Active clinical trials for "Pancreatitis"

Pain is a major clinical problem for many patients with pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis (CP).In pancreatic cancer, nearly 75% of patients suffer from pain at the time of diagnosis, with over 90% of patients in advanced stages. In CP, pain occurs in 80-90% of patients and strongly affects quality of life. For both conditions, the majority of pain is addressed using the WHO analgesic ladder. However, more invasive pain therapies are often necessary. Currently, in several centers in the Netherlands, treatment with IV lidocaine is already used in clinical practice in patients with pancreatic cancer and CP. Based on practical experience, the majority of patients benefit from this therapy, however, its efficacy in terms of duration of pain relief, decrease in pain scores, increase in patient satisfaction and adverse events is unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of monitored single intravenous infusion in patients with pancreatic cancer and CP.

The overall goal of this study is to develop and test a novel method involving ultrasound imaging, in order to detect the development of type1 diabetes. In this study the investigators will first establish a standard operating procedure for measuring pancreas blood flow speed and volume in the pancreas of human subjects. The investigators will then determine 1) whether these pancreas blood flow factors differ between healthy subjects and those who have recently developed type1 diabetes; and 2) how variable measurements are in healthy subjects and subjects that recently developed type1 diabetes, both between subjects and over time. To address these aims the investigators will perform pancreas ultrasound measurements in each subject using an approved injectable 'bubble' contrast agent that allows measurement of pancreas blood flow. The investigators will compare ultrasound measurement with characteristics of the subject's type1 diabetes, including genetic factors, glucose levels and other circulating factors, as well as other factors that may influence blood flow in the pancreas independent of type1 diabetes. The successful conclusion of this study will indicate whether measuring pancreas blood flow speed/volume will be helpful in monitoring whether type1 diabetes will emerge and thus will allow a large scale study to answer this question.

The intestinal microbiota plays a pivotal role in the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis and protecting the gut against pathogens by competing for nutrients, creating the intestinal biological barrier and modulating the host immune system.After the onset of acute pancreatitis,the intestinal hypoperfusion and the release of inflammatory mediators result in intestinal barrier dysfunction and intestinal bacteria dysbiosis.This leads to Bacterial and endotoxin translocation, which may cause infectious complications which are major causes of death in SAP patients.Recently,FMT was shown its efficacy in the treatment of gastrointestinal(GI) diseases and non-GI disorders associated with Intestinal flora disturbance by re-establishing the damaged Intestinal Bacteria homeostasis.However,the mechanism by which FMT results in cure of diseases has been poorly understood.This study aims to investigate the therapeutic potential of FMT for SAP patients with intestinal barrier dysfunction.

The purpose of this study is to show safety and tolerability to our mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) product which will be autologous in nature, expanded using a non-xenogeneic, human component expansion media (pooled human platelet lysate) and delivered fresh. Subsequently, the investigators intend to test whether infusion of MSCs immediately after islet autograft can reduce onset of diabetes and improve glycemic control after total pancreatectomy and islet autotransplantation.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) in children has an increasing incidence and is at times associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Despite this, there is no high-quality evidence-based treatment for childhood AP and current practice is based entirely on historical approach and extrapolation from adult studies. In this study, we evaluate the use of early enteral feeding in children with AP. The traditional approach to treating AP relies on fasting and intravenous fluids (or occasionally parenteral nutrition) assuming that this minimizes stimulation of an already inflamed pancreas. Contrary to this, evidence exists that early feeding of patients with AP may be beneficial. Randomized controlled trials of fasting vs. early oral diet in adult patients with mild AP, showed no differences in pain, serum amylase and CRP levels, but also shorter hospital stay in those fed earlier. Further data in adults with severe AP demonstrated that early enteral nutrition was associated with decreased mortality, infections and multiorgan failure. These benefits were lost if enteral nutrition was commenced 48 hour after admission. Suggested explanations for these findings include the possibility that enteral nutrition may maintain integrity and function of intestinal mucosa and reduce gut-origin sepsis. Historically, nasojejunal (NJ) feeds were felt to be safer than oral or nasogastric feeds in the setting of AP by avoiding cephalic and gastric pancreatic stimulation. NJ feeds require moderately invasive tube insertion under radiographic or endoscopic guidance. Recent data suggest that oral feeding with a low fat diet was as safe as NJ feeding. Several animal models of AP demonstrate that the exocrine pancreas is resistant to cholecystokinin (CCK) stimulation after the onset of AP, suggesting a mechanism for the lack of concern of exacerbating pancreatitis with enteral feeds. Considering this data it is less certain that diet and fat restriction contribute to treatment of AP. To further challenge the prior conceptions of AP management it is necessary to explore the use of unrestricted diet (full fat) in mild-moderate pediatric AP, a population with recognized low complication risk. Despite the mounting evidence to the contrary, it is still standard clinical practice to fast children with AP, and only slowly reintroduce feeds depending on the clinical improvement. This is largely due to the lack of clinical interventional studies in children with AP.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is now a widely accepted therapy for treating benign and malignant diseases of the pancreatobiliary tree. Acute pancreatitis represents the most common and feared complication following ERCP. The reported incidence of this complication is from 1% to 40% according to the presence of high-risk factors for this complication or the presence dysfunction in the sphincter of Oddi (SOD). In most prospective series, the incidence has ranged between 3.5% and 20% for nonselected and high-risk patients, respectively. Independent risk factors for post-ERCP pancreatitis are either patient- or procedure-related.

ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) has been largely demonstrated to be effective in multiple bilio-pancreatic indications. However, one of the feared complication of this technique is acute pancreatitis, which happens in 5 to 25% of cases. Some patient groups have been demonstrated to present a higher risk linked to individual factors or to the procedure. Some interventions (endoscopic or pharmacologic) have been evaluated to reduce the incidence of this complication but each has his own inconvenient. Recently, the activation of heme oxygenase (HO) by intraperitoneal administration of hemin has been demonstrated to be effective in prevention and treatment of acute pancreatitis mice models. This protective effect has been associated to intrapancreatic HO-1 positive macrophage recruitment activated by hemin. The investigators thus propose to conduct a prospective randomized double blind controlled trial to demonstrate a protective effect of hemin administration against post-ERCP acute pancreatitis in high risk patients.

The purpose of this of this study is to compare the use of Self Expanding Metal Stents (SEMS) to plastic stents for the treatment of benign biliary strictures secondary to chronic pancreatitis as it pertains to stricture resolution rates, complication rates and number of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures during 24 months. Statistical testing will be performed to determine if the rate of stricture resolution for the metal stent is non-inferior to the plastic stent group.

The purpose of this prospective randomised clinical trial is to compare beneficial and harmful effects of the use enteral nutrition versus a nil-by-mouth and intravenous fluid replacement principle of treatment in patients with moderate to severe acute pancreatitis (AP). The hypothesis: enteral nutrition is no significantly better compared with the nil-by-mouth principle regarding mortality, incidence of local and systemic complications, length of hospital stay, and intensity of the inflammatory response in patients with moderate to severe AP enteral nutrition has the same safety as nil-by-mouth principle in patients with moderate to severe AP

In this pilot prospective non-commercial clinical trial the investigators will study the use of dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to the patient-controlled propofol sedation in a placebo-controlled and randomized manner in patients with drug addiction during Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Dexmedetomidine is a sedative medication used mostly in intensive care units,and is marketed under the brand name Precedex. Dexmedetomidine has sedative, analgesic, sympatholytic, and anxiolytic properties. It produces sedation without causing significant respiratory depression. Recent research has suggested dexmedetomidine to be effective in treatment of alcohol withdrawal signs. In previous studies dexmedetomidine was insufficient as an only sedative agent in ERCP and colonoscopy, but it has not been assessed for sedation in patients with chronic pancreatitis. The main objective of this trial is to evaluate if dexmedetomidine can reduce propofol and opioid consumption and facilitate the performance of ERCP in patients with chronic pancreatitis due to drug addiction.Secondary objectives of the trial are the stability of vital signs and safety, patients´ satisfaction plus recovery time from sedation. 50 elective ERCP patients with chronic pancreatitis after written informed consent and randomisation will be recruited to the study. Exclusion criteria are:allergy to propofol, opioid or dexmedetomidine, ASA class greater than 3. All the patients will receive patient-controlled propofol sedation. In dexmedetomidine group dexmedetomidine infusion will be started before sedation beginning and in placebo group placebo-solution (NaCl0,9%) will be administered in the similar manner.Standard monitoring for vital signs will be applied,also sedation degrees will be evaluated with sedation scores. At the end of procedure total amount of propofol and opioid will be calculated,patients and endoscopists satisfaction and the difficulty of ERCP will be assessed.