Active clinical trials for "Immune System Diseases"

To observe the relationship between the activity of rheumatoid arthritis and popliteal/epitrochlear lymph node morphology and the drainage of hand/foot superficial lymphatic vessels

The Investigators hypothesise that asthma is not a single disease, but a syndrome resulting from several distinct underlying disease processes known as endotypes. There are approximately 30,000 genes in humans, and each gene is responsible for the production of a particular protein. Using a technique called "whole genome expression profiling" The Investigators have undertaken a small study looking at the activity of all 30,000 genes in the airway tissue of people with asthma. This work has identified 3 mutually exclusive distinct molecular patterns (endotypes) of severe asthma and has identified other potentially important molecular targets (manuscripts in preparation). In particular,the Investigators have found that 25-50% of patients have asthma associated with the activity of proteins called Th2 cytokines (Th2-high asthma). New treatments are in development that target this pathway. However, the Investigators do not know what is driving severe asthma in patients who do not express these Th2 cytokines. The aim of this study is to investigate in more detail the molecular mechanisms driving severe asthma in patients who do not express Th2 cytokines (Th2-low asthma), so that the Investigators can identify new targets for treatment in this group. To do this the Investigators will collect airway tissue via a telescope (bronchoscope), and analyse gene and protein expression in the tissue. The Investigators will then compare the molecular activity between patients with Th2-high and Th2-low asthma, and healthy control subjects (data obtained from a parallel study).

Fifty patients who were referred to receive physiotherapy and 20 healthy volunteers will be participants of the study.Participants with multiple sclerosis will evaluate with the following assessment tools: Modified Ashworth scale will use to evaluation of severity of plantar flexor spasticity. Plantar pressure distribution parameters will assess with dynamic pedobarography.

Fatigue is consistently rated as the top symptomatic complaint for individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). Currently, the MS Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS), a subsection of the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life (MSQoL), is the clinical standard used by neurologists for monitoring and tracking fatigue in individuals with MS. However, fatigue is multidimensional phenomenon and subjective measures have had poor or limited relationships with functional status. While previous study has focused on contributing factors to fatigue such as sleep disorders and diminished cortical excitability, this line of inquiry has neglected the role of muscle structure and function on fatigue in every day functional tasks. An alternative approach is to assess quantitative fatigue using anaerobic testing methods. However, more knowledge is needed to understand the role that quantitative fatigue plays in self-reported fatigue measures and function of daily activities. Our purpose is to determine the association between quantitative fatigue tests with performance-based measures of mobility and self-reported health-related quality of life. Our secondary goal is to understand how the intrinsic properties of muscle tissue influence muscle performance in Veterans with MS.

This study evaluates the clinical significance of CX3CR1-expressing myeloid and lymphoid cells in patients of hematologic malignancy. Tumor cells either express membrane molecules or release tumor-derived soluble factors able to alter myelopoiesis and lymphopoiesis. Myeloid cells expressing CD11b play a critical role in sustaining cancer progression. Also, the fractalkine (CX3CL1; Fkn)/CX3CR1 axis plays an important function in the pathophysiology of various forms of cancers. Fkn is the only known ligand for CX3CR1, and it triggers recruitment of CX3CR1-positive cells through its unique receptor, CX3CR1. Therefore, the investigators focused the prognostic significance of CD11b+ myelo-monocytic cells expressing CX3CR1 and CD3+ lymphoid cells expressing CX3CR1 in the clinical outcomes of newly diagnosed Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) and Multiple myeloma (MM).

To develop a test to characterize and monitor Multiple Sclerosis (MS) disease status and therapy response from a participant's home by analyzing the gene expression from participant self-collected blood samples using a novel fingerstick collection kit.

This study evaluates the current situation and follow-up of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Andalusia.

The aim of this study is to complete the identification of genetic factors predisposing to thyroid associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) by constituting a cohort of 400 Grave's patients with or without ocular signs.

As prostate cancer progresses, tumor cells dissociate and enter the bloodstream. Considered a "liquid biopsy," these circulating tumor cells (CTC) can show how a patient's cancer evolves and responds to treatments. The purpose of this study is to determine whether sequentially analyzing the expression of tumor markers in circulating tumor cells in newly diagnosed metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer patients can predict the outcome of these patients.

Conventional dark-adaptometers are unsuitable as a mass screening tool due to their high cost, lack of easy portability, need of trained staff and a totally dark room to be operated, arbitrary testing procedures, associated time waste in clinic and patient burden to mention a few. Consequently, dark adaptometers are not routinely used as clinical tools for retinal diagnosis and monitoring despite the inherent benefits over other visual electrophysiology equipment such as the ERG system, whose cost and features may often be surplus to optometrists' requirements. This trial will assess the dark-adaptometry testing performance of a novel light-emitting system by generating full dark-adaptation threshold functions in normal adult healthy volunteers. The novel system has been proposed to overcome the issues associated with current instrumentation; it is semi-automatic and easy to use without the need of any skilled operator. It is envisaged that this system could spread the practice of dark-adaptometry testing and its adoption by high-street optometrists. This will allow diagnosing a number of retinal pathologies more quickly and more reliably that, faced with an ageing population, represents a major asset to the Health Community and the NHS. This trial will involve 20 healthy volunteers, distributed in equal number in 2 groups of 18-40 and 50-70 years old, respectively. Proven the good health and eye condition of the participants, one of their eyes will be randomly-allocated and undergo dark-adaptometry testing 3 times on separate days within 3 weeks. Testing will clarify whether by using the novel system it is possible to reproduce state-of-the-art threshold measurements as good or better than those produced by commercially-available dark-adaptometers. Threshold measurements in the elderly will be compared with literature data adjusted to exclude aged crystalline lens and pupillary miosis contributions. Data variability and system usability will be also assessed.