Active clinical trials for "Communicable Diseases"

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)

This study is to test whether a chlorine dioxide gas-generating device, which releases a low concentration gas of chlorine dioxide in a sustained manner, can protect against respiratory infections in elderly individuals living in nursing homes. Such a device is used as a deodorant for normal domestic purposes. The investigators reasoned that the antiviral and antibacterial properties of chlorine dioxide might lead to a lowering in the incidence of respiratory infectious diseases. The study is designed as a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind crossover multicentre trial involving approximately 1500 subjects.

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.

To conduct a prospective study of pediatric transfusion recipients to determine the risk of transmitting various infectious agents by blood transfusion.

Despite risk reduction counseling, some individuals in HIV vaccine trials or vaccine preparedness studies may engage in risk behavior that results in HIV infection. The purpose of the HVTN 403 study is to find out more about how persons respond to HIV infection if they have received an experimental HIV-1 vaccine before they became HIV infected. Some people in HVTN 403 received an experimental HIV vaccine as a participant in a clinical trial before getting infected with HIV. Other people in this study were in a vaccine preparedness study when they got infected with HIV. None of these individuals became infected with HIV as result of their participation in an HIV vaccine or vaccine preparedness study. HVTN 403 will compare immune responses between those who previously received an experimental HIV vaccine and those who did not. Information learned from this study may be important in guiding future developments of new HIV vaccines and other treatments for HIV and AIDS.

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 if it is possible to conduct a group counseling program for women at risk for HIV infection. Women have been the fastest-growing group with new AIDS diagnoses. The need for ways to reduce HIV infection in women is urgent. It is important to reduce the risk of HIV infection through sexual contact, but it is also important to address drug use. Group counseling may be an effective method.

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.

The main hypothesis of the study is that Bezlotoxumab is well tolerated and effective in reducing the recurrence of ICD (Clostridium Difficile infection) in patients with a high risk of recurrence in the first episode of ICD. As a consequence, the number of readmissions and hospital stays, will be reduced in patients treated with Bezlotoxumab.