Active Clinical Studies
Urinary Microbiome of Older Adults at Risk for Urinary Tract Infection
Older adults who reside at residential care facilities are at high risk of developing urinary tract infections. We are recruiting a cohort of older adult residents of local nursing facilities and obtaining urine samples for microbiome analysis at regular intervals and whenever the residents develop symptoms of urinary tract infections. We hope to be able to examine how the microbiome changes in an individual from a normal/healthy state, to the pathologic sate of symptomatic urinary tract infection.
Oropharyngeal Microbiome of Emergency Department Patients Diagnosed with Respiratory Viruses
The community of organisms that resides within the upper airways, the oropharyngeal microbiome, effects an individual’s response to infection with respiratory viruses. We are recruiting adults seen and diagnosed with respiratory viral infections within our Emergency Departments and obtaining oropharyngeal swabs for microbiome analysis, and blood samples for immune profiling. We are then following these individuals to determine what complications they develop, such as need for supplemental oxygen, or persistent symptoms weeks after their infection. We are examining what features of the oropharyngeal microbiome or the individuals immune profile are predicative of these complications, with the goal of developing microbiome-based treatments for respiratory viruses.
Dieta Antiinflamatoria (DAIN)
Research on the gut microbiome has shown that Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients have an imbalance of gut bacteria, which promotes inflammation. The theory behind the Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD-AID™) is to restore the balance between useful and harmful bacteria and reduce inflammation while promoting good nutrition.
The DAIN program includes foods commonly consumed in the typical Puerto Rican diet adapted to the four fundamental components of the IBD-AID™ prebiotics, probiotics, avoiding certain types of carbohydrates, and promoting good nutrition.
If you have Crohn's disease, live in Puerto Rico and are between 21 and 65 years old, and would like to know more about DAIN, please visit our website: The DAIN study. Or, learn more here.
Alzheimer’s disease and the Microbiome-gut-brain Axis
Alzheimer’s disease is the most frequent cause of dementia, of which there is no cure and treatment options are limited. Recently the human gut microbiome, the community of microorganisms that live within our intestines, has been connected to several neurodegenerative disorders. However, this research among older adults with Alzheimer’s disease has been limited. Accordingly, our goal is to compare the microbiome of elders with Alzheimer’s disease to those with mild cognitive impairment and to those without dementia in order to determine the role the microbiome plays in cognitive decline while studying local and systemic immune function and brain cellular activity. Understanding how the intestinal microbiome impacts Alzheimer’s disease progression will provide novel therapeutic targets and enable future trials aimed at improving the memory of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Participants
We are looking for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease or cognitive impairment issues to participate in this trial that will evaluate the gut microbiome and the immune system functioning over a 2-year participation time. This study will build the foundation for microbiome-based treatments to prevent cognitive decline in those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Compensation
$40/visit at our memory clinic