"Alexa, I’m in pain! "A Real-Time Mindfulness Intervention to Control Pain: Delivery Through a Conversational Agent
We are interested in learning about people’s experiences with using the Amazon Alexa for delivery of a real-time mindfulness intervention to help with chronic pain management. Participation will include a free day-long introductory mindfulness training followed by daily use of mindfulness practices using the Amazon Alexa to establish a habit of use.
The participants will use our developed Amazon Alexa app ("skill") and provide assessments. We will ask participants to complete short daily surveys and a follow-up interview.
Sanjana Mendu at spm6450@psu.edu
All
18 year(s) or older
N/A
Pain Management
Couples' Daily Lives with Chronic Back Pain
The purpose of this study is to learn more about the daily experiences of people with back pain and their spouse/partner. Participants and their spouse/partner will be interviewed by video using a tablet computer every 6 months for 2 years and will be asked to complete daily surveys twice a day for 30 days using the provided tablet computer. The daily surveys will take about 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Questions for the interviews and daily surveys focus on physical symptoms, feelings, activities, and interactions.
Kari Whitehead at couplesstudy@psu.edu or 814-865-7094
All
18 year(s) or older
N/A
Arthritis & Rheumatic Diseases, Pain Management
Visceral Pain Sensation and Nav1.8
We wish to investigate the role of a specific gene in visceral pain sensation and perception. This gene, Nav1.8 has a known change present in 10% of the population which may affect the way we feel inflammatory pain in the gut. This is an important symptom in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Some patients feel high levels of pain we would like to control, other patients feel little to no pain in the presence of very active disease, which can lead to dangerously under-treated disease. In this study, we will use healthy volunteers of a known genotype for Nav1.8, and test their sensitivity using rectal balloon dilation.
Research subjects will be asked to fast, skipping solid foods and opaque liquids for 6 hours before the testing. Usually this means skipping 1 meal. At the beginning of the study visit. they will use an over the counter enema to clear their rectum of any stool. Then. a trained physician on the research team will insert a thin, lubricated tube into the rectum, which will be inflated to specific pressures. Most of these tests will be designed to measure any change in sensation, then the need to use the toilet, followed by urgent need or discomfort, and lastly the lower threshold of pain. Patients will be able to stop testing at any time, should they become too uncomfortable.
The testing takes between 1 and 1 and a half hours, and volunteers are compensated $200 for their time.
August Stuart at astuart@pennstatehealth.psu.edu or 717-531-0003, ext=281928
All
18 year(s) or older
N/A
Infectious Diseases & Immune System, Digestive Systems & Liver Disease, Pain Management
A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study of the Use of Cannabidiol in the Management of Endometriosis Pain
We are looking to conduct a study looking at the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in patients with endometriosis. We believe that CBD will improve both pain and quality of life.
The study will last a total of 12 weeks and involve several onsite visits in addition to daily pain assessments.
Heidi Watts at hwatts@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Female
18 year(s) or older
NCT04527003
Pain Management, Women's Health
A volunteer study to determine the anatomical distribution of injectate, the extent of sensory block, and the pharmacokinetics of ropivacaine following Erector Spinae Plane (ESP) blocks.
This study will recruit healthy volunteers to determine the effect of a peripheral nerve block. The participants will get an injection in their back muscle after an intravenous line is placed in their hand or arm. After the injection they will have two MRI done at 30 and 90 minute time intervals. A half tablespoon of blood also will be taken through the IV line already placed 6 times during the study period starting just before to Peripheral nerve block placement up to four hours post injections. They will be discharged from the study after half an hour of the last blood sample. During this whole process they will be monitored for their blood pressure, oxygen saturation and other effects related to the procedure.
Astoria Huller at ahuller@pennstatehealth.psu.edu or 717-531-0003, ext=282465
All
18 year(s) or older
NCT03476642
Prevention, Muscle & Bone, Pain Management
A randomized double-blind placebo controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of low-dose naltrexone in combination with standard treatment in women with chronic pelvic pain secondary to endometriosis.
Pelvic pain associated with endometriosis is in part due to inflammation of a layer of tissue in the abdomen (stomach area). This leads to the great potential of relieving endometriosis related pelvic pain in a non-narcotic medication by decreasing the inflammation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate how a low dose of naltrexone compared to placebo (inactive substance) impacts your daily pain and the quality of your life with endometriosis. Naltrexone is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) for the treatment of opioid overdose and addiction. At much lower doses, naltrexone has been shown to be beneficial in pain relief of inflammatory disorders with promising results, but the use of the low dose in this study to treat endometriosis pain is investigational and has not been approved by the FDA.
Heidi Watts at hwatts@pennstatehealth.psu.edu or 717-531-6272
Female
18 year(s) or older
NCT03970330
Pain Management, Women's Health