A Novel Remote Patient and Medication Monitoring Solution to Improve Adherence and PerSiStence With...
Inflammatory Bowel DiseasesCrohn Disease1 moreThe investigators hypothesize that use of a remote monitoring digital health system that supports medication taking and monitoring of symptoms will improve adherence, clinical outcomes, and decrease healthcare utilization compared to standard care in participants with inflammatory bowel disease initiating oral or subcutaneous treatment. The investigators are conducting a 12-month, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a remote monitoring digital health system on adherence, clinical outcomes, and healthcare utilization. The investigators will address the following specific aims: Compare adherence as measured by the medication possession ratio in participants using a remote monitoring digital health system compared to standard of care. Compare clinical outcomes and healthcare utilization in participants using a remote monitoring digital health system compared to standard of care.
Evaluation of Molecular Mechanisms of Non-response to Therapy in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel...
Crohn's DiseaseUlcerative ColitisInflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) represent a group of immune-mediated disorders, in which currently unidentified trigger factors drive the manifestation of chronic relapsing- remitting destructive inflammatory episodes in the gut. IBD comprise two main disease entities, ulcerati\ie colitis (UC) and Crohn s disease (CD). The diseases differ in anatomical distribution, with continuous, uniform inflammation restricted to the colon in UC, and multifocal inflammation extended throughout the entire gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus in CD. Clinical symptoms of IBD may include bloody stools, abdominal pain, fatigue, diarrhoea, fever and weight loss. Extra-intestinal symptoms occurring in up to 40% of patients, e.g. anaemia, skin lesions (e.g. erythema nodosum, pyoderma), arthritis and uveitis, and other complications directly related to the disease organ, such as fistula in CD are considered to reflect an overwhelming systemic inflammatory state. Disease onset typically manifests at age 15-35 years, men and women are almost equally affected. In addition, paediatric forms of IBD that often represent complex, se\/ere monogenic forms of the disease, are seen. The incidence rates of IBD in Europe are about 6.3 (CD) and 11.8 (UC) per 100.000 persons. With growing incidence rates and overall reduced mortality the lifetime prevalence of IBD is expected to rise. The estimated lifetime prevalence of 0.3%-0.5% of the European population corresponds to estimates of 1.5-2 million patients with IBD. Appropriate selection of therapies and their timing of introduction (decision support) in the course of IBD will be essential to reach a higher degree of disease control (across patients and within individual patients) than it is achie\led today. In many instances, comparati\ie data is missing and combinations or sequential therapies are not developed. In summary, despite some treatment successes, major challenges remain. The investigators have decided to include patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in which targeted therapies are administered as part of standard helathcare and which aims at identifiyng solid biomarker signatures as well as molecular pathways and mechanisms linked to response and non-response to therapy. Choice od medications (which are all approved for first line use) is by treating physicians. All follow-up procedures are according to standards of care.
TUDCA as a Therapy for Ulcerative Colitis (UC)
Ulcerative ColitisThis is a Phase I open label study examining the efficacy and safety of TUDCA (tauroursodeoxycholic acid) in ulcerative colitis treatment.
Shingrix Vaccine in Patients With Moderate to Severe Ulcerative Colitis on Tofacitinib
Inflammatory Bowel DiseasesPatients with ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), have been shown to be at increased risk of developing certain infections, such as shingles from the Herpes Zoster (HZ) virus, as a result of their underlying disease. Patients with UC are also often treated with immunosuppressants, and research has shown that IBD patients on immunosuppressants have an impaired immune response to vaccination in comparison to immunocompetent controls. Because UC patients are often treated with immunosuppressants, the live HZ vaccine was not recommended in these patients. Shingrix, however, is a new inactivated vaccine recently approved by the FDA for prevention of HZ in adults age 50 and older, and Shingrix should be safe to administer in IBD patients because it does not contain live HZ virus. Data on efficacy of the Shingrix vaccine also appears promising in immunocompromised patients. Tofacitinib citrate (Xeljanz), an immunosuppressant that works by inhibiting the Janus kinase pathway, is currently approved for treatment of certain inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. The drug is currently awaiting FDA-approval for use in moderate-to-severe UC but has been used off-label in various settings. Notably, tofacitinib was associated with an increased risk of HZ in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. The research hypothesis is that UC patients on tofacitinib will mount an adequate response and that the response will be slightly diminished compared to non-immunosuppressed IBD patients, comparable to those on anti-tumor necrosis alpha (anti-TNF) monotherapy, and superior to those on anti-TNF therapy in combination with a thiopurine. Strong cell mediated immunity is shown to prevent reactivation of HZ, and demonstrating a robust immune response to Shingrix may serve as a surrogate for a reduced risk of developing shingles and might alleviate prescribers' concerns regarding the use of tofacitinib. The results will also serve as pilot data to inform larger future studies evaluating the actual risk of developing shingles in patients on tofacitinib who receive Shingrix.
Exploration of the Activity of DNA Located Outside of Cellular Nucleus to Amplify Inflammation in...
Inflammatory Bowel DiseasesCrohn Disease1 moreFrequency of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases in children (IBD)-Crohn's disease (CD), Ulcerative colitis (UC) is constantly increasing. Pediatric-onset IBD represent a different nosological entity (from adult IBD) because of their major inflammatory activity, their significant anatomical extent and their stenotic and/or fistulizing character sometimes from diagnosis. Intestinal lesions are due to dysregulation of the intestinal immune system but the cause is unknown. The investigators hypothesize that extranuclear DNA participates in the amplification of the inflammatory response at the intestinal and blood levels during pediatric IBD through the cGAS-STING pathway. The investigators will analyse blood and fecal samples, and colonic biopsies issued from ill children and control participants on age of 6 to 17 years. The investigators think that this study will provide a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in pediatric IBD, assess the place of the cGAS-STING pathway, identify potential biomarkers of pediatric IBD and new potential therapeutic targets based in particular on the inhibition of the cGAS-STING pathway.
Administration of Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) to African Americans and Hispanics for the Treatment...
Ulcerative Colitis (Disorder)The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) when combined with Mesalamine in reducing clinical and histologic disease activity in patients who have active mild to severe Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and also to assess the immunological effects of hydroxychloroquine in this population. These outcomes will be evaluated both clinically and experimentally. In vitro, flow cytometry will be employed to measure the expression of CTLA-4 on activated CD4+CD25+CD127- Tregs from patients prior to treatment with HCQ, and then at the end of a 4 month follow up period. Suppression assays will be used to determine the functional capacity of the patient derived Tregs. Clinically, patients will be monitored for remission as defined by reduction in patient reported stool frequency and rectal bleeding (mayo sub-score 0 or 1) and endoscopically, by improvement in mucosal appearance (mayo sub-score 0 or 1), all objective measures in the mayo score.
The Effect of Mycobiome Supplementation on Gastrointestinal Symptoms in IBD Patients
Ulcerative ColitisCrohn Disease1 moreStudies demonstrated that fungi have a complex, multifaceted role in the gastrointestinal tract and are active participants in directly influencing health and disease through fungal-bacterial, fungal-fungal and fungal-host interactions. Fungi have been linked with a number of gastrointestinal diseases including IBD, However, the exact role of fungal colonization in the pathophysiology of "IBD" (inflammatory bowel diseases) is not precisely defined. Aim to evaluate the impact of "Mycodigest" supplementation to IBD patients on: Clinical response and remission rates , Quality of life, Inflammatory markers, Fecal microbiome
Comparison Between Bowel Ultrasound-based Treat to Target Versus Routine Treat to Target Strategies...
Ulcerative Colitis Chronic ModerateUlcerative Colitis Chronic SevereUC (UC) is a chronic, relapsing and destructive inflammatory disorder of the colon which can lead to organ damage and impair quality of life. Consensus guidelines recommend to go beyond resolution of clinical symptoms and achieve endoscopic remission. This long-term treatment goal in UC is commonly defined by a Mayo endoscopic subscore < 13, and is associated with prolonged clinical remission, lower rates of hospitalization and lower rates of colectomy. However, colonoscopy is an invasive and expensive procedure, unpleasant to patients, not without risks, especially during severe flares. Moreover, CS is time-consuming and expensive for the Healthcare System. Clinical symptoms correlate well with endoscopic findings, and their improvement together to normalization of FC, are currently considered the short-term and intermediate-term targets to achieve. However, while asymptomatic patients with FC < 50 mcg/g have < 5% probability to have endoscopic lesions, and conversely patients with evident rectal bleeding and persistent increased stool frequency (> 3 stools above baseline) with FC > 250 mcg/g have less than 5% chance to have endoscopic remission, in patients in the intermediate scenarios with stool frequency score (SFS) 2 or 3 or rectal bleeding score (RBS) > 0, with FC values between 50 and 250 mcg/g, the uncertainty increases and CS should not be avoided. Bowel US is a well-tolerated, non-invasive, patient friendly, cheap, easy-to-use tool to manage UC patients in clinical practice8. In addition, its ability to be performed as point-of-care bowel US may drastically change frequency of the assessment of treatment response, speeding the clinical decision-making process9. Recently, the investigators developed and externally validated non-invasive ultrasonography based criteria [Milan ultrasound criteria (MUC)] to assess and grade endoscopic activity in UC10,11. The investigators also confirmed that a MUC score > 6.2 is a valid cut-off to discriminate endoscopic activity, defined by a Mayo endoscopic subscore > 1 Bowel US is a well-tolerated, non-invasive, patient friendly, cheap, easy-to-use tool to manage UC patients in clinical practice. In addition, its ability to be performed as point-of-care bowel US may drastically change frequency of the assessment of treatment response, speeding the clinical decision-making process. Recently, the investigators developed and externally validated non-invasive ultrasonography based criteria [Milan ultrasound criteria (MUC)] to assess and grade endoscopic activity in UC14,15. The investigators also confirmed that a MUC score > 6.2 is a valid cut-off to discriminate endoscopic activity, defined by a Mayo endoscopic subscore > 1.
Efficacy of Probiotics in Patients With IBD
Ulcerative ColitisIrritable Bowel SyndromeThis research group plans to take patients with mild to moderate UC and diarrhea IBS diagnosed in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College as examples, and divide them into UC group and IBS group; Each group was randomly divided into two groups, namely, conventional treatment+probiotics group and conventional treatment+probiotics placebo group.Starting from the intervention of probiotics on intestinal flora to alleviate intestinal injury caused by UC and IBS patients, the indicators of intestinal flora, serum inflammatory factors, metabolites in vivo, intestinal barrier-related protein expression, and fecal short-chain fatty acid level were detected to explore the clinical efficacy, intestinal protective effect and mechanism of probiotics in adjuvant treatment of UC and IBS patients.To provide new methods and new ideas for refractory UC and IBS, so as to improve the cure rate of UC and IBS, reduce the recurrence rate, relieve the physical and mental pain and economic burden of patients, and provide new ideas for the development and utilization of functional probiotics. It also seeks biosafety evidence for the future use of probiotics in antibiotic environment.
JAK Inhibition in Ulcerative Colitis
ColitisUlcerativeThe treatment for Ulcerative Colitis (UC) aims to achieve and maintain remission and is usually lifelong and expensive. Current available medications are unable to break the cycle of chronic inflammation, and still a significant proportion of patients will fail to respond (primary non-response) or lose response over time (secondary non-response). There is now growing evidence that there is substantial interpatient variation in the composition of the inflammation associated network of immune cells. A deeper knowledge of the patient's alterations in the mucosal immune response would help identify key drivers of inflammation and select the appropriate therapy. By analyzing the changes in the composition of immune cells induced by Janus Kinase (JAK) inhibition, we aim to obtain a better insight into the mechanistic effects of JAK inhibition and the downstream effects. These mechanistic insights are needed to identifying potential responders and non-responders in the future.