient satisfaction of topical minocycline foam (AMZEEQ®) in patients aged 9 and older with confluent and reticulated papillomatosis (CARP). Participants will apply AMZEEQ® to one side of the body and a topical emollient to the other for 5 weeks, followed by an optional extension period. The study aims to assess whether topical minocycline is a well-tolerated and effective alternative to oral antibiotics.

This pilot study will evaluate a comprehensive cognitive assessment approach and personalized neurocognitive telerehabilitation intervention for adults with subjective cognitive complaints (SCC). The study includes older adults with SCC and adults with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and SCC. Participants will complete pre- and post-treatment assessments and receive a 6-week COG+OT telerehabilitation intervention that combines cognitive rehabilitation and occupational therapy strategies to support everyday functional cognition.

This is a randomized, phase II trial comparing staged stereotactic radiosurgery (SSRS) versus fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) in patients with large brain metastases (≥2 cm and ≤5 cm). The study aims to evaluate efficacy, safety, and tumor response between these two standard-of-care radiation approaches.

Investigators are conducting a study to determine whether high frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (hfTENS) is effective at reducing pain in women having an IUD inserted.

This study evaluates the implementation and clinical effectiveness of the Trauma Resilience and Recovery Program (TRRP 2.0), a technology-enhanced behavioral health intervention designed for trauma center patients. TRRP 2.0 integrates screening, monitoring, and referral services for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and substance use disorder (SUD). The study uses a two-phase design across two trauma centers: a usual care phase followed by implementation of TRRP 2.0. A total of 300 adult trauma patients will be recruited and followed for 3 months to assess behavioral health service utilization and clinical outcomes.

This pilot study aims at establishing personalized state-based rTMS for precision neurorehabilitation, we designed a within-subject cross-over study to test closed-loop repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography (rTMS-EEG) comparing the targeting of two key nodes in the frontoparietal network during bimanual visuomotor force tracking in persons with upper extremity sensorimotor impairment affecting eye-hand control.

The purpose of this study is to validate the capacity of a reflex training system to change the size of the targeted reflex. For this, the researchers are recruiting 25 individuals with chronic incomplete SCI who have spasticity in the leg to participate in the reflex training procedure. The study involves approximately 45 visits with a total study duration of about 6 months.

This single-arm Phase II trial evaluates whether omission of postoperative radiotherapy is feasible and oncologically safe in select patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV-OPSCC). Eligible patients undergo transoral robotic surgery (TORS) and are observed without adjuvant radiation if they demonstrate low or intermediate pathological risk features and have negative circulating tumor HPV DNA (ctHPVDNA) two weeks post-operatively. Patients are followed with standard clinical surveillance combined with serial ctHPVDNA testing (NavDx®) to facilitate early detection of recurrence and prompt salvage therapy as needed.