Active clinical trials for "Inflammatory Bowel Diseases"

The gut microbiota is determined to constitute a "microbial organ" which has pivotal roles in the intestinal diseases and body's metabolism. Evidence from animal and human studies strongly supports the link between intestinal bacteria flora and inflammatory bowel diseases. Lots of studies showed its efficacy in treatment of severe Clostridium difficile colitis. Corticosteroid dependence in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) is an important clinical problem and maintenance of steroid-free remission is a key treatment goal. Early studies using fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn's diseases have also met with success. This is an first step into investigating the potential efficacy of standardized FMT through terminal ileum for UC and CD, the investigators propose to determine the efficiency and safety of FMT in a series of 80 patients with moderate to severe UC and CD.

The objective of this study is to compare the efficacy of Infliximab-Biosimilar to Infliximab-Innovator and to demonstrate its noninferiority, in patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease in remission under treatment with infliximab up to 3 months.

The purpose of this study is to assess the effect and safety of Tripterygium Glycosides in the treatment of Crohn's disease for induction remission and compare the therapeutic effect with patients who received mesalazine.

The primary purpose of this study is to pilot test an instrument that the investigators will develop to assess decision influences on inflammatory bowel disease patients' medication adherence decision-making. This pilot study will use an exploratory, descriptive cross-sectional survey approach to pilot test the instrument and answer the research questions. The main hypothesis is that patients at risk for intentionally modifying their prescribed medication regimen will differ on influences on decision-making, health status, and utilization of the IBD clinic services compared to those who are intentionally adherent and who continue adherence over time.

Background: The marijuana plant Cannabis has been used for centuries in the medicinal treatment of many disorders and is still the subject of medical research and public debate. Cannabinoids have been purported to alleviate a variety of neurological conditions such as MS-related symptoms including spasticity, pain, tremor and bladder dysfunction. Other neurological conditions like chronic intractable pain, dystonic movement disorders and Tourette's Syndrome were all reported to be alleviated by cannabis use. Cannabis has been used to treat anorexia in AIDS and cancer patients. In gastroenterology cannabis has been used to treat symptoms and diseases including anorexia, emesis, abdominal pain, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, intestinal inflammation and diabetic gastroparesis. Cannabinoids have also a profound anti inflammatory effect, mainly through the CB2 receptor. Cell mediated immunity may be impaired in chronic marijuana users. And a potent anti-inflammatory effect of cannabis was observed in rats . Studying the functional roles of the endocannabinoid system in immune modulation reveals that there are no major immune events which do not involve the endocannabinoid system. Cannabinoids shift the balance of pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines towards the T-helper cell type 2 profiles (Th2 phenotype), and suppress cell-mediated immunity whereas humoral immunity may be enhanced. They are therefore used for various inflammatory conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and asthma. In a mouse model of colitis cannabinoids were found to ameliorate inflammation and there are many anecdotal reports about the effect of cannabis in inflammatory bowel disease. However, there are no methodical reports of the effect of cannabis on inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of the proposed study is to examine in a double blind placebo controlled fashion the effect of smoking cannabis on disease activity in patients with IBD.

The central focus of this trial is to understand the effectiveness of Preoperative Immunonutrition (PINT) in improving surgical outcomes for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We hypothesize that PINT will reduce post-operative complications in IBD patients undergoing elective surgery with added improvements in length-of-stay (LOS), quality of life (QOL) and patient satisfaction. As a secondary focus, the investigator will aim to better understand the potential mechanism-of-action by which PINT may have its effects through analyses of biomarkers including inflammatory markers, nutritional proteins and the fecal microbiome.

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are multifactorial diseases leading to chronic inflammation of intestinal mucosa. Their etiology is still unknown. Recently, major advances in the understanding of their pathophysiology have allowed to define them as heterogenic polygenic diseases, occurring in genetically susceptible patients. However, the whole genetic susceptibility does not explain the development of IBD and several data argue in favor of the involvement of environmental factors, which remain to be identified. The aims of this clinical trial are: As main objective: To determine the effects of environmental pollutants on intestinal homeostasis and particularly on inflammatory process and endoplasmic reticulum stress. As secondary objective, to assess in human the genetic susceptibility of intestinal mucosa to environmental chemical compounds (I.e. xenobiotics), its interindividual variability, and its potential involvement in the pathogenesis of IBD.

There are many limitations in the current treatments of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases(IBD) which includes Ulcerative Colitis（UC) and Crohn's Disease(CD). Some patients have no or little reaction to the traditional drugs. Now the investigators realized that the intestinal microbiota is closely associated with the development of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. In recent years, a retrospective study showed that the overall efficiency of intestinal microbiota transplantation for IBD was 79%, the overall remission rate was 43%, which opened a new chapter in the treatment of IBD. So the standardized intestinal microbiota transplantation is considered to be simple but effective emerging therapies for the treatment of IBD. In this project the investigators intend to carry out a single-center, randomized, single-blind clinical intervention study. The investigators plan to recruit patients with IBD in China. The patients will be randomly divided into two groups, one group will be given treatment of standardized intestinal microbiota transplantation, the other will be simply treated with traditional drugs, followed up for at least 1 year. The investigators aim to determine the efficiency, durability and safety of Intestinal Microbiota Transplantation for IBD treatment, and further to explore which major bacteria may effect in this project.

This is an observational study of medical marijuana manufactured and dispensed by Ilera and given as standard treatment for a variety of approved serious medical conditions as defined by individual state law. All patients who are receiving one of the four formulations (Dream, Soothe, Shine and Ease) of medical marijuana will be provided a study flyer and asked to contact the study team via phone or email. Once the study team confirms eligibility, the study team will meet the subject face-to-face most likely at their dispensary (or other mutually agreeable location) and obtain informed consent, and assent when appropriate. Initial baseline demographic information, medical history and medication inventory will be completed. Also, since it is possible that the Investigators will enroll subjects across the region, Investigators anticipate the need to seek consent over the phone for many patients. This will be done via Skype, Go to Meeting, Facetime or similar platforms so that the Investigators can have a face to face interaction with the potential subjects. Regardless of where this discussion takes place (i.e., in person or via the web), all reasonable safeguards to ensure patient privacy will be taken. Patients or their legally authorized representative (LAR) will be given sufficient (i.e., up to several hours/days) to make a decision to participate in this study. Study staff will fax or email the consent form for their signature and no study procedures will begin until the signed consent form is received by the study team. The subjects or their LARs will be instructed on obtaining the blood samples. Blood draws will be completed in the subjects' home after one of their standard doses is taken.

Anemia is a clinical manifestation, which is commonly observed in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and it accounts for significant loss in the quality of life of these patients. The aim of the current study is to assess the effect of orally administered iron treatment, as well as its response predictors in patients with inflammatory bowel disease who are in remission and present anemia. The study will recruit 100 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and 100 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) diagnosed and regularly monitored in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at the University Hospital of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, for clinical, hematological, biochemical and immunological assessment. Blood samples will be collected (10 ml) and the following tests will be performed in all the anemia patients (in remission) at the beginning of the treatment and 8 weeks later: complete blood count, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) , transferrin saturation index, ferritin, serum iron, hepcidin, quantitative C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6)) and fecal calprotectin. In addition, quality of life, anxiety and depression and fatigue questionnaires will be applied to the patients (IBDQ, HAD and Chalder). The World Health Organization (WHO) criteria will be used to diagnose anemia, therefore, hemoglobin lower than 12 g/dl for women and 13g/dl for men will be considered anemia; hemoglobin lower than 10 g/dl will be considered severe anemia. Patients with mild and moderate anemia in remission will be initially treated with oral iron (oral liposomal iron) and the occurrence of possible symptoms related to oral iron intolerance will be assessed, as well as the patients' disease activity level and quality of life. The patients in follow-up will be subjected to new laboratory tests after the eighth oral iron treatment week. The results of the current study are expected to help assessing the oral iron efficacy and response predictors, as well as the side effects of the treatment and its impact on the quality of life of patients.