Active clinical trials for "Colitis, Ulcerative"

In this study, the investigators want to see if Bacteriotherapy (also referred to as stool transplantation) improves the symptoms and decreases inflammation in children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Examples of IBD are Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Additionally, researchers want to learn whether this experimental therapy delays the need for starting additional medications to treat pediatric IBD.

To assess clinical response to MMX mesalamine/mesalazine between a low and high dose in children and adolescents aged 5-17 years with mild to moderate Ulcerative Colitis (UC) or who are in remission.

Manipulation of the intestinal microbiota through FMT is a potential therapeutic target for IBD patients. Studies are now required to determine if repeated FMT can overcome the apparent immune response to FMT thereby maintaining sustained clinical improvement and remission. Prior to a large randomized controlled trial of FMT in UC we will carry out a feasibility study to determine if serial FMTs can sustain a clinical response and maintain stability of transplanted microbiota.

Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) have an increased risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) compared to the general population. Regular screening by colonoscopy is an internationally recommended cancer prevention strategy. Random sampling of the mucosa throughout the colon has been the mainstay of conventional surveillance practice to detect abnormalities, known as dysplasia which can progress to CRC. This requires multiple biopsies, to be taken and processed, a practice which is is tedious, expensive, time consuming and has a low pickup rate. Dysplasia in UC is typically flat and patchy and can be easily overlooked with standard conventional white light colonoscopy (WLC). Detection can be improved by the application of dyes which highlight more subtle abnormalities. This practice, known as chromoendoscopy (CE) is better than WLC at dysplasia detection but more time consuming for the patient and cannot guarantee that the whole colon is covered. CE has only been compared in clinical trials with standard definition endoscopy rather than the recently available high definition endoscopes with better resolution and picture. High definition (HD) endoscopy uses a high definition onitor and a high resolution CCD (charge coupled device) providing much better images than standard video endoscopy. HD colonoscopy promises therefore to provide an alternative to CE in UC surveillance without the need for the extra time and experience required for dye spraying for both endoscopists and nursing staff. The investigators plan to do a randomized trial to assess HD colonoscopy alone compared to chromoendoscopy (with HD colonoscopies) for dysplasia detection during surveillance for ulcerative colitis. There have been no trials comparing these two modalities and the investigators hope to provide evidence that the additional benefit of CE over HD colonoscopy would be marginal and therefore CE would be reserved for procedures using standard definition scopes.

This will be a phase I/IIa, open-label, three-stage, single center study aimed at investigating the safety, the efficacy (clinical and endoscopic effects) and the pharmacokinetics of Niclosamide enema 150 mg/60 ml and 450 mg/60 ml in subjects with mild-to-moderate UP and UPS, defined as a Modified Mayo Score (MMS) ≥ 4 and < 8, with a stool frequency subscore (SFS) ≥ 1, a rectal bleeding sub-score (RBS) = 1 or 2, and an endoscopic subscore (mucosal appearance) = 1 or 2. At the endoscopic sub-score any degree of friability will be classified as having a sub-scale score of 2.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by chronic inflammation limited to colonic mucosa. Its pathogenesis is not still clear, even if a multifactorial aetiology has been advocated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term efficacy of two different doses of VSL#3® added on standard therapy (5-ASA) in maintaining remission in an adult population of patients with UC, compared with the standard therapy (5-ASA) plus placebo. The investigators hypothesized that adding VSL#3® to mesalamine would lead to higher remission rate at long-term evaluation.

UC is a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder with relapsing and remitting course. The efficacy of mesalazine in preventing relapse in patients with UC is well-known and supported by randomized studies. However, mesalazine can be associated with side-effects. In addition, drug compliance is suboptimal, especially when disease is not active. Curcumin is a natural phytochemical derived from the Indian spice turmeric. It is widely used, has potent anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-tumour properties. The aims of this double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial is to assess the efficacy of curcumin in the prevention of relapse in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).

The metabolic response to ulcerative colitis, including increased proteolysis and lipolysis and changes in energy expenditure, plays a significant role in the resulting malnutrition from which these patients suffer. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, has been found to be elevated in children with ulcerative colitis. TNF-alpha has been incriminated in the mechanism of weight loss in many different chronic diseases, and causes net protein and lipid catabolism. Anti-TNF-alpha antibody (infliximab) has been proven to be an effective therapy for ulcerative colitis. The purpose of this study is to determine changes in protein and lipid metabolism, as well as resting energy expenditure, before and after therapy with anti-TNF-alpha antibody (infliximab) in children with ulcerative colitis. Performing this study will better define the changes in nutrition status observed in these children following remission of active ulcerative colitis, and potentially lead to changes in medical and nutritional management of these children

Fecal microbiota therapy (FMT) is an emerging treatment for gastrointestinal disorders marked by an imbalance in the intestinal microbial flora (dysbiosis). It is hypothesized to work by shifting the recipient's microbiota toward a eubiotic microbial community that resists colonization by pathogenic organisms or decreases its inherent inflammatory properties. Several studies now report its efficacy in treatment of severe Clostridium difficile colitis. Preliminary studies using FMT in Ulcerative Colitis (UC) have also met with some success. This is corroborated by several lines of evidence suggesting dysbiosis plays an important role in UC pathogenesis. While a recent study using FMT in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and constipation found transplants persist for up to 2 years, the extent to which the microbiota is alterable in UC is not known. Indeed, there may be particular genetic or immunologic factors in UC leading to selection pressure preventing a change in the microbiota. As an initial step into investigating the potential efficacy of stool transplants for Ulcerative Colitis (UC), the investigators propose to determine the feasibility and stability of transplanted microbiota in a series of 10 patients with mild to moderate UC.

There are approximately 2.5-3 million patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) across Europe, with associated healthcare costs of €4.6-5.6 billion per annum (1). IBD is associated with a significant reduction in quality of life. Treatments directed towards modifying the inflammatory response, such as anti-tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) agents, are expensive, can necessitate admission to hospital for their administration and can be associated with side effects (2 3). Thus, the development of a novel non-pharmacological anti-inflammatory intervention, such as electrical vagal nerve stimulation, is warranted. This is a proof of concept study which aims to investigate whether transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation is effective at reducing stress induced inflammatory cytokine levels in patients with quiescent ulcerative colitis.