Clinical Trials
UCLA Radiological Sciences is engaged in investigating new approaches to diagnosing and treating diseases and conditions.
The clinical trials are done in close collaboration with scientists and physicians from many areas of expertise. All trials are overseen by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to ensure the highest ethical standards.
The following lists the clinical trials that are currently recruiting participants:
Elbow Artery Embolization for Tennis Elbow
The purpose of this clinical research study is to examine whether embolization treatment of an elbow artery is a safe and effective way to treat elbow pain, specifically pain from tennis elbow. Embozene is a medical device made by Varian marketed in the United States for the treatment of hypervascular tumors and arteriovenous malformations. It consists of thousands of microscopic spheres that are injected into the artery to block the flow of blood to a specific region. One of the causes of pain in the setting of tennis elbow is increased blood flow going to the specific area of pain. In this study, we will investigate an experimental procedure to decrease the blood flow (embolize) to the specific region of the elbow that is causing the pain. This will be done by infusing Embozene particles into the specific blood vessel supplying the area of pain in the elbow. This is an investigational study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of elbow artery embolization (EAE) for the treatment of symptomatic lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow).
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05325242
Principal Investigator: Siddharth Padia, M.D.
Contact:
Christian Barrera, 310-882-8358, [email protected]
Saima Chaabane, PhD, 310-794-3546, [email protected]
If interested, please check out the eligibility criteria and contact Christian or Saima for more information.
NOLA (NeuWave Observational Liver Ablation) Registry
This is a multicenter, observational registry that follows patients for a total of 5 years from the date of the first liver ablation procedure with the NEUWAVE Microwave Ablation System. The data gathered from participating sites will be available to be analyzed to develop ablation parameter guidance for ablation approaches under varying patient liver tissue conditions and liver lesions.
This is an "umbrella registry," which was included as an optional component in other NEUWAVE studies; hence, data from consenting patients who are or will be enrolled in other NEUWAVE soft tissue liver lesion ablation studies will be included in this registry. All other patients will be enrolled and followed prospectively, enrolled retrospectively with prospective, longitudinal follow up, or enrolled retrospectively with all retrospective follow up.
Enrollment for this study will include up to 1,500 patients throughout the world who underwent or are scheduled to undergo microwave ablation of one or more soft tissue liver lesions using the NEUWAVE Microwave Ablation System or the NEUWAVE Microwave Ablation System with Ablation Confirmation.
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04107766
Principal Investigator: Justin McWilliams, MD
Contact:
Jaclyn (Calia) Stanziola, 908-218-2933, [email protected]
Julie Peveto, 908-218-3659, [email protected]
If interested, please check out the eligibility criteria.
Simultaneous Multinuclear Metabolic MRI in Newly Diagnosed or Recurrent Glioma
This clinical trial constructs and tests a novel multinuclear metabolic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequence in patients with glioma (brain tumor) that is newly diagnosed or has come back (recurrent). This trial aims to develop new diagnostic imaging technology that may bridge gaps between early detection and diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment in brain cancer.
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05045027
Principal Investigator: Benjamin M. Ellingson
Contact:
Saima Chaabane, 310-794-8995, [email protected]
Halah Mansour, 310-794-5380, [email protected]
If interested, please check out the eligibility criteria.
Integrating Quantitative MRI and Artificial Intelligence to Improve Prostate Cancer Classification
This study evaluates how new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and artificial intelligence techniques improve the image quality and quantitative information for future prostate MRI exams in patients with suspicious of confirmed prostate cancer. The MRI and artificial intelligence techniques developed in this study may improve the accuracy in diagnosing prostate cancer in the future using less invasive techniques than what is currently used.
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04765150
Principal Investigator: Kyung H Sung, PhD
Contact: Victoria Rueda, 310-794-8334, [email protected]
If interested, please check out the eligibility criteria.
Comparing Ascites Relief In Two Standard Treatments: Large Volume Paracentesis Vs. Early Tips Using Viatorr Controlled Expansion Stents
For this study, the investigators will be collecting data based on patients' random selection to two different approved standard of care treatments for ascites: Subjects will get randomized into either Group A: Large Volume Paracentesis (LVP) with albumin infusion, or Group B: an early transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) procedure.
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04315571
Principal Investigator: Edward W Lee, MD, PhD
Contact:
Arineh Aghakhani, 310-267-1268, [email protected]
Saima Chaabane, PhD. 310-794-8995, [email protected]
If interested, please check out the eligibility criteria.
Effect of Addition of Steroids on Duration of Analgesia
The purpose of the study is to investigate the differences in post-procedural pain scores and narcotic use among patients who receive a Superior Hypogastric Nerve Block (SHNB) with and without corticosteroid performed as part of the Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE) procedure.
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04126824
Contact:
Halah Mansour, 310-794-5380, [email protected]
Aniket Joglekar, 310-948-8026 [email protected]
If interested, please check out the eligibility criteria.
Quantifying Body Composition and Liver Disease in Children Using Free-Breathing MRI and MRE
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to measure liver fat content and fatty tissues in the body, and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is used to measure liver stiffness. The information from MRI and MRE are used to understand risk factors and diagnose liver diseases, such as fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis. However, current MRI and MRE scans need to be performed during a breath-hold, which may be challenging or impossible in children and infants. The goal of this research project is to develop and evaluate new free-breathing MRI and MRE technology to improve the comfort and diagnostic accuracy for children and infants.
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04591106
Principal Investigator: Holden Wu, PhD
Contact: Holden Wu, PhD, 310-267-6843, [email protected]
Contact: Kara Calkins, MD, 310-825-9330, [email protected]
If interested, please check out the eligibility criteria.
Cerebral Hemorrhage Risk in Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (BVMN6203)
This study is one of the three projects of an NIH Rare Disease Clinical Research Consortium. A "consortium" is a group of centres sharing information and resources to perform research. The consortium research focuses on brain blood vessel malformations in three different rare diseases.
The focus of this specific study is on Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT).
HHT is a condition characterized by blood vessel malformations, called telangiectasia and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), occurring in the brain, nose, lungs, stomach, bowels and liver. Brain AVMs (BAVMs) in HHT are difficult to study because they are rare, affecting approximately 10% of people with HHT. While other types of BAVMs have been studied in depth, studies in the HHT population have been very small. Here, we propose the first large-scale collaboration by joining with 12 HHT Centers of Excellence in North America to perform a large study of risk factors for bleeding from BAVMs, called intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in HHT patients.
The current standard of clinical practice across North America, is to screen all HHT patients for BAVMs with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). If BAVMs are detected, patients are referred to a multidisciplinary neurovascular team for consideration for treatment. Treatment decisions are made on a case by case basis, balancing risks of complications from the BAVM with risks of therapy, but are limited by the few studies available in HHT. We hope that the knowledge we obtain about the risk factors for intracranial bleeding in these patients from this larger study will help us to improve the care of HHT patients.
We plan to study risk factors for rupture of BAVMs, including primarily genetics and imaging characteristics of the BAVMs. Knowledge about risk factors will help in the care and management of HHT patients. This will be achieved through the collection of health information to construct a HHT database, blood sampling and banking (through the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke [NINDS]), and through genetic analysis at the University of California San Francisco.
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01158807
Principal Investigator: Justin McWilliams, MD
Contact: Victoria Rueda, MPH, 310-794-0376 , [email protected]
If interested, please check out the eligibility criteria.
MR Imaging and MR Spectroscopy of HIV (HIV)
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1,148,200 Americans aged 13 years and older are living with HIV infection, including 207,600 (18.1%) who are unaware of their infection. According to pathological data, central nervous system (CNS) involvement is commonly found during the early phase of infection. In vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies of HIV-infected humans have demonstrated significant changes of metabolites observed in the brain N-acetylaspartate, creatine, choline, glutamate, glutamine and myo-inositol with varying changes in different brain regions. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a novel functional MRI technique which can be used to derive quantitative in vivo measurements of region-specific and diffuse brain alterations. DTI studies have demonstrated changes of mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) in the various parts of brain. Diffusion abnormalities involving various regions of brain have also been observed in patients infected with HIV. One dimensional (1D) or two-dimensional (2D) magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) technique has been used for many years to study the metabolites changes in HIV. MRI scan time necessary for the acquisition of high-resolution MRSI data with adequate spatial coverage may be prohibitively long for clinical exams. Thus, new imaging and bio-chemical characterization techniques are needed to allow repeated, non-invasive assessment of these processes in vivo. Since neuroinflammation is associated with increased brain water, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is sensitive to changes in white matter (WM) and inflammatory changes associated with HIV infections. Even though only single-voxel-based diffusion-weighted MRS has been previously investigated, altered diffusivity of non-water metabolites and its relationship with metabolic disturbance as well as structural and functional abnormalities in HIV has not been investigated. The brain apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) changes of metabolites measured by the novel 3D MRSI technique will be correlated with the ADCs and fractional anisotrophy of water recorded by DTI and cell count to better understand the role of CNS involvement in HIV pathology.
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05219279
Principal Investigator: Michael Albert Thomas, PhD.
Contact: Victoria Rueda, MPH, 310-562-9694, [email protected]
If interested, please check out the eligibility criteria.
Aneurysm Genetic Risk in Patients With QIB Changes (AnGen)
Intracranial aneurysm rupture is a leading cause of hemorrhagic strokes which carry high mortality and disability rates as well as high healthcare costs. Unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIA) are common in the general population, occurring in 1-2% of individuals. Previous studies have shown that UIA growth and rupture are strongly associated with each other, with growing aneurysms 9-12 times more likely to rupture, and nearly all aneurysms growing prior to rupture. Thanks to advanced medical imaging, UIA are now more and more often detected incidentally. However not all aneurysms qualify for preventive surgical or interventional procedures according to current International Study of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms (ISUIA) guidelines, and some must therefore be monitored for growth. Current guidelines are based heavily on size, an inconsistent predictor of future growth. To improve management strategies for individual patients and more comprehensively assess aneurysm risk, the investigators propose to identify risk factors related to growth.
Aneurysm etiology is multifactorial, with both genetic and environmental contributions to aneurysm formation, growth, and rupture. Exploring new risk factors based on aneurysm natural history and understanding the mechanisms underlying aneurysm rupture have been extensive research areas. As previous studies have shown that quantitative imaging biomarkers (QIB) can provide a more accurate assessment of the characteristics of aneurysms, the investigators propose a combined study which identifies QIB associated with aneurysm growth to identify factors related to growth.
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05317169
Principal Investigator: Aichi Chien, PhD
Contact: Aichi Chien, PhD, 310-267-6837, [email protected]
Contact: Victoria Rueda, 310-562-9694, [email protected]
If interested, please check out the eligibility criteria.
Feraheme As An MRI Contrast Agent For Pediatric Congenital Heart Disease
The standard clinical cardiovascular MRI practice for children with CHD frequently involves the use of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCA) to enhance tissue contrast. Most GBCAs are small molecules that quickly cross the capillary wall and access the interstitial space, a process which diminishes the signal contrast between blood vessels and surrounding tissue. Therefore, these types of GBCA are most useful for first-pass MR angiography, wherein the images are acquired quickly during the initial 15-30 seconds post-injection when the GBCA concentration is much higher in the arteries than in the interstitial space. For young children with complex CHD, the stringent requirements for high spatial resolution, and the need for cardiac gating and good blood-myocardium contrast in order to provide detailed evaluation of intracardiac structures are not compatible with conventional GBCA-based first-pass MR angiography. Even with Ablavar® (gadofosveset trisodium), an FDA approved GBCA with longer intravascular half-life than other GBCAs, cardiac-gated Ablavar®-enhanced MRI may be insufficient for young children with CHD based on our institutional experience and on data from the literature; there remains diminished blood-tissue contrast during the high-resolution cardiac-gated MRI. Furthermore, there have been safety concerns regarding gadolinium deposition in brain tissues after repeated GBCA exposure as well as concerns of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) associated with GBCA injection in young children < 2 years old who may have immature renal function. The long-term health consequences of these effects in the pediatric population are unclear. For the above reasons, we seek to study the diagnostic imaging effectiveness of Feraheme (Feraheme®), an FDA-approved drug for parenteral iron supplementation, as an MRI contrast agent in children with CHD. Although Feraheme® has been approved for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia secondary to renal disease, Feraheme® has been used as an off-label MRI contrast agent at select medical centers.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02752191
Contact: Maryann Burns, RT, 310-267-8745
Principal Investigator: Paul Finn, MD
If interested, please check out the eligibility criteria and contact Maryann Burns for more information.