Active clinical trials for "Inflammation"

Dysfunction of adipose tissue in obesity, inflammation and aging: mechanisms and effects of physical exercise and omega-3 fatty acids.

This protocol describes a randomised controlled trial to test the hypothesis that 6 months of treatment with tiotropium and olodaterol will result in a reduction in bacterial load, an improvement in neutrophilic inflammation and clinical benefits compared with treatment with inhaled fluticasone furoate and vilanterol in patients with neutrophilic Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide and a major cause of morbidity in the UK. Exacerbations drive disease progression and worsening quality of life and therefore prevention of exacerbations has been a major goal of treatment. In recent years, attempts have been made to phenotype COPD patients in order to target therapies to the correct groups of patients that will benefit. Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are primarily effective for patients with eosinophilic inflammation, while there are few established therapies for patients with neutrophilic disease. In recent years, all ICS preparations have been associated with a significant increased risk of pneumonia and this risk appears to be greatest in patients with non-eosinophilic inflammation. Combined treatment with long acting beta-agonists (LABA) and long acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA) combinations appears to be a safer and more effective alternative for patients with non-eosinophilic disease. The combination of tiotropium and olodaterol in particular, has strong preclinical data supporting beneficial effects on neutrophilic inflammation. The trial is a multi-centre randomised open label controlled parallel group study with two treatment arms in 80 participants. Moderate to very severe COPD patients and currently treated with inhaled corticosteroid therapy will be randomised to treatment with either the combination of tiotropium and olodaterol (LABA/LAMA) or fluticasone furoate and vilanterol (ICS/LABA). Participants will return at 1 month, 2 months, 3 months and 6 months for sampling of the lower airway by sputum samples and the upper airway using oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swabs. Sputum will be used to test for airway neutrophilic inflammation. This study will make an important contribution to understanding "phenotyping" in COPD by identifying whether the combination of tiotropium and olodaterol improves airway bacterial load and restores neutrophil function in patients with neutrophilic COPD.

Atopic dermatitis (eczema) is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes significant morbidity and is now known to be associated with cardiovascular disease. Research such as this will add to the understanding of the skin as a contributor to systemic inflammation, and it is important to clarify whether skin-only treatment can alleviate systemic inflammation, and potentially influence cardiovascular risk factors.

This phase II clinical study will include fifteen healthy light skinned adult volunteers. At screening subjects will be given a sunburn test. This procedure involves exposing eight 1 square cm areas of skin over increasing doses of simulated solar radiation (SSR). SSR is delivered by a 1,000-Watt xenon arc lamp, which emits ultraviolet wavelengths from 290-400 nm, closely resembling natural sunlight. The Minimal Erythema Dose (MED) will be determined approximately 24 hours after initial exposure by using a chromometer. The MED is calculated by linear regression. Each test site is a one inch square area on the buttock or lower back. Sites 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 will be irradiated with 2 MED of SSR. Site 1 will not receive any ST266 treatment. Sites 2 and 3 will be treated with ST266 immediately after irradiation. 8-12 hours later or at bedtime, Sites 2,3,4,5 with ST266 at home. ST266 will also be applied 24 hours after SSR. Between 24-36 hours after SSR, subject returns to the Skin Study Center for Minolta chromometer assessment of erythema at all test sites, as well as for high resolution digital photography (Canfield). These assessments will be repeated at 48 hours and 72 hours post SSR. Data will be graphed to quantify rate of erythema resolution. Punch biopsies will be obtained at Site 1 (control) and Site 2 (SSR + immediate ST266 Rx). If a difference in erythema is observed between Site 1 and Site 4, a biopsy will also be obtained from Site 4 (SSR + delayed ST266 Rx). Biopsy samples will be tested using Reverse Transcriptase -Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and/or immunohistochemistry for markers of UV inflammation such as Interleukin (IL)-6, Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) -alpha, etc. Subjects will continue to apply the ST266 twice daily on Sites 3 and 5 until study visit 5. An additional normal control skin biopsy may be performed in a subset of volunteers (4-5) to serve as reference control for the tissue analysis.

DESIGN: exploratory, prospective, natural history, imaging cohort study BACKGROUND: Stroke causes a strong inflammatory response in the brain which is thought to contribute to permanent brain damage in stroke patients. To develop new therapies targeting inflammation we need to better understand how inflammation affects the injured brain tissue and how it relates to neurological deficits that directly affect the patients' quality of life. AIMS: To track the extent and location of inflammation in the brain after stroke over a period of 90 days. The study will explore whether the most inflamed areas in the brain undergo the most damage after stroke and correspond to the cognitive and neurological deficits experienced by stroke patients. METHODS: The study involves an initial screening visit and 2 study imaging visits at days 15 and 90 after the stroke episode. Patients will undergo: Two 90-minute brain imaging sessions using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) (involves injection of safe radiotracers which attach to brain immune cell markers TSPOs and light up the inflamed areas in the brain), Two 45-90 minute Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning sessions (include administration of safe chemical contrast agent Gadolinium), Physical and neurological examinations (vital signs, assessments of mobility and cognitive functioning), Blood testing (routine measurements, blood inflammation markers, and genetic testing for TSPO marker). Venous cannula will be inserted into the forearm for the duration of the scans. POPULATION: 15- 25 patients (recruitment will cease once 15 patients have completed the study) ELIGIBILITY: Male and female stroke patients, aged 18-85, with a recent (within last 10 days) ischemic stroke of moderate severity, able and willing to provide informed consent LOCATION: Patients will be recruited at the Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and study scans will be performed by Invicro Centre for Imaging Sciences, Hammersmith Hospital DURATION: 18 months FUNDED BY: Biogen Idec Ltd

Skeletal muscle stem cells (Satellite cells) are indispensable for muscle growth and remodeling following myofibril damage. Skeletal muscle trauma is present in numerous catabolic conditions, characterized by elevated proteolysis and muscle wasting such as, cancer cachexia and muscular dystrophy, which result in physical capacity impairment and a deteriorated quality of life. Recent studies performed in animals and cell cultures indicate that the increased levels of inflammation and oxidative stress and the reduction of antioxidant defense may blunt the satellite cells response and myogenic programming during muscle healing. However, evidence regarding the effects of redox status on satellite cells and muscle myogenic potential in humans is lacking. Exercise-induced muscle damage bears striking similarities with the aforementioned conditions, which makes it a valuable tool to investigate the redox-dependent regulation of satellite cells during muscle healing. Thus, the objectives of the present study are to examine the effects of redox status perturbation (via N-acetylcysteine administration) on intracellular pathways responsible for satellite cells responses at rest and following aseptic muscle trauma induced by damaging exercise.

This is a pilot study to measure levels of albumin and inflammatory cytokines [including Transforming Growth Factor-Beta (TGF-β) and Interleukin-1 Beta (IL-1β)] in the aqueous humor of post-operative proliferative vitreoretinopathy patients receiving subcutaneous injections of H.P. Acthar®, an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) analog. The study will be conducted at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital. A total of 15 patients will be enrolled and randomized 2:1 to H.P. Acthar® or standard of care. Treatment duration will be 8 weeks and study duration will be 12 weeks. There will be a total of 7 study visits (baseline, day of surgery, post-operative day 1, week 1, week 4, week 8, and week 12). Subjects will self-administer subcutaneous injections of 80 units of H.P. Acthar® starting on post-operative day 1 for twice a week until week 8. Subjects in the control arm will be managed per the standard of care. Aqueous samples will be obtained at the onset of surgery, 1 day, 1 week and 8 weeks after surgery. Aqueous levels of albumin and inflammatory cytokines (including TGF-β and IL-1β) will be measured at each time point.

Obesity is an independent risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC) although the underlying mechanisms have not been elucidated. Dietary nutrients play a key role in both the prevention and promotion of CRC. While iron is an essential nutrient, excess iron is associated with carcinogenesis. Unlike the systemic compartment, the intestinal lumen lacks an efficient system to regulate iron. In conditions when dietary iron malabsorption and intestinal inflammation co-exist, greater luminal iron is associated with increased intestinal inflammation and a shift in the gut microbiota to more pro-inflammatory strains. However, treatments designed to reduce luminal, including diet restriction and chelation, are associated with lower intestinal inflammation and the colonization of protective gut microbes. Obesity is associated with inflammation-induced, hepcidin-mediated, iron metabolism dysfunction characterized by iron deficiency and dietary iron malabsorption. Obesity is also linked to intestinal inflammation. Currently, there is a fundamental gap in understanding how altered iron metabolism impacts CRC risk in obesity. The investigator's objective is to conduct a crossover controlled feeding trial of: 1) a "Typical American" diet with "high" heme/non-heme iron", 2) a "Typical American" diet with "low" iron, and 3) a Mediterranean diet with "high" non heme iron and examine effects on colonic and systemic inflammation and the gut microbiome.

This study will investigate the effect of a 7-day westernised high-fat (65% of kilocalories), high-calorie (150% of requirements) diet on markers of inflammation in the blood and white adipose tissue. Participants will firstly complete a 3-day weight maintenance phase (Days 1-3) before completing a 7-day high fat diet intervention (Days 4-10). On days 4 and 11 participants will complete a laboratory visit where anthropometric measurements, blood and adipose samples will be collected. The investigators hypothesise that consuming a high-fat, high-calorie diet for 7 days will alter the inflammatory responses in white adipose tissue and will induce metabolic endotoxaemia / systemic inflammation.

The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of food consumption timing on the body's response to a zinc supplement