Active clinical trials for "Hypersensitivity"

Many patients in the hospital who are malnourished or not eating received intravenous feeding or total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Despite improving nutrition, TPN may increase the risk of infections and hospital complications. We do not know why TPN increases hospital complications, but it may be caused by the high sugar or fat content in TPN solutions. The investigators believe that the high sugar and high fat content can limit the ability to fight infections and produce stiffness of blood vessels. This study will compare the effect of high sugar, high fat content or both on blood sugars, blood vessel function, on blood vessel function. The investigators will also compare the effect of different fats (olive oil and soybean) in the TPN solution on the risk of infection and blood vessel function on a total of 12 healthy subjects.

This is a one week study designed to test the safety of a personal lubricant during in-home use for subjects who perceive themselves as having sensitive skin.

Lung Cancer (LC), colorectal cancer (CRC) and breast cancer (BC) are the major killers in oncology, accounting for about 40% of cancer deaths. Although progresses have been made in the last few years, unfortunately no patient with metastatic disease can obtain a definitive cure. A recent hypothesis is that cancer is driven by a small subpopulation of cells called "cancer stem cells" (CSCs) or "tumor initiating cells" with an unlimited proliferative potential and the ability to reproduce the original human tumor in experimental animal models. These cells are thought to be responsible for the development of the tumor and represent the only cell population able to sustain tumor growth and progression. Therefore, CSCs represent the elective target for new targeted therapies, endowed with high and selective toxicity towards the tumor but harmless towards normal cells. Current technologies allow us to isolate and expand in vitro the CSCs from tumor specimens, testing their sensitivity to different anticancer drugs in a short period of time. Therefore, there is the potential opportunity to identify LC, CRC and BC CSCs.This is a prospective study assessing feasibility of CSCS isolation in LC, CRC and BC. Patients with a previously performed diagnosis of LC, colon cancer or breast cancer with no further standard therapy options, with a Karnofsky performance status of 100% and with tumor tissue available will be considered eligible for the study. Tumor tissue will be collected before study entry, i.e tissue obtained during a diagnostic or therapeutical procedure, like surgery or biopsies with other purposes than the protocol. In vitro tumor sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs will be tested on tumor cell cultures per each patient. Drugs and their combination will be considered effective and if they kill ≥ 60% of tumor stem cells in vitro test. By using cancer spheres the investigators will also generate orthotopic xenograft models that recapitulate the parental tumor behaviour, including the aggressive features and the invasiveness potential. Orthotopic injection technique will be assessed in 5 weeks-old NOD/SCID mice

Recently EPO receptors have been found in human muscle tissue, but what is still not known is the physiological role of these receptors. In this study the researchers want to investigate if there is any effect of a acute administration of EPO on insulin resistance and/or substrate metabolism in muscle tissue.

The aim of the present study is to determine the effectiveness of hemovigilance module training given to nurses.

Understanding sources of variability in human drug dosing is important to the beneficial and safe use of any drug. Understanding and applying the science of individualizing a drug dose to a patient is called precision medicine. Aspirin is one of the oldest most utilized medications for its ability to lower fever, relieve pain, and to reduce the stickiness of platelets (tiny blood cells that help your body form clots to stop bleeding. Aspirin dosing is currently the same for all patients and is not individualized. In the last century, aspirin has shown benefit in reducing cancer, stroke, and preventing cardiovascular events after one has already had a heart attack or stroke. Previous human studies have not found consistent positive effects of aspirin when dosed by body weight. Therefore, how should aspirin be dosed in 2019? Aspirin resistance is the failure of aspirin to reduce platelet stickiness and thin the blood and most importantly, is associated with higher risk of heart attacks and strokes. Aspirin resistance may occur due to not taking aspirin on a regular basis, differences in how platelets behave in some persons, use of over the counter pain medicines like Motrin®, reduced amount of drug in the body, and/or a lack of being able to predict a dose for a certain individual. To find out the best way to dose aspirin, the investigators propose to study healthy volunteers (persons without any known disease) with different ages and body sizes to see if aspirin blood levels are tied to platelet stickiness. This information will be used to mathematically build a computer-based picture of aspirin dosing that will help physicians pick the best dose of aspirin for each patient. The investigators will then extend studies for the aspirin dose estimator to be used in other countries in people with heart problems and stroke, recording future events in a randomized (i.e., coin toss) manner, to determine if the ability of the aspirin dose estimator to prevent future heart attacks and stroke compared to people receiving aspirin doses that were chosen without the estimator.

In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, participants with seasonal allergies will receive a daily probiotic or placebo for 8 weeks. Questionnaires will assess health-related quality of life, stress, physical activity, gastrointestinal symptoms, adverse events, and compliance. In a subset of subjects, stool and blood samples will be collected at baseline and at week 6 of the intervention (estimated to be peak allergy season) to characterize microbial communities and immune function.

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is a syndrome with variable clinical presentation in which lung inflammation is caused by inhalation of specific organic antigens or low molecular weight particles in previously sensitized individuals. Systemic symptoms may or may not be present. Chronic HP represents the final stage of the disease, caused by prolonged exposure to a particular antigen, leading to pulmonary fibrosis. In chronic HP, pulmonary function tests (PFTs) commonly present a restrictive ventilatory pattern, with decreased diffusion of carbon monoxide (DLCO). Some patients can also have obstructive disorders with expiratory flow limitation, due to obstruction of the small airways typically caused by bronchiolar involvement in this pathology. However, PFTs are relatively insensitive for detecting small airway involvement when there is concomitant interstitial fibrosis. First, conventional PFTs may be normal in patients with small airway involvement, since they contribute to less than 30% of the total airway resistance. In addition, damage to the small airways in HP is generally occurring parallel to areas of focal fibrosis - even when small airways are involved, these regions can be completely ignored, since they are excluded from ventilation. In summary, traditional PFTs are not sufficiently sensitive to detect diffuse small airway involvement in these diseases. In these cases, other functional tests, such as forced oscillation technique (FOT) and high resolution computer tomography (HRCT) scans of the chest with expired studies, could be used for this purpose. This will be a cross-sectional study, which will include the following evaluations in 28 patients with HP recruited from our clinic: - Clinical variables: (A) demographic and anthropometric data; (B) Clinical data: Onset of symptoms and time of diagnosis C) Dyspnea score: D) Smoking: * Current or former smoker * Smoking history (number of cigarettes smoked per day and for how long); Spirometry with forced and slow maneuvers before and after bronchodilator (salbutamol); Plethysmography to measure lung volumes; Diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide (DLCO); High-resolution chest CT with expiratory scans; Six-minute walk test; Cardio-respiratory test using a maximal incremental treadmill. Forced oscillation technique (FOT).

In this study the investigators will examine the effect of dopamine (bromocriptine) on insulin sensitivity in lean and obese subjects. Furthermore, the investigators will examine whether the timing of bromocriptine administration has influence on insulin sensitivity. To do so, the investigators will include lean and obese subjects who will use 2 times 2 weeks bromocriptine. In randomized order, they will use it in the morning or in the evening. The investigators will examine insulin sensitivity by performing a 7-point oral glucose tolerance test. Furthermore, the investigators will examine energy expenditure and subjects will keep track of their eating behaviour in the 3 days before each study visit.

Diacylglycerol oil has been shown to lower postprandial and fasting serum triacylglycerol levels and reduce body fat. The investigators hypothesize that replacing dietary fat with diacylglycerol oil reduces excess body fat in type 2 diabetic patients and that diacylglycerol oil has a beneficial effect on cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese type 2 diabetic patients.