Active clinical trials for "Leukocyte Disorders"

Background: - Eosinophils are white blood cells that help fight infections. High eosinophil levels can damage people s organs, causing hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES). Researchers want to study if the drug benralizumab can help people with HES. Objective: - To test if benralizumab can safely decrease eosinophils in people with HES. Eligibility: - Adults age 18-65 who have been on stable HES therapy for at least 1 month but still have symptoms and high eosinophil levels. Design: Participants will be screened with medical history, physical exam, and urine and blood tests. They will take simple heart and lung tests. Participants will also have a bone marrow biopsy. A numbing medicine is injected into the outer covering of the bone. Then a needle is inserted into the bone. A fast suction movement takes bone marrow cells. Phase 1: Participants will randomly receive either the study drug or placebo as an injection. They will have daily visits for the next 3 days, then 4 weekly visits, and then 4 biweekly visits. Each time, they will have medical history, physical exam, blood tests, and a check of side effects. They will receive another dose of the study drug or placebo at 1 month and 2 months after the first injection. Phase 2 repeats the Phase 1 schedule. All participants will receive the study drug. At 1 visit, participants will also receive a vaccine. At 4 visits, they will repeat the heart and lung tests. They will also have one other bone marrow biopsy. After week 24, participants will receive the study drug either 6 times over 6 months or twice over 6 months.

The purpose of this study is to collect and store samples and health information for current and future research to learn more about the causes and treatment of blood diseases. This is not a therapeutic or diagnostic protocol for clinical purposes. Blood, bone marrow, hair follicles, nail clippings, urine, saliva and buccal swabs, left over tissue, as well as health information will be used to study and learn about blood diseases by using genetic and/or genomic research. In general, genetic research studies specific genes of an individual; genomic research studies the complete genetic makeup of an individual. It is not known why many people have blood diseases, because not all genes causing these diseases have been found. It is also not known why some people with the same disease are sicker than others, but this may be related to their genes. By studying the genomes in individuals with blood diseases and their family members, the investigators hope to learn more about how diseases develop and respond to treatment which may provide new and better ways to diagnose and treat blood diseases. Primary Objective: Establish a repository of DNA and cryopreserved blood cells with linked clinical information from individuals with non-malignant blood diseases and biologically-related family members, in conjunction with the existing St. Jude biorepository, to conduct genomic and functional studies to facilitate secondary objectives. Secondary Objectives: Utilize next generation genomic sequencing technologies to Identify novel genetic alternations that associate with disease status in individuals with unexplained non-malignant blood diseases. Use genomic approaches to identify modifier genes in individuals with defined monogenic non-malignant blood diseases. Use genomic approaches to identify genetic variants associated with treatment outcomes and toxicities for individuals with non-malignant blood disease. Use single cell genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics to investigate biomarkers for disease progression, sickle cell disease (SCD) pain events and the long-term cellular and molecular effects of hydroxyurea therapy. Using longitudinal assessment of clinical and genetic, study the long-term outcomes and evolving genetic changes in non-malignant blood diseases. Exploratory Objectives Determine whether analysis of select patient-derived bone marrow hematopoietic progenitor/stem (HSPC) cells or induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can recapitulate genotype-phenotype relationships and provide insight into disease mechanisms. Determine whether analysis of circulating mature blood cells and their progenitors from selected patients with suspected or proven genetic hematological disorders can recapitulate genotype-phenotype relationships and provide insight into disease mechanisms.

This study will collect fluid and tissue specimens from the lungs and nose of healthy people and people with a history of lung infections. The specimens will be examined for differences between the two groups that may be associated with susceptibility to certain infections. Healthy normal volunteers and people with a history of lung infections between 18 and 75 years of age who are followed at NIH may be eligible for this study. Participants undergo the following procedures: Medical history and physical examination. Blood and urine tests. Electrocardiogram (ECG) and chest x-ray. Treadmill exercise stress test (for people over 45 years old with a history of chest pain or ECG abnormalities). Bronchoscopy: The subject s nose and throat are numbed with lidocaine and a sedative is given for comfort. A thin flexible tube called a bronchoscope is advanced through the nose or mouth into the lung airways to examine the airways carefully. Fluid collection during the bronchoscopy using one of the following methods: Bronchoalveolar lavage: Salt water is injected through the bronchoscope into the lung and immediately suctioned out, washing off cells lining the airways. Bronchial brushings: A brush-tipped wire enclosed in a sheath is passed through the bronchoscope and a small area of the airway tissue is gently brushed. The brush is withdrawn with some tissue adhering to it. Endobronchial biopsies: Small pinchers on a wire are passed through the bronchoscope and about 1 to 2 millimeters of tissue is removed. Nasal scrape: A small device is used to scrape along the inside of the nose to collect some cells.

Background: - Hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) is a disorder in which the body has too many eosinophils (a type of white blood cell). Too many eosinophils in HES can cause damage to the heart, nerves, or skin. Certain drugs can help lower eosinophil counts to prevent tissue damage. Corticosteroids, such as prednisone, are used for initial therapy in this disorder. Although most people respond to prednisone, some people develop side effects from it, or do not respond very well to treatment. Better ways of determining the dose to give could help to decide on the best therapy for HES. Objectives: To determine whether a single-dose of prednisone can be used to predict which people with hypereosinophilia respond to treatment. To study lack of response to steroid treatment in people with HES. Eligibility: Inclusion criteria: Individuals with hypereosinophilic syndrome with high eosinophil counts. Individuals who are willing to have blood drawn before and after getting steroids. Exclusion criteria: Individuals who are on more than 10mg of prednisone (or similar drug) Individuals with hypereosinophilic syndrome who are on other medications that could interfere with the study Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding Individuals who have a known gene mutation associated with chronic eosinophilic leukemia Children less than 18 years old who weigh less than 48kg or 106lb Design: Participants will have a screening visit with a physical exam and medical history. Blood and urine samples will be collected. Participants will have a single dose of the steroid prednisone by mouth in the morning. Blood samples will be collected 2, 4, 24 hours after this dose. On the day after the steroid dose, participants will provide another blood sample in the morning. Participants will start to take prednisone daily when they return home. Blood samples will be collected weekly at the participant s doctor s office. The dose of prednisone will be lowered depending on the weekly eosinophil count. We will try to get each person on the lowest dose of prednisone possible that will control the disorder. Participants who do not respond or have severe side effects will be taken off prednisone. Other treatments will be considered for people who do not respond to steroids. The goal is to evaluate the response to prednisone. Our research will try to figure out why some people do not respond to steroids. Most people will complete the study within 6 to 16 weeks, depending on their response to prednisone.

To test the hypothesis that leukocyte filtering during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) might reduce the inflammatory response and protect the lungs against the acute injury

This study will try to determine what causes learning, behavioral and emotional problems in children with chronic granulomatous disease (GCD) and other phagocyte disorders. (Phagocytes are a type of white blood cell.) Children with these disorders have frequent severe infections that require hospitalization, sometimes for long periods of time. Many of them also have problems with school, learning, behavior, anxiety and depression. This study will explore whether these latter problems are a direct result of the illness itself or are a consequence of frequent, long hospitalizations, or are due to other factors. Test findings in these children will be compared with those of children with cystic fibrosis-another disease that causes frequent infections requiring prolonged hospitalization. Patients age 2 or older with GCD or other phagocytic disorders or cystic fibrosis may be eligible for this study. Participants (or a parent or guardian) will complete questionnaires including personal information such as age, gender and marital status, a family medical history, and information on their illness. Patients will be given various psychological and intelligence tests, and they and their parents or guardians will be interviewed by a child psychiatrist. The tests and interviews take a total of about 5 hours and are given in two or three separate sessions. The tests may reveal problems such as learning disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, or depression. If any of these problems are identified, appropriate referrals will be made for specialized services, such as special school placement, tutoring, or counseling.

In recent decades, hematologists have noticed that persons of African descent sometimes have lower white blood cell counts of a certain type, called granulocytes. These cells help to fight infections. The lower number of granulocytes in this situation does not appear to lead to more infections, and these individuals do not have any symptoms. This condition is called benign ethnic neutropenia (BEN), and is observed in a small percentage of individuals of African descent. This study will investigate the condition by studying people with and without BEN. The goals of this study are to: identify individuals of African descent with BEN. determine the effects of two drugs, G-CSF and dexamethasone, on granulocyte production and movement. determine whether there are differences in those with and without BEN in the way genes are stimulated after the administration of G-CSF and dexamethasone. Study participants will be asked to interview with the research team, undergo physical exams, donate a blood sample, and receive G-CSF by injection, followed by dexamethasone (orally) about three weeks later. They also will be required to undergo apheresis three times, a procedure in which blood is drawn from a donor and separated into its components. Some components are retained for research analyses, such as granulocytes, and small amount of blood; the remainder is returned by transfusion to the donor. This procedure will be required of participants before they receive G-CSF, the day after they receive G-CSF, and the day after they receive dexamethasone. Gene messages (mRNA will be isolated from granulocytes, and analyzed to better understand granulocyte growth and movement.

This protocol provides expanded access to bone marrow transplants for children who lack a histocompatible (tissue matched) stem cell or bone marrow donor when an alternative donor (unrelated donor or half-matched related donor) is available to donate. In this procedure, some of the blood forming cells (the stem cells) are collected from the blood of a partially human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matched (haploidentical) donor and are transplanted into the patient (the recipient) after administration of a "conditioning regimen". A conditioning regimen consists of chemotherapy and sometimes radiation to the entire body (total body irradiation, or TBI), which is meant to destroy the cancer cells and suppress the recipient's immune system to allow the transplanted cells to take (grow). A major problem after a transplant from an alternative donor is increased risk of Graft-versus-Host Disease (GVHD), which occurs when donor T cells (white blood cells that are involved with the body's immune response) attack other tissues or organs like the skin, liver and intestines of the transplant recipient. In this study, stem cells that are obtained from a partially-matched donor will be highly purified using the investigational CliniMACS® stem cell selection device in an effort to achieve specific T cell target values. The primary aim of the study is to help improve overall survival with haploidentical stem cell transplant in a high risk patient population by limiting the complication of GVHD.