Clinical Research Directory

Telehealth Music Therapy for Adults With Endocrine Disorder and Depression

The goal of this clinical trial is to explore if a telehealth music therapy intervention helps with quality of life, depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms. It will also explore the participants' relationship to music. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Refine and tailor the music therapy intervention to fit the specific needs of adults living with an autoimmune disease and depression. * Examine the feasibility of the study protocol to support a future full-scale trial * Examine how music therapy impacts quality of life, depression symptoms, and anxiety symptoms * Explore how music therapy impacts one's relationship to music Participants will: * have a short interview where you'll fill out a questionnaire with some basic information, answers about your depression, quality of life, and potential anxiety, and a question about how you feel about music at the start and end of the sessions * attend 8 weekly sessions, approximately 30-45 minutes each, with a board certified music therapist over telehealth/Zoom * answer a few questions about the music therapy intervention

Gluten Free Diet in Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism

Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an autoimmune condition that reduces functioning of the thyroid gland and can lead to a substantial decline in quality of life for patients, with impacted patients often describing unremitting brain fog, fatigue/malaise and weight gain leading to difficulty functioning in their jobs and homes. It is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the U.S. and affects up to 10% of the global population. The typical treatment for Hashimoto's is thyroid hormone replacement with medications such as levothyroxine. However, despite adequate treatment as defined by thyroid hormone levels within the reference range, up to 10% of patients will experience persisting symptoms which can dramatically impair quality of life. While various theories have been postulated for the residual symptoms, several studies indicate that they are related to the thyroid autoimmunity, specifically the autoantibodies that are made by the immune system in Hashimoto's thyroiditis in response to the thyroid (ie thyroid peroxidase \[TPO\], thyroglobulin \[Tg\] antibody \[AB\]) and the associated inflammation with the immune response. Removal of thyroid (ie total thyroidectomy) reduces levels of these thyroid antibodies and results in significant improvement in quality-of-life. However, thyroidectomy is an invasive procedure with potential for morbidity such as damage to the recurrent laryngeal (nerve that controls the vocal cords and thus speech), bleeding and infection, so there is interest in other more conservative modalities for lowering the inflammation and autoimmune burden in Hashimoto's thyroiditis. In an effort to identify a less invasive approach for reducing the levels of thyroid antibodies and inflammation, attention has moved to the intersection of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and the gut. Hashimoto's has a strong association with autoimmune disorders impacting the gastrointestinal tract, in particular celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS). NCGS is a condition where there are intestinal and extra-intestinal symptoms associated the consumption of gluten but no presence of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (anti-tTG) which define Celiac Disease. This connection between Hashimoto's thyroiditis and sensitivity to gluten appears to be not only genetic, as those with Celiac Disease/NCGS and Hashimoto's thyroiditis have common HLA haplotypes, but also at the level of the intestine with gut microbiome dysfunction.

Preoperative Corticosteroids in Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

This study proposes to randomize patients about to undergo surgery for their autoimmune, inflammatory thyroid disease, and determine if a short course of corticosteroids decreases the inflammation of the gland and makes surgery less difficult.

Metabolic Biomarkers in Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and Psoriasis

Hashimoto's disease (HT) and psoriasis (PsO) have a significant impact on patient's quality of everyday life, and early diagnosis is critical for the symptoms management and prognosis. There is evidence that HT and PsO share common metabolic pathways that relate to their pathogenesis, and are affected by dietary and lifestyle factors. Previous studies have identified potential metabolic biomarkers, although the small number of studies hamper their validation. Of note, most studies are not longitudinal thus do not capture the metabolic fluctuations in response to disease progression or dietary changes. Thus, the purpose of this study is to identify metabolic biomarkers of HT and PsO and study the role of epigenetic factors (diet and lifestyle) on the involved metabolic pathways . In addition, a comparative analysis of the disease-related quality of life (QoL) will be performed in relation to dietary changes to unravel possible links between the QoL and the associated metabolic pathways in HT and PsO.