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Neuroimaging clinical trials at UCSF

11 in progress, 8 open to eligible people

Showing trials for
  • Neuroimaging Study of Open-label Placebo in Depressed Adolescents

    open to eligible people ages 13-18

    Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the current leading cause of disability worldwide and adolescence is an especially vulnerable period for the onset of depression. Non-pharmacologic approaches are particularly attractive as treatment of adolescent depression due to the elevated risks of side effects related to the use of psychotropic drugs during development. A recent meta-analysis detected a positive and significant effect of non-deceptive placebos (open-label placebo, OLP) for a series of clinical conditions, including adult depression. To the investigators' knowledge, no studies of OLP have been conducted in depressed adolescents to date, although placebo response rates in adolescent depression are especially high, accounting for over 80% of the actual response to antidepressant treatment. The study's main objective is to estimate the effectiveness and understand the mechanism of OLP in depressed adolescents. The central hypothesis is that the mechanism by which OLP exerts its action in adolescent depression is by forming a positive expectation, which activates endogenous mu-opioid receptor (MOR)-mediated neurotransmission in a network of regions implicated in emotion, stress regulation, and the pathophysiology of MDD, namely, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) - striato - amygdalo - thalamic network. The hypothesis has been formulated on the basis of published research and preliminary data. The investigators will test the hypothesis by performing structural and functional neuroimaging in 60 untreated 13-18 year-old adolescents with mild to moderate depression. The proposed research is significant, because it is expected to elucidate the mechanism of action of OLP and advance the understanding of the neural underpinnings of positive expectations in adolescent depression.

    San Francisco, California

  • Dynamic Neural Systems Underlying Social-emotional Functions in Older Adults

    open to eligible people ages 60-120

    Assess the impact of a remote, app-delivered digital meditation intervention on emotional well-being of lonely older adults. Neuroimaging and autonomic physiology will be used to assess the neural correlates of the intervention.

    San Francisco, California

  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) With Hyperpolarized Pyruvate (13C) as Diagnostic Tool in Advanced Prostate Cancer

    open to eligible males ages 18 years and up

    This is a prospective imaging study evaluating the utility of baseline metabolic MR imaging as a diagnostic and response monitoring tool in patients with advanced prostate cancer. Preliminary pre-clinical and clinical data demonstrates the ability of HP C-13 pyruvate/metabolic MR imaging to detect high-grade prostate cancer, including cancer with neuroendocrine differentiation, as well as provide early evidence of metabolic response and resistance following application of systemic therapies for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer patients. In the proposed study, the investigators aim is to extend the initial clinical results and further develop HP C-13 MRI as an imaging modality in advanced prostate cancer.

    San Francisco, California

  • Neural and Physiological Correlates of Psychedelic Sub-states

    open to eligible people ages 21-70

    The main purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the distinct mental states and physical reactions that can arise during a psychedelic experience. By repeatedly assessing the same participants in an MRI while under the effects of psilocybin, the investigators want to identify reliable brain and body reactions arising during these psychedelic experiences. It is hoped that this will provide an insight to inspire future research on psilocybin and related psychedelics as well as inform on their therapeutic action. This study will involve up to 12 healthy volunteers with previous psychedelic experience. Participants in this study will be given four doses of psilocybin, with breaks of at least seven days in between dosing visits. The first dosing visit will feature a 10 mg dose of psilocybin, which can be considerate a low to moderate dose, whereas the remaining three dosing visits will feature 25 mg psilocybin, a high dose that is consistent with the dosage chosen for several modern clinical trials with psilocybin. From the initial in-person screening visit to the final follow-up, participants will be in this study for approximately 6-12 weeks and visit the research site 5 times. The first visit will be an in-person screening visit, during which the investigators will assess participants' eligibility to be enrolled. There will be 4 subsequent visits to the scan center for dosing and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning, and there will be a final remote follow up. Each of the four dosing visits will include four periods of lying within the MRI scanner for scanning, each of these 'in-scanner' sessions will last for ~ 45 minutes. Actual scans, which are also called 'runs' last for ~ 12 mins. During these 'runs', the investigators will ask participants two brief questions about how positive or negative their current experience is every 100 seconds. They will be able to record their answers using a button box which they will be operating with their hand. One day after each dosing visit, the investigators will schedule a phone call with the participant to check how they are doing and perform an informal interview focused on their experience while under the effects of psilocybin.

    San Francisco, California

  • Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 4

    open to eligible people ages 55-90

    Since its launch in 2004, the overarching aim of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) Study has been to validate biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical trials. ADNI4 continues the previously funded ADNI1, ADNI-GO, ADNI2, and ADNI3 studies that have combined public/private collaborations between academia and industry to determine the relationships between the clinical, cognitive, imaging, genetic and biochemical biomarker characteristics of the entire spectrum of AD.

    San Francisco, California and other locations

  • Characterizing Cognitive Decline in Late Life Depression: The ADNI Depression Project

    open to eligible people ages 65 years and up

    The purpose of this research study is to characterize the mechanisms contributing to cognitive impairment and accelerated cognitive decline in Late Life Depression (LLD). This is a non-randomized, observational, non-treatment study that originally launched in 2015, enrolling 133 participants. From the originally enrolled participants, the continuation of the ADNI-D study will enroll 120 participants which will include following participants from the original (parent) protocol and enrollment of new participants for a period of 30 months. Data from an additional 300 non-depressed subjects will be used from ADNI studies for comparison. Depression history, symptom severity and health information will be collected at the initial visit to determine eligibility. An magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, as well as amyloid (florbetapir) and tau (flortaucipr) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging will be conducted at San Francisco VA. Collection of plasma and serum for biomarkers, clinical assessments and cognitive assessments will be conducted at two time points. Blood samples will also be collected for genetic analysis.

    San Francisco, California and other locations

  • Hyperpolarized Pyruvate (13C) Magnetic Resonance Imaging In Patients With Fatty Liver Disease

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    The recent development of dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) technology for hyperpolarized (HP) 13C imaging offers a promising new avenue for non-invasively accessing fundamental metabolic changes associated with the progression of fatty liver disease in vivo. The purpose of this pilot study is to optimize sequence parameters for hyperpolarized 13C acquisition in the human liver and determine which metabolic changes can be seen in humans with simple, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) when compared to healthy volunteers.

    San Francisco, California

  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    This is a single-center, prospective pilot study evaluating feasibility and efficacy of incorporating magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) simulation into the planning of radiation treatment (RT) for breast cancer.

    San Francisco, California

  • Hyperpolarized (HP) 13C Pyruvate Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for Response Monitoring to Neoadjuvant Abiraterone

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    This study will evaluate the use of hyperpolarized 13C MRI (HP 13C MRI) and the HP-derived 13C pyruvate-to-lactate conversion rate constant (kPL) as an early response biomarker in men with treatment-naïve, high-risk, localized or locally advanced prostate cancer receiving neoadjuvant therapy.

    San Francisco, California

  • 4 Repeat Tauopathy Neuroimaging Initiative

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate several different tests, including brain imaging, eye movement testing, body fluid samples, measurements of memory and other thinking abilities, and measures of functional independence in the hope that this information can be used to guide diagnosis and treatment of PSP and CBD in the future. Recent advances in our understanding of the biological causes of these diseases offer hope for new treatments. As such treatments are developed, sensitive and specific biological measurements (biomarkers) will be needed to provide precise and direct measures of the state of the brain, which will improve the statistical power of clinical trials. Brain imaging with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has previously been used to measure disease-related changes in the brain. The goal of this study is to identify the best methods of analysis (including eye movements, imaging, and behavioral measures) for tracking PSP and CBD over time. In addition, certain biomarkers in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid might also be useful for following these diseases over time. This study will examine the value of blood and CSF biomarkers relative to brain imaging and functional measures.

    San Francisco, California and other locations

  • 4-Repeat Tauopathy Neuroimaging Initiative - Cycle 2

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The goal of this study is to identify the most reliable methods of analysis for tracking CBD, PSP, and o/vPSP over time. The results from this study may be used in the future to calculate statistical power for clinical drug trials. The study will also provide information about the relative value of novel imaging techniques for diagnosis, as well as the value of imaging techniques versus testing of blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 'biomarkers'.

    San Francisco, California and other locations

Our lead scientists for Neuroimaging research studies include .

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