Active clinical trials for "Intestinal Diseases"

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, debilitating, relapsing inflammatory disorder affecting the gastrointestinal tract which does not have a medical cure. IBD consists of 2 different forms: Crohn's Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC). In the last 2 decades, Gut Microbial Transplantation (GMT), also known as fecal transplantation, has been used as a treatment option for Clostridium difficile colitis and UC. The literature supports strong evidence for the plausibility of using GMT for patients with IBD associated colitis, especially for patients with UC. This research will be conducted in the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital (HDVCH) Pediatric gastrointestinal outpatient clinic. A pilot study of ten patients will be conducted to evaluate if GMT improves clinical symptoms in patients with IBD. Patients with IBD colitis (UC and CD with colonic involvement only) will be approached for GMT as a treatment option for their disease. Each subject will undergo 5 sessions (1 session/day, and not necessarily on consecutive days) of GMT within a period of 10 days. Post treatment evaluation will be done at their regularly scheduled clinic follow up. Healthy donors >18 years of age will be chosen by the family, inclusive of immediate family members and friends. Donors will be required to complete a screening questionnaire, provide medical history, and undergo blood and stool tests.

Patients undergoing major abdominal surgery are at highest risk for developing postoperative ileus (POI), occurring in nearly all cases. Signs and symptoms of POI may include abdominal distention and bloating, persistent abdominal pain; nausea and/or vomiting; delayed passage or inability to pass flatus or stool; and inability to tolerate a solid diet. This study will test the ability of alvimopan 6 mg or 12 mg given 2 hours before the scheduled start of surgery to hasten the recovery of GI function in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery (bowel resection or abdominal hysterectomy).

This pilot study will examine the benefit of this amino acid based hydration solution in patients with IBD who have undergone a total colectomy and have either ileostomies or jpouches. Findings from this study and possible future studies could have broad implications for patients with malabsorption resulting from many underlying conditions, including IBD.

The purpose of this study is to determine if the program that has been made to ease the transition of care for adolescent patients with IBD from pediatric gastroenterology to adult gastroenterology is effective to reduce the risk of disease flare during this period. Patient satisfaction with this program will also be assessed.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Primary objective: Rate of total enteroscopy (TER) by means of NMSE or SBE with: Complete antegrade approach or combined antegrade and retrograde approach Secondary objective: Technical success of anterograde and retrograde approach Procedural time (minutes) Depth of maximum insertion (cm) Diagnostic yield Therapeutic success Adverse events

The purpose of this study is to develop evidence on the relative efficacy of 2 rifaximin chemoprophylaxis regimens for the prevention of Travelers' Diarrhea (TD) in a deployed setting. An additional purpose is to explore the effect of chemoprophylaxis on microbial flora and antimicrobial resistance, and obtain parameter estimates to inform a cost-effectiveness model of chemoprophylaxis in prevention of TD. Information from this study will be used to develop management guidelines for the prevention of TD among deployed (United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) military personnel. The study will be a multi-site, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, clinical trial among deployed military personnel. The study will test 2 TD chemoprophylaxis regimens (once daily versus twice daily) of the same antibiotic, rifaximin, compared to a placebo. For the proposed chemoprophylaxis study described herein, cohorts of military personnel (US and UK) deploying/traveling overseas will be recruited prior to travel to participate and will undergo enrollment procedures as outlined in study appendices. Subjects who are eligible and agree to participate will be randomized to receive one of 3 regimens: (1) rifaximin 550 mg daily; (2) rifaximin 550 mg twice a day; or (3) placebo, to be taken while deployed. Chemoprophylaxis will be maintained for duration of travel or a predetermined period of up to 6 weeks and at least 2 weeks, which may include a period of up to 5 days of use after return to COO for deployments less than 6 weeks in duration. Clinical and laboratory data will be obtained before, during if available and after deployment/chemoprophylaxis.

This study aims to assess the effect, if any, on the adenoma detection rate of BowelScope bowel cancer screening flexible sigmoidoscopies by using the Endocuff Vision device.

Azathioprine (AZA) and its metabolite 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) were developed over 50 years ago by Gertrude Elion and George Hitchings and were initially used clinically in the management of childhood leukemia and organ transplantation. The first case report of 6-MP use in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was from 1962 , and since then the use of thiopurines has been well established in the management of moderate to severe IBD. Thiopurines offer an inexpensive and effective treatment option for maintenance of remission of IBD in comparison to biological agents which may be 30 times more expensive . Although 50-60% of IBD patients respond to thiopurines, a significant proportion of patients will not tolerate them due to various adverse effects . The adverse effects of thiopurines may be dose related, patient related or idiosyncratic. The immunosuppressive effects of thiopurines also increase the rates of opportunistic infections. Thiopurines are also associated with a higher rate of malignancies, particularly a malignant Burkitt-like lymphoma, related to Epstein-Barr virus infection . Other adverse effects of thiopurine relate to allergic phenomenon. An idiosyncratic adverse effect of thiopurine use is acute pancreatitis (AP). Acute inflammation of the pancreas defined by INSPPIRE criteria: requiring 2 of: Abdominal pain compatible with AP Serum amylase and/or lipase ≥ 3 times upper limits of normal Imaging findings of AP Drug induced AP is the assumed diagnosis when no other cause of AP can be found, the patient is taking a drug known to be associated with AP, and symptoms resolve after drug discontinuation. If pancreatitis re-occurs on re-exposure, the drug is definitely considered the cause. While drugs are considered a rare cause of AP and most cases are mild and self limited , there is an 8 fold higher risk of AP in IBD patients treated with AZA . Thiopurine induced AP is usually detected within 4 weeks of starting treatment. However in the case of thiopurine induced AP, there has been no clear understanding of the mechanism. Thiopurine induced AP is generally considered an indication to cease thiopurine therapy, due to the assumed risk of recurrence of AP on reintroduction. There exists several case reports and anecdotal evidence that reintroducing thiopurines following an assumed thiopurine associated AP can be well tolerated. The investigators hypothesize that AZA and/or 6-MP can be safely reintroduced in the management of IBD patients following thiopurine-induced pancreatitis. If in the past the patients were treated with AZA, they will now be commenced on 6-MP, and if in the past they were treated with 6-MP, they will be commenced on AZA.

In the 21st century, the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) globally increases. Higher incidence of IBD development may implicate that environmental factors played essential roles in IBD pathogenesis. One of the environmental factors is a westernized diet that contains a high amount of animal protein and a low amount of dietary fiber. This kind of diet can lead to gut microbial dysbiosis and increase susceptibility to IBD. A microbial dysbiosis pattern in IBD is a decrease in microbial diversity and the inversed ratio of local protective and pathologic bacteria. High animal protein was associated with an increased risk of IBD and increased risk of disease relapse meanwhile dietary fiber was associated with IBD risk reduction. A semi-vegetarian diet is a diet with high fiber and low red meat and processed food that may reduce inflammatory activity in IBD. The study in the semi-vegetarian diet in IBD activity is still limited. This study aimed to evaluate a semi-vegetarian diet's effect in maintaining IBD remission in disease quiescence patients.

The incidence of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) is in a continuous progression both in adults as in children. The colonoscopy is considered as the gold standard exam for the diagnosis and the follow-up of the patients presenting or suspected to have an IBD. The follow-up and financial management of this kind of pathology is very much dependent on the quality of the endoscopic images. Because colonoscopy is an expensive and invasive technique which assumes a general sedation, many efforts have been done to develop new less expensive and less invasive techniques in order to offer alternatives to the classic colon endoscopy. One of these new techniques is the colon videocapsule (CVC) endoscopy (PillCam® colon 2 - Given Imaging, Yoqneam, Israel). This is a new promising semi-invasive endoscopic technique which has been successfully validated with adults. We hypothesize that the CVC can be used in children with similar results in terms of efficacy, as is the case for adults. This prospective simple blind multicenter study, will investigate the diagnostic value of the CVC compared to the conventional colonoscopy under general sedation for the detection and the control of colon lesions in children presenting IBD. If the feasibility and the efficacy of the colon video capsule technique are also proven for use with children, then this new technique might become a very interesting alternative for the endoscopic examination of the colon because of being less expensive and less invasive. Moreover, this technique would be very useful as a means of lesions detection all along the digestive tract and not limited to the colon only.