Active clinical trials for "Infections"

This interventional trial shall investigate the efficacy and tolerance of a suspension with non-pathogenic probiotic E. coli strain Nissle (EcN) on prophylaxis against gastrointestinal infections in newborn and infants. ECN-SUSPENSION is a probiotic containing viable E. coli bacteria of the non-pathogenic Nissle 1917 strain at a concentration of 10exp8 cells per ml.

The purpose of this study is to compare the results for HIV and/or Hepatitis C Virus antibody testing when using routine plasma versus SMARTplasma from the same blood sample. SMARTplasma is enriched for antibodies via a stimulation step of whole blood in a SMARTube™ (SMARTstim™ in the USA).

Fungal infections are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in transplant recipients, yet comprehensive epidemiologic studies in this area are lacking. For this reason, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have provided a grant to the University of Pittsburgh to study this subject. The study has four specific aims: 1. To determine the risk of fungal infections in a center where "tolerogenic" immunosuppressive protocols are currently in place, and to determine whether there are any measures of immune system function which correlate with risk of fungal infection. 2: To create a repository of serum, urine and bronchoalveolar lavage specimens for the purpose of determining the effectiveness of novel diagnostic tests for invasive fungal infections. Such a repository could also be utilized for the purpose of determining the effectiveness of novel diagnostic tests for viral infections such as West Nile Virus, cytomegalovirus, HHV-6 and HHV-8. Specific aim 1 will be investigated by creating a prospective database of solid organ transplant recipients at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, including demographic factors as well as subsequent development of infection. The immune function of patients will be assessed by measuring T cell subsets and assessing T cell function using the Cylex assay. Specific aim 2 involves collection of serum, urine and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. These specimens will be stored and later tested at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the assessment of novel tests developed for the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections.

Group A: Long-term follow-up is needed for subjects identified as acute or early in the course of HIV-1 infection, independent of decisions regarding therapy with highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). Group B: This protocol will also be offered to subjects who were diagnosed with acute HIV-1 infection in the past and have been participating in an ADARC/Rockefeller University Hospital treatment protocol for acute HIV-1 infection, and currently have a viral load consistently less than 50 copies/ml on current treatment (Group B)

Osteopenia and osteoporosis are increasingly reported in HIV-infected patients, and appear to be more frequent than in general population. However, pathogenesis remains unclear, and published studies still give non concordant results. We therefore started a prospective study, to assess the potential role of ARV in the occurrence of osteopenia and osteoporosis. BMD evolution over a 2-years period of follow-up, will be compared between patients starting ARV therapy, and subjects without HAART (no indication of treatment). A correlation between BMD and several factors will be looked at (see below). This study with individual direct benefice, is conducted in 3 outpatients clinics (Strasbourg, Colmar, Mulhouse) in collaboration with the rheumatologic teams. 60 patients are planned to be included over a 3-years inclusion period

The purpose of this study is to determine the role of cranberry-containing products in preventing urinary tract infections (UTIs).

To determine the prevalence and natural history of pulmonary and cardiac complications associated with HIV infection in utero, in infancy, and during early childhood.

The purpose of this study is to find out how many children who are infected with HIV are also infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV infection is a major health concern. HIV-infected adults who are co-infected with HCV appear to have more rapid HIV disease progression. There is little data on how widespread HCV is among children who are HIV-infected. Information from this study will help determine the need for future HCV studies. This study also will obtain blood samples for future testing for other hepatitis viruses such as hepatitis G virus (HGV or GB virus C).

The purpose of this study is to find out if it is effective to give aggressive anti-HIV therapy to patients who have been infected recently with HIV. Many doctors recommend that patients who have recently been infected with HIV begin anti-HIV treatment as soon as possible. However, early HIV infection is not yet completely understood, so it is not known if this is the best approach. This study will look at the effects of beginning anti-HIV treatment during early HIV infection.

Children with symptomatic HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection are at increased risk for developing severely disabling neurological and neuropsychological deficits. HIV-1 related CNS (Central Nervous System) disease is a clinical syndrome, manifested by varying and sometimes discordant degrees of cognitive, motor and behavioral impairment. A continuum of clinical presentations attributed to the effects of HIV-1 infection on the CNS, ranging from apparently normal development, decreases in the rate of new learning to the loss of acquired skills have been observed. Two domains of psychological functioning appear most susceptible to the effects of HIV infection on the central nervous system in children: expressive behavior and attentional processes (Brouwers, et al, 1994). Attention deficits have been documented as a relative weakness on the "freedom from distractibility" subclass of IQ tests (Brouwers et al, 1989) and on behavior assessment (Moss et al, 1994). Attention, however, has many subcomponents such as focused attention, divided attention, vigilance, etc. Direct assessment of attentional functioning using reaction time has not yet been conducted and questions whether attentional components are differentially affected by the virus have not been addressed. The proposed study would assess different components of attentional functioning in children with HIV-1 disease. A quantitative and systematic method is developed that could complement the existing standardized instruments used for measuring attention and neurocognitive function in this population. Simple alerted visual reaction time will be measured with varying preparatory intervals, a two-choice reaction time in a go/no-go paradigm will be administered, and a continuous performance, divided reaction time test and an object decision task will be given. Performance on these measures will also be related to measures of brain structure and stage of HIV-1 disease.