Clinical trials

This inpatient study enrolls healthy individuals who have opioid use disorder. Participants live at the University of Kentucky Hospital for approx. 6 weeks. During this time, we will examine how repeated doses of oral cannabis and acute doses of oral and inhaled cannabis 1) modify the intensity and time course of opioid withdrawal, 2) modify the effects of intranasal opioid administration and 3) impact the safety of opioid administration.

Chronic orofacial pain conditions (COFP) are associated with substantial physical and psychological burden and are best treated with multidisciplinary approaches combining psychological interventions and comprehensive orofacial pain care. Yet, important barriers prevent access to psychological interventions for COFP (e.g., lack of providers, financial resources). This study will assess the feasibility and acceptability of adapting a single two-hour telehealth-delivered group course, Empowered Relief (ER), which was created for heterogenous chronic pain condition, into a multidisciplinary COFP clinic. ER addresses many existing barriers to assessing psychological interventions for COFP as it is deliverable via telehealth, in a group format, within a single session. This study hypothesizes that ER will demonstrate adequate feasibility and acceptability among patients with COFP. Participants will be recruited over a 6-month period from patients evaluated for an initial appointment at the University of Kentucky Orofacial Pain Clinic (UKOPC). A randomized waitlist control design will be used to inform a future efficacy trial. Specifically, new patients seeking an initial appointment at the UKOPC will be introduced to the study, and if they consent, they will be randomly assigned to participate in the next available ER course (i.e., immediate group) or the ER course offered the subsequent month (i.e., waitlist control group). All participants will provide feasibility and acceptability data after receiving the intervention. Those assigned to immediate group will provide biopsychosocial functioning and outcome data at one, two, and four weeks following the pain course. Those assigned to the immediate control group will provide data one, two, and four weeks before the intervention for a comparison group. Data from this study will inform design decisions for a future efficacy trial.

This study will compare transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with sham TMS in people with opioid use disorder who are taking buprenorphine and have major depressive disorder with ongoing depressive symptoms. The study will evaluate whether TMS improves depressive symptoms and reduces opioid craving. The study will also assess smoking behaviors, treatment acceptability, and any side effects related to TMS.

This study is evaluating whether acupuncture may help reduce hot flashes in men receiving hormone therapy for prostate cancer. Hot flashes are a common side effect of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and may negatively affect sleep, mood, concentration, daily activities, and overall quality of life. Participants enrolled in this study will receive acupuncture treatment over a defined treatment period. The study will assess changes in hot flash frequency, severity, and quality of life using patient questionnaires and symptom diaries. Participants will complete a daily hot flash diary during selected 7-day assessment periods and quality-of-life questionnaires during study visits. The primary goal of this study is to determine whether acupuncture may improve hot flash symptoms and related quality of life in men undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.

The proposed study is a prospective, observational study assessing the recovery of muscle and physical function in patients surviving critical illness (n =150) at hospital discharge (baseline) and repeated serially. Patients will be enrolled after life-saving modalities have been weaned near hospital discharge. Patients will participate in testing at baseline, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-months after hospital discharge. In a subset of patients (n = 18), muscle biopsies will be performed at baseline and then repeated once at either 12- or 24-months after hospital discharge.

Ecological momentary interventions (EMI), which use phones to deliver messages to reduce alcohol use and related risk behaviors during or prior to drinking events, can help to address triggers in real-time. GPS tracking can determine when individuals visit places they have previously reported drinking or triggers to drink and then EMI messages can be delivered upon arrival to prevent risky alcohol use. A mobile app has been developed that uses GPS tracking to determine when individuals visit "risky" places and then delivers a survey asking what behaviors they engaged in while at the location. The goal of the proposed study is to use this app to enhance the Tracking and Reducing Alcohol Consumption (TRAC) intervention by delivering messages that encourage participants to employ strategies discussed during TRAC sessions when arriving at risky places. When they leave these places, they will complete a survey and breathalyzer reading in order to collect event-level self-report and biological data on alcohol use and HIV risk. If their breathalyzer result indicates alcohol use, they will receive harm reduction messaging. It is expected that combining TRAC with EMI ("TRAC-ER") will increase effectiveness by reinforcing topics discussed during these sessions, providing in-the-moment messaging to address triggers, and collecting real-time alcohol use data.