Active clinical trials for "Inflammation"

The aim of this study is to compare postoperative complications after removal of lower third molars using two different types of anaesthetics and two different treatments against swelling and inflammation (methylprednisolone and placebo). The hypothesis is that a combination of a long-duration anaesthetic combined methylprednisolone will result in significantly less postoperative pain and inflammation. Patients will have both lower third molars removed on two separate occasions. Each patient is randomly assigned to receive one type of local anaesthetic the first time and the other type the second time. Furthermore patients are randomised to receive either methylprednisolone or placebo the first time and the opposite treatment the second time. During the week after surgery patients fill out a questionnaire with questions about level of pain and swelling at different times as well as the patients' perception of other postoperative complications. The patient is examined by a dentist on the 2nd and 7th day after surgery, where postoperative complications are recorded and thermographic images of the patient's face are taken to assess the degree of inflammation.

Background: Vitamin A is of utmost importance for health and survival of children. A recent series in The Lancet on maternal and child health put vitamin A deficiency at the top of most important micronutrient deficiencies, responsible for more than 600.000 child deaths/year worldwide. Vitamin A status of mothers and infants is closely linked. Hence, a mother with vitamin A deficiency cannot give enough vitamin A to her fetus to build stores during the last months of pregnancy, and will also have insufficient amounts of vitamin A in her breast milk, resulting in a high risk for vitamin A deficiency in her newborn infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) has implemented several strategies to fight vitamin A deficiency in mothers and children. One of these is to give women after delivery a high dose vitamin A supplement, to improve vitamin A status of mother and, via breast milk, her infant. Surprisingly however, several recent studies investigating the effect of a high dose vitamin A supplement for mothers directly after birth found no effect on vitamin A status in infants 6 months of age. In contrast, earlier studies in Bangladesh and Indonesia, in which women received a high dose vitamin A supplement somewhere in the first 6 weeks after delivery, reported a large impact on vitamin A status in the infants at 6 mo of age. The WHO recommendation on post-partum vitamin A supplementation was based on these earlier studies from Bangladesh and Indonesia. The more recent studies suggest however that this intervention is not effective, and that millions of women currently receive a high dose vitamin A supplement without clear benefits for vitamin A status in either the women or their children. The human body reacts to infection or injury with an inflammatory response, which kicks off with the acute phase response. The acute phase response helps the body to fight the infection. It is characterized by many altered physiological processes, including changed availability of vitamins and minerals. Recently, we found that delivery in itself causes a major acute phase response. We have formed the hypothesis that the acute phase response initiated by delivery prevents the high dose vitamin A supplement given to the mother directly after delivery from being absorbed and from being available for breast milk. If this is true, the current WHO recommendation to give the vitamin A within the first 6 weeks post-partum should be changed to giving the vitamin A 4 - 6 weeks post-partum instead, to allow the acute phase response induced by delivery to fade. Objective(s) and Hypothesis(es): The main objective is to improve the effectiveness of the current WHO policy of vitamin A supplementation after delivery to improve vitamin A status and health of mothers and their infants. Methodology: In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial, 400 women will receive a high dose of vitamin A (200.000 IU) within 6 weeks of delivery, as recommended by WHO. Half of the women will receive the vitamin A directly after delivery (within 3 days, current practice), whereas the other women will receive the vitamin A 6 weeks after delivery. To guarantee blinding, women will receive a placebo capsule if they are not receiving a vitamin A capsule. Main outcomes will be maternal and infant vitamin A status 6 months post-partum and the time-course of the acute phase response, to establish the optimal time after delivery for the initiation of the vitamin A supplementation. Secondary outcomes will be the morbidity of the infants during the first 6 months of life and growth performance of the infants at 6 mo of age. Potential Impact: The results of this study will enable WHO to improve the effectiveness of the current WHO recommendations concerning post-partum vitamin A supplementation. If our hypothesis is true, postponing the timing of the post-partum vitamin A supplement from directly after delivery to 6 week post-partum, will significantly increased the availability of the supplement for the mother. This will increase the vitamin A status of both mother and infant. Moreover, there are several significant implications for global health policies, with important consequences for infant survival worldwide by reducing morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases during the first 6 months of life. Results of the study will also have important consequences for other micronutrient health programs, such as vitamin A supplementation for children above 6 months of age and iron supplementation in areas with endemic malaria, as these are also subject to the effects of the acute phase response

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of endotoxins and the endotoxin mediated immune activation pathway in patients with alcoholic hepatitis. Also, to determine the effect of Liver assist (liver dialyses) intervention on these parameters in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis.

Recombinant human Activated Protein C (rhAPC) has been shown to reduce the mortality of patients with severe sepsis. The biological effects of APC are pleiotropic, and can be roughly divided in anticoagulant and cytoprotective effects. Lung infection and inflammation are associated with reduced bronchoalveolar levels of endogenous APC. Recent evidence derived from animal studies indicates that local administration of rAPC into the lungs exerts local anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant effects. In this study we propose to study the potential of locally administered APC, within a lung subsegment, to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced lung inflammation and coagulation in humans.

The perioperative administration of n-3 fatty acids has been shown to lead to favorable effects on outcome in patients with severe surgical interventions by lowering the magnitude of inflammatory response and by modulating the immune response. To the investigators' knowledge, no study with preoperative administration of intravenous (IV) omega 3 fatty acids as a part of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) or monotherapy with it to demonstrate its effects on inflammatory and immune response has been conducted. So, this study has been planned to judge the inflammatory response of preoperative monotherapy with IV omega 3 fatty acids in elderly patients undergoing valvular surgery considering the hyperinflammation associated with this type of surgery in elderly patients.

This study will look at the inflammatory (changes usually associated with infection/injury to the body) and bowel permeability (bowel's ability to allow contents to enter the body) effects of a Western-style diet (high fat and low in calcium) and a prudent-style diet (low fat and high in calcium) on the colon (large bowel). This study may provide information to prevent colorectal cancer in a high-risk population

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and effects of etravirine, an HIV antiretroviral medication, on vascular function.

The study intends to focus on health effects and symptoms related to particle exposure from wood burning stoves The objective is to determine whether moderate exposure to particles from wood smoke in a real life situation causes an systemic inflammatory response in peripheral blood or in lower airways. 24 healthy subjects (normal healthy subjects and mild asthmatics to study the asthmatic response) is selected for the study. A randomized double blind crossover procedure will be followed with a PM exposure concentration of 200ug/m3, 400ug/m3 or clean air as the control exposure. Exposure will take place in a climate chamber using wood burning in an appropriate wood stove.

Glutamine levels decrease during severe sepsis; this may be associated with increased mortality. The investigators tested the effects of glutamine supplementation on systemic inflammation in a human sepsis model. The investigators found that glutamine levels drops significantly during experimentally induced systemic inflammation. However, glutamine did not affect the degree of inflammation.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether improvement in fat and muscle metabolism after the treatment with Omacor (fish oils) provides insight into the link between obesity, fat and muscle function leading to metabolic syndrome, which is a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes.