Clinical Research Directory

Diagnosing and Treating Low Blood Sugar Levels

Hypoglycemia is the term used to refer to lower than normal levels of blood sugar. This study will continue to research the causes of hypoglycemia. Patients involved in the study will be admitted to the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health and undergo tests for evaluating blood sugar. Patients will be required to refrain from eating for a set period of time and will undergo blood tests for insulin levels and several other specific diagnostic tests related to insulin secretion. The patients will be under supervision and will be provided with appropriate medical and surgical attention as needed.

Temozolomide With or Without Capecitabine in Treating Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

This randomized phase II trial studies how well giving temozolomide with or without capecitabine works in treating patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as temozolomide and capecitabine, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. It is not yet known whether temozolomide is more effective with or without capecitabine in treating patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

DOTATOC PET/CT for Imaging NET Patients

Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) are generally slow growing, but some can be aggressive and resistant to treatment. Compared to healthy cells, the surface of these tumor cells has a greater number of special molecules called somatostatin receptors (SSTR). Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy and conventional imaging are used to detect NETs. This study proposes 68Gallium(68Ga)-DOTATOC positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is superior to current imaging techniques. The goal is to evaluate the safety and sensitivity of 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT at detecting NETs and other tumors with over-expression of somatostatin receptors.

Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor PET/CT in GLP-1R Related Disease

To evaluate the potential usefulness of 68Ga/18F-Exendin 4 positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for the diagnosis of primary and metastatic lesions in various GLP-1R-related disease patients.

Fluorodopa F 18 in Congenital Hyperinsulinism and Insulinoma

Low blood sugars are known to cause brain damage in newborn babies. One of the most common causes of low blood sugars persisting beyond the new born period is a condition called congenital hyperinsulinism (HI). This is a disease whereby the pancreas secretes too much insulin and causes low blood sugars. Twenty to forty percent of these babies will have brain damage. There are two forms of this disease. In one form only a small part of the pancreas makes too much insulin (focal HI) and in the other, the whole pancreas make too much insulin (diffuse HI). Another very similar disease is insulinoma which occurs after birth, but also causes hyperinsulinism. If a surgeon could know which part of the pancreas has the focal lesion he could remove it and cure the patient. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether a new investigational drug called Fluorodopa F 18, when used with a PET scan, can find the focal lesion and guide the surgeon to remove it, thus curing the patient and preventing further brain damage.