Active clinical trials for "Intestinal Diseases"

Background Determining disease activity in IBD is sometimes difficult and, to be accurate, requires endoscopy. The serum marker CRP has not proven sufficiently valuable as a marker for IBD specific inflammation. As an alternative, so far fecal calprotectin appears to be more reliable and has shown a certain value as predictive marker. Our preliminary data now show, that the serum concentrations of ficolin-2 are significantly higher in CD patients with a HBI >3. Ficolin-2 is a lectin and acute phase protein produced in the liver and, like MBL, can activate the lectin pathway of complement. Unlike MBL, deficiency for ficolin-2 was not detected in our patient cohort, nor could we find functional deficiencies for ficolin-2 (paper submitted). Study Aims The study is aimed to substantiate the data from our pilot study which shows that ficolin-2 is significantly increased in CD patients during inflammation. Therefore, the study will measure ficolin-2 concentrations in a sufficiently large patient group to obtain enough statistical power and to compare these results with the endoscopic disease score (SES-CD) and CRP and calprotectin values. Statistical analysis of the data will show us if ficolin-2 is a reliable and easy to obtain new marker for active inflammation in CD. Study Design Based on a power analysis 112 CD patients and 112 UC patients need to be analyzed. They will be recruited from Bern, Basel and Lausanne. Only patients with routine endoscopy will be included in the study and will be scored by SES-CD. Blood samples will be collected at the day of endoscopy. Stool sample will be collected within the same week of endoscopy. Calprotectin and CRP concentrations will be determined by routine diagnostics, ficolin-2 concentrations will be determined by ELISA in our laboratory. Finally, all data will be statistically analyzed.

Citrulline is an amino acid produced in the intestine and in the liver, but the liver does not contribute significantly to circulating citrulline concentrations. The intestine is thus the only organ that normally releases significant amounts of citrulline into the blood stream. The investigators have designed a study looking at the value of measuring plasma citrulline concentration in patients with tropical enteropathy of mixed HIV status. The focus will be on the ability of the intestine to sustain the individual concerned from a nutritional standpoint. The investigators hypothesise that plasma citrulline concentration is a marker of small bowel absorptive integrity and an appropriate surrogate for HIV related enteropathy.

This phase is to register all subjects in Monroe County, New York with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) not already included to update the database for years 1990-2003. This will give us a truly population based study which will add to our knowledge of IBD epidemiology, allowing us to compare our rates with the rest of the world. We will be able to provide accurate incidence data from 1980 to 2000, and point prevalence from 12/31/2000. It will have special significance because of the relatively stable Monroe County population prior to 2000 (population in 1970=711,917; population in 2000 = 735,343).

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be at increased risk of lymphoma. The majority of lymphomas in patients with IBD occur in areas of active inflammation. The relationship between IBD and lymphoproliferative disease is however unclear, since both chronic inflammation as well as medications used to treat IBD (especially immunosuppressives - Azathioprine or 6-MP - and anti-TNF alpha agents) have been associated with increased risk of lymphoma. We plan to study the association between IBD and lymphoma in a large, mixed, community based and referral population from the IBD database at Indiana University.

This study aims to determine the performance of the Exact IBD-ACRN surveillance test to detect colorectal cancer (CRC) and colorectal neoplasia in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Patients with an IBD diagnosis for at least eight years or diagnosis of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and who are eligible for CRC screening are eligible to participate in this study. Enrolled subjects will collect a stool sample for the Exact IBD-ACRN surveillance test. Subjects must have undergone colonoscopy no more than 90 days prior to enrollment and will undergo colonoscopy or surgical intervention within 120 days of enrollment. Tissue diagnosis of CRC will be established by histopathologic examination.

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are inflammatory disorders of the gut which cause major life-long disability. They affect males and females, with the commonest age of onset in childhood, teens and early adult life. Previously restricted almost exclusively to the West, these conditions are becoming much more common in Asian countries, including Hong Kong - the cause of this dramatic change is unknown. The cause of IBD is widely accepted as relating to the mucosal immune response to stimulation from the gut bacteria, on a background of genetic susceptibility. The bacteria and other organisms in the gut play a central role in the development of IBD in the West. However it is unknown if the gut bacteria differ between Chinese patients with IBD and non-IBD (healthy subjects) in Hong Kong, and whether it is affected by diet or changes in diet. A family history is the largest risk factor for the disease. More than 50 different genes associated with IBD have recently been identified in the West and preliminary data showed that Chinese patients have a different genetic profile to Western populations. This project aims to explore the true incidence of IBD in Hong Kong and factors that may be contributing to, or causing, the increase of IBD in Hong Kong. Investigators aim to investigate the number of new cases of IBD within a five year period and factors that may account for the cases. Investigators will also study the choice of medical therapy, quality of life and quality of health care in patients with IBD.

This study is an observational study. The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between bone health and daily physical activity in children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Reduced bone mineral density is a common complication in pediatric IBD. Physical activity is an important determinant of health throughout the whole lifespan. Engaging in regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity has important health benefits. Based on available evidence, the investigators hypothesize that daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity could improve bone health (ie bone mineral density) in children and adolescents with IBD.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate fecal metabolites profiles of Inflammatory Bowel Disease(IBD) patients versus healthy controls (HC).

This study will collect tissue specimens to be used for research on inflammatory bowel disease. The tissues will be used to explore why people get inflammatory bowel disease and to try to develop new treatments based on the study results. Tissue from patients with IBD will be compared with that from patients who do not have the disease Patients who undergo bowel surgery for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or another bowel disorder may be eligible for this study. Patients with IBD must be at least 4 years of age; those with another disorder must be 18 years of age or older. Participants undergo bowel surgery for their disease. Some of the intestinal tissue removed during the surgery that is not needed for medical care, such as for pathological examination, is provided to researchers for study under this protocol. In addition, patients with IBD provide a blood sample for genetic testing. Several genetic variations, or mutations, may increase the risk of developing IBD; blood samples from patients may help identify these variations.

OBJECTIVES: I. Identify the genetic defect and fine map the gene that causes sitosterolemia.