Clinical Trials

Determine 1) the magnitude of SMG and skin a-syn density change over time, 2) the

improvement in adequate tissue acquisition doing bilateral SMG biopsies, 3) any laterality differences between

SMG gland a-syn density, 4) correlate a-syn density and changes in density between SMG and skin biopsies

Specific Aim 1. Determine, with bilateral submandibular gland (SMG) biopsies in 30 clinically

diagnosed subjects with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and 20 clinically probable REM sleep behavior

disorder (RBD) subjects whether bilateral biopsies improve the rate of acquisition of adequate

glandular tissue, whether alpha-synuclein (a-syn) SMG pathology correlates with clinical severity

and/or disease duration, and whether there is a left-right difference in the density of a-syn pathology.

Specific Aim 2. Determine, with a second SMG biopsy in previously biopsied PD and RBD subjects,

whether a-syn pathology density increases, decreases, or remains the same after a 1.5-2 year time

interval and whether there is a correlation between a-syn SMG pathology and clinical and/or disease

progression.

Specific Aim 3. Determine whether a-syn pathology density in skin punch biopsies correlates

with clinical measures and increases, decreases, or remains the same after a 1.5-2 year time

interval, and whether the density and changes over time correlate with those found in SMG

biopsies.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the overnight hemodynamic changes and impact of energy drinks on sleep in young people. 

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and effectiveness of AXS-12 in narcoleptic subjects with cataplexy and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS).

Hypertension is the major risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases worldwide. The escalating prevalence of inadequate sleep now parallels that of hypertension. Observational and experimental evidence favoring a causal relation between insufficient sleep and hypertension are particularly compelling - sleeping 6 hours or less per night is associated with a 20-32% higher probability of incident hypertension. Since sleep curtailment is largely voluntary, sleep deficiency may be corrected and the detrimental health consequences potentially reversed. In this study the investigators aim to investigate the effects of 8 weeks of sleep enhancement/extension vs health education in prehypertensive and stage 1 hypertensive subjects who report habitual short sleep (=6.5 hours/night).

The aims of this study are to determine the types and severity of previously undiagnosed sleep deficiencies in otherwise healthy Somali Americans, apply a research framework to define psychosocial, behavioral, environmental, and biological mechanisms mediating sleep deficiencies in Somali Americans, and examine the relationship between sleep deficiencies and increased blood pressure in Somali Americans.

The purpose of this study is to gather information on sleep duration and sleep patterns in Native American families.

Most individuals with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) develop additional
neurological symptoms and are subsequently diagnosed with overt synucleinopathies, including dementia with
Lewy bodies (DLB), Parkinson disease (PD), and multiple system atrophy (MSA), indicating that RBD
represents a prodromal stage of synucleinopathy. RBD therefore offers a window of opportunity to intervene
with neuroprotective treatments at the earliest stages of disease when treatment is most likely to be effective.
Recognizing the importance of early intervention, key federal agencies focused on neurodegenerative disease
have proposed high priority recommendations for prodromal aspects of synucleinopathies, including
specifically RBD, to prepare for clinical trials. The North American Prodromal Synucleinopathy (NAPS)
Consortium began in 2018 to plan for neuroprotective clinical trials in RBD. The NAPS Consortium, currently at
10 sites, has thus far enrolled 215 participants with polysomnogram-confirmed RBD, and has successfully
performed comprehensive and standardized assessments and biofluids collection. The North American
Prodromal Synculeinopathy Consortium for RBD, Stage 2 (NAPS2) program represents an integrated
expansion of NAPS to support a longitudinal, prospective study of RBD, to address key gaps currently
prohibiting neuroprotective clinical trials in RBD. NAPS2 will establish enhanced infrastructure to support longterm
research in prodromal synucleinopathies.

The purpose of this study is to retrospectively review the charts of 200 patients for whom overnight oximetry data, pulmonary function tests, as well as echocardiographic data have been obtained as part of routine clinical assessment. In so doing, the hope is to assess the risk of sleep disorder breathing, as evidenced by the oxygen desaturation index (ODI) on overnight oximetry assessment.

The focus of the proposed study is to improve understanding of the underlying mechanisms of symptom burden, and the purpose is to describe how sleep health contributes to symptoms and functional performance in adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).