View clinical trials related to Healthy Volunteers.
Filter by:This study will explore the risks and causes of Parkinson's disease, a chronic progressive nervous system disorder. Patients typically have tremors, muscle weakness and a shuffling gait. Patients with Parkinson's disease, their relatives and healthy volunteers may be eligible for this study. Candidates must be 18 years of age or older. Patients whose parkinsonism is due to a secondary cause, such as infection or injury, and healthy volunteers who have a first degree family member (parent, grandparent, child, sibling) with Parkinson's disease are excluded from enrollment. Participants are asked about possible symptoms they may have and about their general health. They provide a blood sample to obtain DNA for genetic analysis to look for genetic differences that might be related to risks for Parkinson's disease. White blood cells may be treated in the laboratory to grow a cell line, which provides a source of substances in the blood without having to draw samples repeatedly.
This study will examine the effect of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on short-term memory in healthy adults. Healthy people use their brains to answer short-term memory questions in a different way than do patients with schizophrenia. Attention and memory deficits in schizophrenia patients significantly hamper their recovery and rehabilitation, yet there are no effective treatments for these impairments. TMS is a method of brain stimulation that may be able to change the electrical activity of the nerve cells of the brain and improve certain brain functions. This study will explore the effect of TMS on memory and perhaps discover brain processes that may be helpful in developing new ways to treat schizophrenia. Healthy volunteers between 18 and 55 years of age, excluding pregnant women, may be eligible for this study. Participants undergo the following tests and procedures: - Medical history, physical examination, blood tests, electrocardiogram (EKG), and urine pregnancy test for women of childbearing age. - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional MRI (fMRI). These tests are done in participants who have not had structural and functional MRIs as participants in NIMH's 2-day schizophrenia study within 90 days of entering the current study. MRI is done to locate the place in the brain to simulate with TMS and fMRI is done to look at brain activity while the subject solves short-term memory tasks. Both tests are done at the same session. Before the scan, four vitamin E capsules are taped to the subject's scalp. After the capsules are in place, the subject lies on a stretcher that is moved into the scanner - a narrow cylinder with a strong magnetic field. During the scan, subjects are asked to do some simple tests, such as watching pictures on a screen or pressing buttons in response to numbers they were shown a few seconds earlier. Scanning may take up to 2 hours, but usually lasts between 45 and 90 minutes. - TMS. For this procedure, subjects receive either active TMS or a sham procedure (placebo) that imitates TMS but does not use real electrical stimulation. For TMS, an insulated wire coil is placed on the scalp and a brief electrical current is passed through it. This generates magnetic pulses that travel through the scalp and skull and cause small electrical currents in the cortex, or outer part of the brain. The stimulation may cause muscle twitching in the scalp or face and may also cause small movement of the limbs. During the procedure, electrodes are taped to the scalp to record the electrical activity of the brain while short-term memory is tested. Two tests make up a set. There are a total of six test sets; each set takes about 3 minutes. Five periods of electrical stimulation are delivered before each test set. Each period of stimulation lasts 5 seconds, followed by a 10-second rest period. The stimulation-rest intervals continue until five periods of TMS have been applied. For the memory test, subjects press a key on a computer keyboard as quickly and accurately as possible in a test of their ability to remember a string of numbers, or letters. - Questionnaires. At the beginning and end of the TMS session, participants fill out questionnaires that assess their mood, ability to concentrate, and level of anxiety.
Background: - National Institute on Aging researchers are looking at studies that require large numbers of white blood cells for lab use. Standard blood samples do not provide enough white blood cells for these studies. Researchers want to use cytapheresis to collect white blood cells from volunteer donors. This procedure can collect larger amounts of white blood cells and reduce the amount of fluid and other cells that are lost. Objectives: - To use cytapheresis to collect white blood cells for study. Eligibility: - Healthy blood donors at least 18 years of age. Design: - Participants will be screened according to the usual blood donation procedures. - Participants will provide white blood cells through cytapheresis. The blood cells will be collected in a machine that separates the white blood cells from the rest of the blood. The rest of the blood will be returned to the donor. - Participants may have this type of donation every 56 days (six times per year). They will be asked to become a repeat donor. A donation schedule may be set up. - Once a year, participants will have blood tests to continue to be eligible as a donor.
Increased numbers of white blood cells called eosinophils can cause disease. To investigate this disease, researchers need blood, urine, sputum, stool, cerebrospinal fluid, skin and/or bone marrow samples to compare to samples from patients with this problem. Some of the samples will be used for genetic testing or future research. This study will last for about 10 years and will include a maximum of 50 paid volunteers ages 18 to 65.
The etiology of pulmonary fibrosis is unknown. Analyses of blood, genomic DNA, and specimens procured by bronchoscopy, lung biopsy, lung transplantation, clinically-indicated extra-pulmonary biopsies, or post-mortem examination from individuals with this disorder may contribute to our understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of pulmonary fibrosis. The purpose of this protocol is to procure and analyze blood, genomic DNA, and specimens by bronchoscopy, lung biopsy, lung transplantation, extra-pulmonary biopsies, or post-mortem examination from subjects with pulmonary fibrosis. In addition, blood, genomic DNA, clinically-indicated extra-pulmonary biopsies, as well as bronchoscopy and post-mortem examination specimens may be procured and analyzed from relatives of subjects with hereditary forms of pulmonary fibrosis; blood, genomic DNA, and bronchoscopy specimens may be procured from healthy research volunteers....
This study will collect biological samples for use in research experiments aimed at better understanding the clinical features of certain diseases. The specimens may be used to evaluate the effectiveness of known therapies, refine treatment approaches, identify potential new therapies, and explore opportunities for disease prevention. The following individuals 2 years of age or older may be eligible for this study: - Patients with a cancerous solid tumor or a cancerous or non-cancerous blood disorder who are being screened for or who are enrolled in a treatment study at the NIH Clinical Center - HLA-compatible donor family members (18 years of age or older) of the above patients who are being evaluated for or are enrolled in an NIH study as a stem cell transplant donor - Patients with a cancerous solid tumor or a cancerous or non-cancerous blood disorder or a bone marrow failure condition who cannot participate in an NIH treatment protocol or travel to the NIH Clinical Center and who are referred for participation through their home health care provider. Research samples will be collected from participants when blood is drawn or bone marrow, urine, or stool is collected, or tumor or other tissue is biopsied as part of their general medical care. Investigators may periodically request an additional sample of blood, stool, or urine. Participants who are 18 years of age or older may donate a large number of white blood cells through a procedure called leukapheresis. This procedure is not part of general medical care and would be done for research purposes only. For apheresis, a catheter (plastic tube) is placed in a vein in the subject's arm. Blood flows from the vein into a cell separator machine, where the white cells are separated from the red cells, platelets, and plasma by a spinning process. The white cells are removed and collected, and the rest of the blood is returned to the subject through a second tube placed in the other arm.
This study will collect white blood cells or plasma (the liquid part of the blood), or both, from healthy volunteers and from patients with rheumatic or kidney disorders for research purposes. Rheumatic disorders involve abnormalities of the immune system, the body s defense against disease. The immune system consists of white blood cells such as lymphocytes and monocytes, which produce substances such as antibodies and cytokines. White cells and plasma will be collected through a procedure called apheresis (described below). Healthy volunteers and patients with confirmed or suspected rheumatic or kidney disease who are 18 years of age or older may be eligible for this study. Patients must be participating in a current protocol of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases or the National Institute of Digestive, Diabetes and Kidney Diseases. All candidates will be screened with a history, physical examination, and blood tests for hepatitis B and C and HIV infection. Women of childbearing age will be tested for pregnancy. Routine blood tests will be done in all volunteers, and in patients where needed. Pregnant women and people who test positive for hepatitis or HIV may not participate. Participants will undergo apheresis to collect lymphocytes, monocytes, or plasma from the blood. For this procedure, a needle is placed in a vein in the arm. Blood flows from the vein through a tube (catheter) into a machine that spins the blood, separating it into its components. The required cells or plasma are extracted, and the rest of the blood, including the red cells and platelets, is returned to the body through the same needle or through a second needle placed in the other arm. Cells collected from volunteers will be used in studies comparing the number and function of similar cells from patients with rheumatic diseases, focusing on the differences in number and function of the cells in health and disease. Components collected from patients will be used only for studies described in the protocol in which they are currently enrolled. ...
The purpose of this study is to find substances in the blood and urine that indicate that a person has kidney damage. It will identify proteins found only in patients with acute kidney failure but not in normal healthy people or in patients with volume depletion. Adults and children who are at least 3 years old who fall into one of the following four categories may be eligible for this study: 1. Are healthy and have normal kidney function 2. Have volume depletion (this condition differs from acute kidney failure in that it is easily treated with fluids) 3. Are at high risk of kidney failure 4. Have acute kidney failure (kidney shutdown) All study participants will have a history and physical examination. Up to four blood samples of 3 tablespoons each will be taken for laboratory analysis. Urine will be collected for analysis and to measure urine output. The participants length of stay in the study varies. People with normal kidney function will be in the study for 1 day and patients with volume depletion will be studied 3 days. The length of hospitalization of patients at high risk of kidney failure or in acute kidney failure will depend on the patient s condition and medication requirements. The results of this study may lead to the development of earlier and more accurate methods for diagnosing acute kidney failure. With earlier detection, treatment could be started earlier, possibly preventing further damage and helping recovery of injury that has already occurred.
This study has several parts. One part will examine the influence of factors such as personality and past experience on reactions to unpleasant stimuli. Others will examine the effect of personality and emotional and attentional states on learning and memory. When confronted with fearful or unpleasant events, people can develop fear of specific cues that were associated with these events as well as to the environmental context in which the events occurred via a process called classical conditioning. Classical conditioning has been used to model anxiety disorders, but the relationship between stress and anxiety and conditioned responses remains unclear. This study will examine the relationship between cued conditioning and context conditioning . This study will also explore the acquisition and retention of different types of motor, emotional, and cognitive associative processes during various tasks that range from mildly arousing to stressful.
The purpose of this protocol is to allow for the careful screening of patients and healthy volunteers for participation in research protocols in the Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Lab (ETPB) at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and for the collection of natural history data. In addition the protocol will allow clinicians to gain more experience in the use of a variety of polysomnographic and high-density EEG recordings. Subjects in this protocol will undergo an evaluation which may include: a psychiatric interview; a diagnostic interview; rating scales; a medical history; a physical exam; brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); electroencephalography (EEG); electrocardiography (EKG), magnetoencephalography (MEG); blood, saliva and urine laboratory evaluation; and a request for medical records. Subjects may also be asked to complete questionnaires about attitudes towards research and motivation for research participation. The data collected may also be linked with data from other mood and anxiety disorder protocols (e.g., brain imaging, DNA, psychophysiology tests, treatment studies, etc) for the purposes of better understanding the diagnosis, pathophysiology, and treatment response of patients with mood disorders. Parents of minors will be interviewed. Upon conclusion of the screening process, subjects will either be offered participation in a research protocol and will sign the appropriate informed consent, or will be considered not appropriate for participation in research and will be referred back into the community. The current protocol thus serves as an entry point for individuals with mood or anxiety disorders or healthy volunteers to enter NIMH IRB approved ETPB protocols.