Active clinical trials for "Arthritis"

The primary goal of this study is to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of the arthritis foundation (AF) Tai Chi Program for People with Arthritis. Arthritis, the most prevalent chronic condition in the US and a leading cause of disability, is characterized by chronic pain and progressive impairment of joints and soft tissues. Promoting physical activity is a key public health strategy to addressing arthritis management, but more scientific data regarding effectiveness and feasibility are need to support the promotion of the AF Tai Chi Program as an exercise intervention for people with arthritis.

A randomized, double-blinded, Phase II study in adults with Rheumatoid Arthritis receiving TNF-alpha-inhibitor therapy aged 18 to 64 years of age and healthy gender-and age-matched control subjects . This study will investigate the immunogenicity, safety, and reactogenicity of two different doses of inactivated trivalent influenza virus vaccine (Sanofi Pasteur Fluzone [15 mcg x 3 strains] and Sanofi Pasteur Fluzone High Dose [60 mcg x 3 strains]) administered intramuscularly in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis receiving anti-TNF-alpha (TNFi) therapy and healthy age- and gender- matched controls.

Previous studies have analyzed serological responses following pneumococcal vaccination using 23-valent vaccination (Pneumovax) in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients that were on different therapeutic modalities including TNF-blockers and methotrexate. The results have shown that serological response was significantly reduced in RA patients receiving methotrexate compared to those receiving TNF-blockers. In contrast when using polypeptide immunisation (influenza vaccine) we found that anti-TNF significantly impaired the serological response compared to the methotrexate treated RA patients. The aim of this study is to analyze serological responses after Prevenar vaccination in patients with chronic arthritis and to study the impact of different treatment modalities on serological responses. It will be of interest to see if the result is different compared to the one seen after immunizing with 23-valent nonconjugated pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine.

This is a randomized, open label, active-comparator, parallel design, outpatient, multicenter study being conducted in Mexico. Subjects with early active Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) who have not received treatment with a Disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) in the previous 6 months will be eligible for the study. Study subjects will be randomized into one of two treatments groups and receive either etanercept + methotrexate or standard non-biologic DMARD therapy.

This study will gather information on the safety of FolateScan and the ability of FolateScan to detect inflammation in the joints and other organs in people with arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis), systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, interstitial pneumonitis, Crohn's disease as well as in healthy persons without these conditions.

The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has improved considerably in recent years with the understanding that better outcomes can be achieved by optimising the dosage schedule of conventional drugs that suppress the inflammatory response in joints. Furthermore, the development of protein based drugs that are given parenterally (i.e. by subcutaneous injection or intravenous infusion), known as biologics, have given rise to even better clinical results. However, despite this over 60% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis can still be expected to have an unacceptably high degree of disease activity and the prohibitively high cost of biologic therapy has resulted in rationing following NICE review. Therefore there is a need for more effective and less costly treatment. The proposed study is designed to test potential drug interactions between one such candidate oral treatment, tranilast, and the gold standard therapy for rheumatoid arthritis, methotrexate, which is given as a once weekly oral, intramuscular or intradermal regimen. The drug to be tested, tranilast, an analogue of a naturally occurring molecule that regulates inflammatory responses, is currently used in the treatment of allergic inflammation and has recently been shown to be effective in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. Tranilast is an analogue of a naturally tryptophan metabolite. Laboratory studies of cell biology indicate that this molecule inhibits a number of key inflammatory pathways and the function of white blood cells that play a critical role in the inflammatory features of rheumatoid arthritis. The aim of this study is to assess whether tranilast may be useful for the treatment of RA. In an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis, initial assessment showed that prophylactic administration of tranilast interfered with the development of disease. Therapeutically, in an animal model of arthritis, tranilast was very effective, and reduced all aspects of the disease, including joint swelling, clinical score, and histological damage in a dose-dependent fashion, and reduced pain. This degree of benefit compares well with therapeutics that have been highly successful in humans, such as anti-TNF therapy. Furthermore studies at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Division, Imperial College suggest that tranilast has a greater analgesic effect than the potent steroid dexamethasone at effective anti-inflammatory doses

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease with a large economic impact due to the long lasting disabling nature of the disease. Furthermore, diagnosis of the disease is difficult and only a scheme with different symptoms is used to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis, often only by probability. Due to the fact that effective disease modifying pharmacological treatment is available and should be started early in established cases of RA, in combination with the adverse effect potential of these substances (e.g. methotrexate), a fast reliable diagnostic tool to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis would be highly appreciated by the medical community and the patients. Furthermore, for invasive treatments (surgery, puncture), an imaging method to display the activity pattern in different joints would be a major advantage. For the evaluation of the effectiveness of pharmacological therapy in rheumatoid arthritis, up to now, radiological measurements of the destruction process of the joints are used. This method has the disadvantage that it is time consuming insofar as changes in the radiological images must occur. It allows only an evaluation if the joints are destructed (which should be excluded by the new therapy regimen). Again, a quantifiable method for the determination of the effects of new therapeutic approaches would be highly appreciated.

This study will assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics (PK) profiles of otilimab in healthy Japanese participants.

Determine the localization of Tc 99m tilmanocept by SPECT and SPECT/CT imaging in subjects with active RA and concordance with clinical symptomology.

It is important that patients who suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) have their disease monitored at an early stage, as well as when it is established. Presently, if a patient is to be assessed by means of disease activity scores and blood tests, they must attend a hospital appointment, which can be difficult for patients who live far from the clinic. It would be beneficial to be able to monitor and reliably define and report a disease 'flare' at home. Quite often, by the time the patient attends for an appointment, flare ups have subsided. This study will evaluate the possibility for patients to take their own blood samples in the comfort of their own home, by transferring finger prick blood droplets to a dried blood spot sample (DBSS) card. Patients would then send the cards to the laboratory to test for clinically relevant protein markers. The feasibility of 'remote' monitoring of the patient's disease will be explored.