Active clinical trials for "Communicable Diseases"

Background: The medical and economic burden of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) is extremely high, while prevention and treatment options are limited. Therefore, there is a constant need for new methods in order to significantly decrease such morbidity. Extensive evidence shows that vitamin D is associated with respiratory health, including in the prevention and treatment of URTIs. Competitive swimmers have a high prevalence of URTIs, and can serve as a model for research in this field. The study hypothesis is that vitamin D supplementation to young swimmers with low vitamin D levels will reduce the frequency, length, and severity of URTIs and their accompanying functional impairment, while improving cellular immune function and physical function. Methods: After screening 100 competitive adolescent swimmers to obtain ~60 with low serum levels of vitamin D, this study group will be randomized to receive either vitamin D supplementation (2000 IU/d) or placebo, given in a double blinded fashion for three months. Participants will fill a daily questionnaire regarding frequency, length and severity of URTIs symptoms and functional impairment. Blood will be drawn to evaluate changes in vitamin D status (25(OH)D) and immune function among study participants at the beginning of the study and after supplementation. Physical function on land and in water will also be assessed. Expected results: Increase in serum 25(OH)D levels following supplementation will significantly decrease the frequency, length and severity of URTI's and their functional impairment, while enhancing the cellular immune system function and physical capacity.

Invasive fungal infections (IFI) remain the major cause of death among neutropenic patients receiving chemotherapy for leukemia, or submitted to stem cell transplantation. Patients with a history of invasive fungal infection (IFI) are at high risk of developing relapse and fatal complications. Prompt intensive antifungal therapy, have improved responses and survival, allowing an increase of antifungal treatments, including secondary antifungal prophylaxis. Few studies have addressed the role of previous IFI in the feasibility of stem cell transplant, or the secondary prophylaxis with antifungal drugs in preventing recurrence of infection after transplantation. However, given the lack of prospective studies, the role of secondary antifungal prophylaxis remains unclear. Itraconazole is a wide-spectrum triazole antifungal agent active against Candida albicans, non-albicans, Aspergillus spp., Blastomyces dermatitidis, Blastomyces coccidioides, Cryptococcus neoformans, Sporothrix schenkii, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Histoplasma spp. and various kinds of yeast fungi and mycetes. The role of itraconazole IFI prophylaxis treatment has been proved by many interventional studies. In this prospective, multicentric study of secondary prophylaxis, itraconazole will be given at standard dose to patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation or chemotherapy with prior invasive fungal infection, to assess the efficacy and safety of itraconazole secondary prophylaxis.

The objectives of this study are: (1) to evaluate the safety and tolerability of VP 20621 dosed orally for up to 14 days in adults previously treated for CDI; (2) to characterize the frequency and duration of stool colonization with the VP 20621 strain of C. difficile; (3) to evaluate the efficacy of VP 20621 for prevention of recurrence of CDI; and (4)to select a dose regimen of VP 20621 to be used in future studies.

The study compared the magnitude of the antibody response and safety of a GBS Trivalent Vaccine in HIV positive and HIV negative pregnant women and their offspring. In addition the study investigated the maternal to fetal transfer of antibodies induced by the investigational vaccine.

In this study the investigators will determine whether corticosteroids given at the time of urinary tract infection help prevent permanent damage to the kidneys.

The purpose of this study is to compare the incidence of opportunistic infections between HIV-infected patients who continue and discontinue primary or secondary prophylaxis for opportunistic infections in whom receiving combination antiretroviral therapy and achieve undetectable HIV-1 RNA, but CD4 cell counts are less than 200 cells/mm3.

This is a study of patients undergoing gynecologic surgery who require post-operative catheterization to determine if prophylactic antibiotic treatment decreases the risk of post-operative urinary tract infection in these patients.

This is a single center, observational study of posaconazole PK sampling in lung transplant recipients. The patients enrolled will have up to 6 (3ml) pk samples (a total of 18 ml) and one 10ml blood sample for a total collection of 28ml of blood obtained over the entire study. In addition, the investigators will collect medical record information and any excess BAL samples available during the study (tests done as part of the patient's clinical care and the samples would have been discarded once diagnosis was made).

This study is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of two investigational pneumococcal vaccines at three dose levels in healthy adults. Primary Objective: - To evaluate the safety and tolerability of two investigational pneumococcal vaccines. Observational Objective: - To evaluate the immunogenicity of the investigational pneumococcal vaccines.

recurrent symptomatic urinary tracts infections (UTI) in persons with spinal cord injury are a frequent problem, leading to significant morbidity and to a decreased quality of life. until today, there is no effective prophylaxis for UTI for patients with spinal cord injury. homeopathy has been shown to be an effective treatment option in several chronic diseases study hypothesis: the addition of homeopathic assessment and treatment to a standard prevention strategy for recurrent UTI will significantly reduce the number of symptomatic UTI per year in this group of patients compared to standard prevention alone