Active clinical trials for "Inflammation"

The primary objective of this pilot study is to establish a model of neutrophil airway inflammation for future testing of anti-inflammatory substances in an early stage of clinical development. Moreover, the suitability of an electronic nose for early detection and diagnosis of airway inflammation will be determined.

The study compares the biochemical markers in bronchoalveolar lavage samples from asthmatic children to those markers found in non-asthmatic children with other respiratory diseases. The investigators hypothesize that certain markers will be associated specifically with asthma.

The aortic valve is the main outlet valve from the heart. This valve can become diseased and narrowed when it needs to be replaced with an artificial valve. Currently, this is the commonest reason for someone to undergo a heart valve operation in the UK. Unfortunately, there are no medical treatments that can prevent or delay the progression of this disease process. Here, the investigators propose to use new state-of-the-art imaging techniques to better understand the disease process so that the investigators can effectively design and assess potential new treatments. The ultimate aim is to stop this disease before patients need to have surgery. In addition the investigators believe this technique will allow us to predict the rate of progression of the disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) affects millions of people in the United States; each year, more people die from CVD than from any other disease. There are many dietary and lifestyle factors that may increase the risk of developing CVD. Preliminary research has shown that the presence of certain trace elements may be associated with the development of CVD. This study will examine toenail clippings and laboratory data to evaluate the link between trace elements and CVD risk factors in young adults.

This study will look at gene expression (whether particular sets of genes are activated ["turned on"] or deactivated ["turned off"]) in overweight people as compared to non-overweight individuals. It will also investigate the potential role of inflammatory and protective substances that are produced naturally by the body within fat tissue. Findings from the study may lead to the development of ways to predict who will respond best to diet therapy. Healthy individuals between 25 and 45 years of age may be eligible for this study. Overweight subjects must have a BMI of 25 to 40, and non-overweight control subjects a BMI of 19 to 24.9. Candidates are screened with a medical history, physical examination, blood tests and electrocardiogram (EKG). They are instructed to record their dietary intake for a 3-day period and to collect their urine for a 24-hour interval. Participants have their food records reviewed a week after the screening visit. They are then scheduled for an overnight admission to the Clinical Center. Non-overweight subjects have one or two inpatient stays; overweight subjects have six inpatient stays plus frequent nutrition counseling sessions. During the 2-day hospital admissions, the following studies are performed: DEXA scan to determine the percentage of body fat tissue. The subject lies on a table for about 15 to 60 minutes while the body composition is measured with very low-dose x-rays. Single-slice CT scan to compare the amount of fat tissue under the skin with that in the abdomen. The subject lies on a table for about 5 to 10 minutes while the CT scanner measures body composition with very low-dose x-rays. Subcutaneous fat microdialysis to investigate how weight loss affects the activity of fat tissue. A small tube (catheter) is placed into the fat tissue under the skin of the abdomen after numbing the skin with a local anesthetic. Fluid samples are collected through the tube. The procedure lasts overnight. In five non-overweight controls, a small amount of a substance called leukotriene B4 is put into their fat tissue to help adjust the instruments used in the study. Air-displacement plethysmography to measure body composition. Subjects wear close-fitting clothing and enter a small capsule called a Bod-Pod. They breathe normally in the capsule while their body fat composition is studied. Blood tests. Blood samples are drawn to analyze thyroid hormones, lipids, glucose, electrolytes, clotting factors, kidney function, red cells and DNA. Euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp to measure the effects of insulin in the body and to derive an index of insulin-sensitivity. Catheters are placed in a vein in an arm and in a vein in the hand on the other side of the body. Insulin and glucose are infused through the catheter in the arm, and blood samples are drawn from the catheter in the hand every 5 minutes to measure glucose levels. The test lasts about 2 hours. Subcutaneous fat biopsy to find out how weight loss affects fat tissue characteristics, gene regulation and the ability to store glucose. A small sample of fat tissue is obtained from the skin of the abdomen after numbing the area with an anesthetic. Nutrition counseling for overweight subjects. A nutritionist reviews the food record and designs a personalized diet for each participant. Weight loss intervention for overweight subjects. In addition to individual nutritional counseling, group sessions are provided every 2 weeks during the first 3 months of the study and then every month.

Asthma is a chronic airway inflammation which involves the interplay of different types of inflammatory cells and cytokines in the airway. The presence of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress in asthma suggests that it has a propensity to develop cardiovascular morbidity. Recent small scale studies have demonstrated that asthma severity may be associated with both airway and systemic inflammation. The investigators' study aims at linking asthma severity to airway and systemic inflammation, and subsequently to cardiovascular morbidity if a significant association of the aforementioned is present. The role of airway inflammation in contribution to systemic inflammation , and potential interaction between these two conditions will also be studied.

People with chronic low-grade inflammation have a higher risk for certain diseases such as cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes. While it is known that obese people are more likely to show signs of low-grade inflammation than lean individuals, it is unclear what causes this inflammation. In the proposed study, the investigators will examine whether the sugar fructose, when consumed in a sweetened beverage, triggers low-grade inflammation in healthy men and women compared with other caloric sweeteners.

The purpose of this study is to help improve our understanding of the biology involved in the body's response to serious trauma or burn injury. The host response to trauma and burns is a collection of physiological and pathophysiological processes that depend critically upon the regulation of the human innate immune system, with particular emphasis on the inflammatory component of that system. No single research center or small group of centers has the capacity to delineate the integrated response of this complex biological system, which involves multiple molecular and genetic interactions that vary in time. Our proposal promotes the identification of important dynamic relationships that regulate the integration of this complex biological system, with the expectation that this understanding will ultimately impact the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of the hospitalized, severely injured patient.

Some patients with mild asthma may develop severe asthma. It is not known what makes patients with mild asthma become severe, and we plan to find out why this happens. Patients with severe asthma may have a different type of inflammation in the airway tubes. Patients with severe asthma do not get as much benefit from taking steroid inhalers or tablets compared to asthma patients with mild disease. The study hypothesis is that the inflammation in severe asthma is such that it makes steroids less effective in treating asthma. We will find out what possible abnormalities there are in the blood cells and the bronchoalveolar macrophage cells in the lungs of patients with severe asthma compared to those with mild or moderate asthma.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate long-term safety of etanercept in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who successfully have completed open-label safety study 0881A1-301-EU