Active clinical trials for "Colitis"

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an acute and chronic inflammatory bowel disease, whose cause is unknown. However, it is widely accepted that bacteria living in the large bowel are essential for the development of the disease. Intuitively, therefore, a logical approach to treatment would be to use antibiotics. However, antimicrobial chemotherapy has been unsuccessful in managing acute colitis, and has had only limited benefit in long-term treatment. The failure of antibiotics in UC arises from the fact that no-one has tried to identify which bacteria are involved in causing disease, and equally importantly, nobody has targeted appropriate antibiotics to knock out the specific bacteria in question, in a systematic way. Despite this, increasing evidence implicates bacteria living on the lining of the bowel being involved in UC. Our aim, therefore is to identify bacteria colonizing the mucosal surface in the lower large intestine and to determine the antibiotic sensitivities of those the investigators believe to be particularly involved in the disease, such as enterococcit, peptostreptococci and enterobacteria. Because the investigators have already studied resistance to antimicrobial in many mucosal isolate, the investigators plan ot focus on using a combination of two antibiotics in this work. A controlled trial will test the benefit of using these antibiotics over a period of one month and then the patients will be followed up over a six month period. The investigators will be looking for significant long-term improvements, and a reduction in drug use following antibiotic therapy.

The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of adalimumab for the induction of clinical remission in subjects with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis.

Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is a life-long incurable disease with remissions and exacerbations. Inflammation confined to the rectum occurs in a quarter of patients and can be extremely hard to treat. Many medications have been tried in order to control the inflammation, but they do not always work. One of the newer medications is the immunosuppressing medication, tacrolimus that has been shown to be effective in UC when taken orally. Unfortunately, the oral use of this medication can have numerous serious side effects. In order to overcome these side effects, the use of topical rectal tacrolimus has been examined. Pilot studies in ulcerative proctitis (inflammation confined to the rectum) resistant to conventional therapies have demonstrated a clinical remission in 75% of patients and although the medication was well absorbed through the lining of the bowel, the levels in the blood were very low and no serious side effects were reported. The findings suggest that this preparation is indeed effective for inflammation in the distal bowel and that the method of administration reduces side effects. Further work, however, now needs to be undertaken to validate the original findings.

The purpose of this research study is to: 1) Test the safety and tolerability of 2 different oral doses of SRT2104 in subjects with ulcerative colitis 2) Determine the amount of SRT2104 measured from a single blood sample in addition to colon and/or rectal tissue samples (biopsies) 3) Determine whether SRT2104 has any anti-inflammatory effect on the colon and/or rectum when taken orally for 8 weeks 4) Determine whether SRT2104 causes any detectable changes to specific biomarkers. A biomarker is a biological marker (or substance such as a protein) that is used as an indicator of changes in a biological state that corresponds to the risk or progression of a disease.

The purpose of this study is to find the optimal dose of retarded release Phosphatidylcholine in the most severe form of ulcerative colitis. The hypothesis is that ulcerative colitis (UC) is caused by a barrier dysfunction of the colonic mucus layer. The background of the study is the finding, that the phosphatidylcholine (PC) content of the colonic mucus is strongly reduced in UC compared to healthy controls and patients with Crohn´s disease. The content was meuasured in non-inflamed areas of the colon in UC. Thus, we evaluate whether a substitution of colonic PC is an effective method.

The purpose of this study is to test the long-term safety and tolerability of SPD476 in the maintenance of ulcerative colitis remission.

Approximately 520 patients will be entered into this study taking place throughout the US and Canada. This study aims to determine if an investigational drug is safe and effective for treating symptoms of C. difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) and lowering the risk of repeat episodes of CDAD. The investigational drug will be evaluated in comparison to current standard antibiotic treatment, so all patients will receive active medication. All study related care is provided including doctor visits, physical exams, laboratory tests and study medication. Total length of participation is approximately 6 weeks.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the Adacolumn Apheresis System to treat the signs and symptoms of ulcerative colitis.

The purpose of the HARMONY study is to assess the safety and efficacy of an investigational drug called HuZAF, in patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease (CD). HuZAF is a humanized anti-Interferon-gamma (anti-IFN-γ) monoclonal antibody, which binds and blocks IFN-γ, a protein in the immune system that is involved in inflammation. Antibodies are proteins normally produced by our immune system to help fight off foreign substances. Scientists have been able to make therapeutic humanized monoclonal antibodies, similar to the antibodies in our bodies, to target diseases.

The purpose of The PROSPECT Study is to evaluate an investigational medication for the treatment of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. This study is being conducted at up to 38 clinical research centers in the US, Canada, and Belgium, and is open to male and female patients 12 years and older. Participants in the study will have a number of visits to a research center over a five-month period. All study related care and medication is provided to qualified participants at no cost: this includes all visits, examinations, and laboratory work.