Active clinical trials for "Chronic Disease"

The purpose of the current randomized clinical trial was to compare the effectiveness of myofascial soft tissue release versus mobilization with impulse technique torsion (anterior) on pain, disability, and kinesiophobia in individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain.

This project addresses the important public health need to reduce ethnic disparities in depression care by pilot testing and refining a culturally tailored, low-cost intervention for improving both depression and general medical outcomes among Latinos in safety net primary care settings. Cuerpo Sano, Mente Sana is a newly developed, lay-led, group self-management intervention that educates and empowers patients in their own health care and has the potential for widespread implementation and sustainability in primary care because it is responsive to patient, provider, and system preferences and needs. After completing an assessment of study clinic sites, we will conduct a pilot test of Cuerpo Sano, Mente Sana with 30 low-income, Spanish-speaking primary care patients. After reviewing pilot findings, we will revise the intervention and study plan, and will conduct a second pilot trial. After reviewing findings from this second trial, we will finalize the intervention and study plan in preparation for larger studies to test Cuerpo Sano, Mente Sana versus other interventions for addressing depression among Latinos in safety net primary care.

The chronic airflow limitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients resulting in increased dyspnea during physical activity restricts many COPD patients ability to perform exercises in general and whole-body exercises in particular. Single limb training performed as one-legged cycling has been shown effective in patients with COPD. This exercise regime results in less stress on the ventilatory system as training is executed using a simultaneously smaller muscle mass. However, the positive physiological effects of exercise training only occur in the involved muscle(s). To be of benefit for patients daily life, all relevant muscles should be included in exercise training. The aim of the current randomized controlled multicenter trial (RCT) is to determine the effects of high-repetitive single limb exercises (HRSLE) in combination with COPD specific patient education, compared to the COPD specific patient education alone in patients with moderate to very severe (stage II-IV) COPD.

In 2005, more then one-third of Canadians were burdened with one or more chronic diseases. Patients with one chronic disease often have, or are at risk for, another chronic disease. This group of complex patients represents a substantial challenge to healthcare resources. For patients in rural communities, the opportunity to attend ambulatory care clinics is not always an option. Additionally, the opportunity for rural patients to receive quality care close to, or within their homes, is of great benefit as it reduces the need for extensive travel and the potential burden of clinical visits. The use of telehealth has been identified as an effective modality for chronic disease management and is actively promoted by national organizations as having great promise for health service delivery in rural areas. The Internet as a mode for healthcare delivery has numerous advantages: 1. it is ubiquitous with increasing access in all age groups, 2. it is inexpensive, 3. it facilitates both patient data transfer and patient feedback, thereby supporting patient self-management, 4. it is scalable to large patient volumes, 5. it delivers health care directly to the patient and 6. it requires minimal set-up for patients with current Internet access. The investigators propose to develop and evaluate a multi-chronic disease management program delivered through the Internet (with telephone supports) focused on high-impact chronic diseases targeted to patients in rural communities. This study will consist of a single-blinded randomized controlled trial to investigate the efficacy of the iCDM in 318 patients with two or more of the target chronic diseases living in rural areas. Within this Aim, the investigators will be able to address the following research questions: Q1. What is the effect of iCDM on healthcare utilization and patient self-management outcomes? Q2. What is the long-term compliance to the iCDM? Q3. What is the level of patient and provider satisfaction?

The burden of tobacco use falls disproportionately on low-income populations, through high rates of primary smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. The remarkable progress in creating smoke-free environments in the U.S. over the past two decades has left smoker's homes as one of the primary sources of exposure to secondhand smoke for both children and nonsmoking adults. Intervention research that identifies effective and practical strategies for reaching the minority of households that still allow smoking in the home has considerable potential to reduce smoke exposure, but suitable channels to reach low-income families are limited. The proposed research will develop, evaluate and disseminate a brief smoke-free homes intervention through the established national infrastructure of 2-1-1 call centers. 2-1-1 is a nationally designated 3-digit telephone exchange, similar to 9-1-1 for emergencies or 4-1-1 for directory assistance, that links callers to community-based health and social services. The proposed research has four specific aims: 1) Conduct formative research on intervention messages and materials for promoting smoke-free homes in low-income populations, applicable to both smokers and nonsmokers as household change agents; 2) Conduct a randomized controlled trial in the Atlanta 2-1-1 service area to evaluate the efficacy of a brief intervention to create smoke-free homes among 2-1-1 callers; 3) Conduct replication studies in Houston and North Carolina 2-1-1 systems to systematically test the intervention in varied populations and tobacco control climates, and 4) Disseminate the research-tested smoke-free homes intervention through a variety of mechanisms including a national grants program to 2-1-1 systems and through the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium's linkages to the state and local tobacco control infrastructure in the U.S.

The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of SPRC-AB01 versus placebo for treatment of chronic sinusitis in subjects who have had sinus surgery.

The primary objective of this research is to pilot test a brief mental heath treatment specifically tailored to meet the needs of chronically ill patients with anxiety and/or depression. Using an open-trial format, the proposed study will examine the feasibility of a brief psychosocial intervention. Primary outcomes will assess intervention effects on patient and clinician rated symptoms of anxiety and depression. If proven feasible and effective among this group of participants, the intervention (due to its brief format and focus on medically ill patient needs) will possess unique characteristics that will increase the ability of medical care settings to implement mental health treatments, and will provide valuable pilot data for the development of a larger research project to determine the efficacy of this intervention among a larger group of chronically ill patients relative to usual care.

To determine if a shorter course of interferon and ribavirin therapy will be sufficient in carefully selected patients with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 3 infection, as compared to the standard length of treatment of 6 months.

Children suffering from chronic disease and receiving long-term glucocorticoid therapy suffer over years from severe growth retardation and profoundly altered body composition. They consist in a marked increase in fat mass and a decrease in lean body mass. Published studies have shown that Growth Hormone (GH) treatment in children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis can improve body composition by increasing lean mass and by preventing increase in fat mass. The aim of the present protocol is to evaluate whether the increase in lean body mass observed during GH treatment is associated with changes in muscle strength and mass. In order to be able to evaluate the effect of GH on the muscle a comparative group is needed. Therefore it will be proposed to delay in a group of patients the start of Growth Hormone(GH) treatment by 6 months. As most publications have shown a maximum effect of GH within the first year of treatment, six months should be enough to evaluate short-term effect of GH on the muscle. Therefore, this study will be a randomized trial: immediate start of Growth Hormone (GH) treatment versus start of Growth Hormone treatment 6 months later. After 6 months all children will be treated with GH. Therefore, the follow-up will be one year after baseline.

The primary objective is to comparatively evaluate the isolated effects of a long-acting beta2-adrenergic (formoterol fumarate 12µg b.i.d. via Aeroliser) and combined with a long-acting anti-cholinergic (tiotropium bromide 18µg o.d via Handihaler) on breathlessness, dynamic hyperinflation and exercise tolerance in patients with advanced, but stable, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The study hypothesis is that combining long acting bronchodilators with different action mechanisms would promote synergistic effects on clinical outcomes.