Active clinical trials for "Autoimmune Diseases"

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of subantimicrobial dose doxycycline (50 mg/d), administered for 12 wk, for patients with active moderate-severe Graves' Orbitopathy (GO).

The purpose of the pilot study is to test the efficacy and safety of riboflavin/Ultraviolet A (UVA) cross-linked human donor corneas as carriers for the Boston Keratoprosthesis (Boston KPro) in patients with higher risk for corneal melting (keratolysis).

Treatment with the immunosuppressive drug mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) may result in gastrointestinal (GI) complications in some patients. This study will 1) determine the proportion of patients with autoimmune diseases who are experiencing any GI complaints under MMF-based immunosuppressive treatment and 2) assess if a switch from MMF to enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium (EC-MPS) results in improved GI and/or health-related quality of life outcomes.

Platelets are particles found along with red and white blood cells in the blood that play a role in the process of blood clotting. Disorders affecting the platelets can lower the amount of platelets in the blood and put patients at risk of bleeding. The condition of low platelets is referred to as thrombocytopenia. Thrombocytopenia can be associated with a variety of diseases including cancer, leukemia, tuberculosis, or as a result of an autoimmune reaction. Autoimmune reactions are disorders in which the normal immune system begins attacking itself. Autoimmune thrombocytopenia (AITP) is a disorder of low blood platelet counts in which platelets are destroyed by antibodies produced by the immune system. Unfortunately, many patients with AITP do not respond to standard treatments for thrombocytopenia. Cyclophosphamide is a drug that works to suppress the activity of the immune system. Researchers believe that combining this drug with transplanted rescued blood stem cells may provide effective treatment for AITP. The purpose of this study is to explore the affordability and safety of this therapy for the treatment of AITP. The effectiveness of the therapy will be measured by the number of patients whose platelet levels rise greater than 100,000/m3. If this treatment approach appears affordable, this study will form the basis for a larger study to compare alternate treatment approaches.

Bacteria carry substances on their surface called antigens. When antigens come into contact with the right kinds of cells in the body an immune reaction is caused. This reaction is often the symptoms of sickness that a patient feels. In order for the body to fight off the attack of antigens, it creates substances called antibodies. Antibodies counter the action of antigens and make the bacteria harmless. However, the immune system must learn how to make the right antibodies for the right antigens. Sometimes the body creates antibodies that confuse normal tissues as foreign and attack them. This is called an autoimmune reaction and sometimes occurs when the body is exposed to certain bacteria. One bacteria known for causing autoimmune reactions is Group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus (GABHS). This bacteria often causes throat infections commonly known as "strep throat". Some researchers believe that the autoimmune reaction associated with strep throat infections may cause neuropsychiatric disorders, like obsessive-compulsive disorder and/or tic disorder in children. As a result, each time a child with one of these disorders experiences an infection with GABHS his/her symptoms can reoccur or worsen. Researchers believe that by giving patients a certain antibiotic, they can prevent GABHS infection and thus prevent the return of symptoms. This study is designed to test the effectiveness of the antibiotic Amoxicillin for the treatment of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS). Patients will receive Amoxicillin for six weeks and placebos "inactive sugar pills" for six weeks in order to see if the medication is truly working. Effectiveness of the treatment will be based on the presence or absence of symptoms. If at the end of the study Amoxicillin is proven to be effective treatment for PANDAS patients may be offered the opportunity to continue taking the medication for an additional six months.

This is a multi-center, randomized, single-blinded, prospective, parallel group intervention study to investigate whether methotrexate (MTX) discontinuation for 1 week is non-inferior to MTX discontinuation for 2 weeks in regard to satisfactory vaccination response to a seasonal influenza.

The Purpose of this study is to determine the response to two different strengths of a topical gel containing nitroglycerin in patients with Raynaud's disease.

Autoimmune diseases cause a decreased endometrial receptivity during the implantation window, most likely changing the endometrial cytokines pattern due to dysregulation of the inflammatory processes.Therefore, endometrial cytokine profiles will be compared in women with autoimmune disease and normal, fertile women. The collected endometrial tissue and blood samples will be examined for the cytokines profiling using commercially available ELISA kits. The sample size was calculated choosing, as primary outcome, changes in endometrial LIF concentration between the disease and control Group, which is our main goal. Given a type I error of 5%, a maximum of 21 women are needed for each Group to reach the desired power of 80% to detect the least changes in concentrations.

Vitiligo is a auto immune that impact 2% of the global population, regardless from the phototype. Even though it affects patients in a physical way through loss of pigmentation, it is also impacting them on a mental/emotional way.11-12 Current treatments offer a symptomatic solution to patients, however the response rate can be low and results can be slow. Pediatric patients in vitiligo deserves special care as frequently (50%), the disease onset is before 20 years of age and, in 25% of the cases, it starts before the age of 10 years.13 Also, the current treatments for children are limited since it can involve pain and claustrophobia. The combination therapy of the study could offer a painless and easy treatment to follow. If the combination of those two therapies can fasten and improve the response rate, this could be a good option to treat this condition not only in children, but also for adults patients.

Phenotypic characterization of patients with Hu-Abs, including the different neurological presentation and the presence or not of an underlying cancer. Analysis and clinical correlation of the diagnostic techniques for Hu-Abs detection (immunofluorescence, immunodot/Western blot, and CBA) in serum and/or CSF. Genomic and transcriptomic features of tumors (histological and immune infiltrate characteristics, transcriptomic profile, mutational status).