Active clinical trials for "Fibrosis"

The purpose of this research is to determine how a person's lungs will uptake [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), as measured with positron emission tomography (PET) scanning in young cystic fibrosis (CF) patients.

This is an open, randomized study in patients with different severity stages of hepatic cirrhosis, in which rater pairs will be used for the assessment of the intra- and inter-rater reproducibility of NRL972 pharmacokinetics and CTP sum score. Rating will be performed by 32 to 40 pairs of raters. The raters will perform the required assessments in the capacity of sub-investigators of the phase I (co-ordinating) unit. Up to 240 patients with clinically established hepatic cirrhosis without confounding end-stage co-morbidity (stable disease) will be studied. Within 30 days of confirmation of eligibility, Visit 1 will take place to determine the investigational parameters (NRL972 pharmacokinetics, clinical laboratory tests, and determination of CTP sum score). At approximate intervals of one week, Visits 2, 3 and 4 will occur, and the investigational parameters will again be assessed.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the CF trans-membrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein. CF is the most common inherited disease of Caucasians, with a carrier frequency of 1 in 25-30 individuals. Even with the impressive advances achieved in the understanding of the molecular basis and physiopathology of CF, it remains a life-threatening disorder that causes severe lung damage and nutritional deficiencies. It is generally accepted that early therapy could delay the progression of lung disease. A number of non-invasive methods are available to monitor disease activity in CF patients; however none of the currently used tools are able to monitor real-time events. Recently high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) has been used to monitor changes in lung structure. However, HRCT does not allow differentiating between acute and chronic lesions. Positron emission tomography (PET) with 18fluoro-deoxy-glucose (FDG) has already been used in a variety of settings to visualize inflammation or infection. FDG-PET imaging appears to be a promising new tool to quantify inflammation as it can detect clinically relevant changes even when no changes or minimal ones are detected by morphologic imaging. PET/CT may consequently be used to evaluate the severity of lung inflammation/infection in CF patients, and therefore the aim of this study is to evaluate the use of PET/CT for the assessment of the severity of lung inflammation/ infection in CF patients.

This is a crossover study to determine the possible factors that might be related to the development of diabetes in CF and examines the relationship between pancreatic fatigue if any, and the development of diabetes. In addition hormones affecting the release of insulin and stomach motility will be studied to determine if there is a variation in response to solid and liquid meals and if this variation increases as fatigue progresses.

The investigators propose to assess the contributions of the thermic effect of food intake (TEF), which is the amount of energy expended to digest food, to overall energy expenditure in Cystic Fibrosis (CF).

The purpose of this study is to test feasibility of measuring flumazenil-induced changes in cortical GABA levels observed with localized 1H-MRS in relation to changes in severity of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in subjects with non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis. This study is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, cross-over design.

RATIONALE: Losartan potassium may be effective in treating pulmonary fibrosis caused by radiation therapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying losartan to see how well it works in treating pulmonary fibrosis caused by radiation therapy in patients with stage I, stage II, or stage III non-small cell lung cancer.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of a high dose of vitamin D (VD) in patients with cirrhosis. The investigator hypothesizes that high dose VD will be safe and well-tolerated in adults with cirrhosis, and will inhibit the inflammatory and proliferative events that cause progression of cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma.

Our specific aims include: AIM 1. Characterization of glucose tolerance, nutritional and clinical status, socioeconomic status, family history of diabetes and genotype in Hispanic CF children compared to Caucasian CF children. Each child will undergo a two-hour oral glucose tolerance test and will be categorized by glucose tolerance according to standards set forth by the 1998 CF Consensus Conference on Diabetes. Nutritional status will be determined by three-day food journals and intake will be compared to energy needs measured by indirect calorimetry. Socio-economic status will be calculated from reported family income and medical insurance coverage. Genotyping will be done at the laboratory of Dr. Arthur Beaudet at Baylor College of Medicine. Clinical status will be measured using modified NIH scores. Family history for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes will be obtained in Spanish by Dr.Vanderwel. This specific aim tests the hypothesis that glucose intolerance /frank CF related diabetes occurs at a younger age in Hispanics than in Caucasians with CF, and is correlated to family history of diabetes and clinical status. AIM 2. Characterization of insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity. Previous studies in adults have described peripheral insulin resistance as a major cause of CF related diabetes, yet studies have not been conducted in children. Studies in adults and children without CF suggest that insulin resistance occurs more frequently in Hispanics. We will measure insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity using the frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) and the minimal model analysis of Bergman, as modified for children. This specific aim tests the hypothesis that Hispanic children with CF have worse peripheral insulin resistance, but similar insulin secretion when compared to Caucasian children with CF. AIM 3. Quantification of post-absorptive gluconeogenesis and whole body protein turnover. Total hepatic glucose production (HGP) will be measured using [6,6-2H2]glucose. We will quantify gluconeogenesis by measurement of the incorporation of 2H into the 2nd, 5th and 6th carbons of glucose following 2H20 administration method of Landau). We will determine whole body protein turnover using the stable isotopes [1-13C]leucine and will measure serum amino acid levels. This specific aim tests the hypothesis that gluconeogenesis and whole body protein turnover are disproportionately higher in Hispanic children and adolescents with CF than in Caucasian CF children.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) could be a prognostic factor for cystic fibrosis patients.