Women's Health Clinical Research

This is a listing of Loyola University Health System Women's Health clinical research that is open and actively recruiting patients. Please click on the name of the research for a brief description, eligibility requirements and contact information. All research listed below have been approved by Loyola's Institutional Review Board chairman for promotion on our Web site.

For more information call (888) LUHS-888.

See all Clinical Research

Bladder Health

Nocturia Study

Females patients with and without nocturia (waking for nighttime urination) both with and without diabetes or chronic kidney disease, will participate by completing questionnaires, a two-day urine diary, one blood sample, one fresh urine sample, and collect urine for 24 hours to assess kidney function.

The ABC Trial

Many women experience the accidental loss of urine called urge incontinence or overactive bladder (OAB) incontinence. Women describe this as a sudden, strong desire to pass urine, which results in leakage before reaching the toilet. This study compares two groups of women who each receive both an active treatment for urge incontinence and a placebo (no active drug). Treatment group one will receive a single treatment with botulinum toxin A injection in the bladder and a six-month supply of placebo pills. Treatment group two will receive a single injection of saline in the bladder (placebo) and six months of active anticholinergic medication.

Value of Bladder Tests

It is common clinical practice to perform bladder tests, called urodynamic studies (UDS), before surgery for stress urinary incontinence (the accidental loss of urine with coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercise, or similar activities). Most doctors who regularly perform incontinence surgeries order these tests. We don’t know if women who receive these tests have better outcomes than women who don’t receive them. You are being asked to participate in a research study to determine if women who have demonstrated stress urinary incontinence (the accidental loss of urine with coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercise, or similar activities) during the office evaluation have different treatment outcomes compared to women who receive both the office evaluation and urodynamic studies before stress incontinence surgery.

Cancer: Breast

Medication Study for Hormone Receptor Positive Advanced Breast Cancer

The purpose of this research is to study the effects (good and bad) of a new anti-cancer drug called lapatinib when added to an anti-estrogen drug called fulvestant for the treatment of advanced breast cancer.

Endocrinology: Diabetes

The Sunshine Study

The purpose of this study is to determine whether taking vitamin D supplementation will help with control of blood sugar and with improving mood.

Women's Health: Prolapse and Bladder Control

The OPTIMAL Trial

The OPTIMAL study has two purposes: 1) compare two standard vaginal surgical techniques; and 2) see if patients do better when they receive pelvic muscle exercises and behavioral instructions around the time of surgery.