Active clinical trials for "Sclerosis"

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and tolerability of imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) in patients with systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). Gleevec is a medication already FDA approved for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans tumors, Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia, hypereosinophilic syndrome, and aggressive systemic mastocytosis. In-vitro studies have suggested that imatinib may inhibit collagen production by scleroderma fibroblasts, and in mouse models of fibrosis imatinib has been shown to decrease skin thickness. This is a Phase IIa, single center, prospective open label clinical trial of Gleevec in patients with systemic sclerosis. All patients will be treated with active drug for 12 months. The primary objective of this study will be to determine the safety and tolerability of Gleevec in patients with systemic sclerosis, but important secondary outcomes of relevance will be improvement in disease status as defined by skin scores and indices of pulmonary function. Patients who complete the initial phase (described above) of the study will be eligible to participate in an extension phase. The purpose of the extension phase of the study is to give patients who participated in the phase IIa clinical trial of Gleevec at the Hospital for Special Surgery the opportunity to continue Gleevec treatment if both the treating physicians and the patient are in agreement that Gleevec had acceptable safety and tolerability, as well as possible efficacy during the initial year of therapy.

The study aims to compare the effect of daily oral treatment of laquinimod capsules 0.6 milligrams (mg) with the effect of placebo capsules (capsules that contain no active medication) as well as with the effect of an existing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) injectable drug: Interferon β-1a (Avonex®).

Background: Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a common complication of stem cell transplant, resulting from the donor's immune cells attacking the cells of the body of the recipient. One effect of GVHD is fibrosis (scarring) of the skin that can lead to impaired function, decreased quality of life and increased risk of death. This is known as sclerotic skin changes of GVHD, or sclerodermatous graft versus host disease (ScGVHD). Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) is a drug that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat cancer in humans and fibrosing conditions in animals. Objectives: To see if imatinib mesylate can improve ScGVHD and evaluate its effect on other GVHD symptoms To assess the side effects of imatinib mesylate in patients with GVHD To evaluate blood, body fluids and tissue samples in patients to try to better understand the biology of ScGVHD Eligibility: Patients 4 years of age and older with ScGVHD Design: Initial treatment: Participants take imatinib mesylate tablets once a day for up to 6 months, as long as their GVHD does not get worse and they do not develop unacceptable side effects of the drug. Evaluations: Participants are evaluated at 1, 3 and 6 months at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center with procedures that may include the following: Medical history and physical examination Blood and urine tests Lung function test Skin biopsy Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan Specialty consultations (e.g., physical or rehabilitative therapy, dentist, eye doctor, dermatologist) Electrocardiogram (EKG) Echocardiogram (ultrasound test of the heart) Muga scan (nuclear medicine test of the heart) Quality-of-life questionnaires Apheresis (procedure for collecting quantities of white blood cells) Office visits with local physician once a week for 1 month, then once every 2 weeks for 5 months Followup visits at National Institutes of Health (NIH) every 6 months for 1 year Continuing treatment: Patients who improve continue to receive imatinib mesylate for up to 6 months after their best response and are followed for up to 2 years. Patients who continue to respond or who become worse after stopping treatment may receive additional treatment for up to 2 years.

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) is consistently over expressed in most fibrotic diseases and displays a variety of profibrotic effects in fibroblasts. Activation of TGF-β receptors induces the activation of several kinase signalling cascades leading to the phosphorylation of SMAD proteins as well as to the activation of SMAD-independent kinases that collectively activate ECM synthesis and fibroblast growth and differentiation into myofibroblasts. TGF-β1 is one of the main mediators in the fibrotic process, associated to both scarring and a long list of pathologies related to chronic inflammation and which affect all type of organs and tissues. An increase in TGF-β1 mRNA and protein levels has been described in these processes. Peptide 144 (P144) is the acetic salt of a 14mer peptide from human TGF-β1 type III receptor (betaglycan). P144 TGF-β1-inhibitor has been specifically designed to block the interaction between TGF-β1 and TGF-β1 type III receptor, thus blocking its biological effects. P144 has shown significant antifibrotic activity in mice receiving repeated subcutaneous injections of bleomycin, a widely accepted animal model of human scleroderma, and could contribute to the development. The purpose of this study is to asses the efficacy and safety of topical application of P144 in the treatment of skin fibrosis in patients with systemic sclerosis.

The purpose of the study is 1) to study the safety and tolerability of escalating doses of myelin peptide reactive T cells in MS patients and 2) to study the clinical effectiveness of T Cell Vaccine ion the clinical course of MS.

The purpose of the study is to examine the safety and effectiveness of a reduced intensity conditioning regimen and allogeneic bone marrow transplant for people with systemic sclerosis. In an allogeneic bone marrow transplant procedure, bone marrow is taken from a healthy donor and transplanted into the patient. Bone marrow can be donated by a family member or an unrelated donor who is a complete tissue type match. Participants will receive the chemotherapy and low dose radiation conditioning regimen consisting of the following: Fludarabine will be given intravenously for 5 days. Cyclophosphamide will be given intravenously on the first and second day. After completing the fludarabine and cyclophosphamide, patients will receive a single low dose of total body irradiation. The next day, patients will receive the allogeneic bone marrow transplant. On the third and fourth day after the transplant, patients will receive high dose intravenous cyclophosphamide. This is given to help prevent two complications: (1) graft rejection, which occurs when the body's immune system rejects the donor bone marrow, and (2) graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), which is when the donor immune cells attack the patient's normal tissues. On the fifth day after the transplant, patients will start receiving two additional medications: tacrolimus and mycophenolic acid (MPA, Myfortic), to help prevent GVHD. Patients will receive mycophenolic acid for about 5 weeks and tacrolimus for about 6 months. Also beginning on the fifth day after the transplant, patients will receive daily injections of a growth factor called granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), which is a protein that increases the white blood cell count; G-CSF will be continued until the patient's white blood cell count has returned to normal levels. Patients will remain closely monitored either in the outpatient clinic setting or in the hospital for approximately 2-3 months after the transplant, but possibly longer if there are complications. Follow-up study visits will occur at 6 months and then at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years after the transplant. Study researchers will keep track of the patient's medical condition after leaving the transplant center by phone calls or mailings to patients and their doctors once a year for the rest of the study participants' lives.

The primary objective of the study was to assess the safety and immunogenicity of extended treatment with DAC HYP. This evaluation included the following major components: An assessment of safety and immunogenicity of extended treatment with DAC HYP when administered to MS subjects who had completed 52 weeks of active therapy with DAC HYP in Study 201. An assessment of safety and immunogenicity during a 6-month washout period from DAC HYP. An assessment of safety and immunogenicity during reinitiation of therapy with DAC HYP after a 6-month washout period. An assessment of safety and immunogenicity of DAC HYP when administered to MS subjects who previously received placebo during Study 201. The secondary objective is to assess the durability of the effect of DAC HYP on multiple sclerosis (MS) disease activity as measured by brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and clinical MS relapses.

The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of Nerispirdine (50 mg or 400 mg) and placebo given orally as a single dose once a week in crossover design on latency of Visual Evoked Potentials (VEP) P100 in optic nerves. Secondary objectives included evaluation of the effect of Nerispirdine on VEP amplitude and other visual parameters including visual acuity and contrast, as well as evaluation of the safety and tolerability of Nerispirdine in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Contrast sensitivity and visual acuity examinations (in addition to Optical Coherence Tomography [OCT] and VEPs) were needed during the screening period for defining etiologic relationships (if non-MS related impairment) and for assessing the effect of treatment of age-related eye disease versus the MS-related vision impairment.

This study is designed to primarily assess the efficacy and safety of duloxetine 60-120 mg once daily (QD) compared with placebo on the reduction of pain severity in participants with central neuropathic pain due to Multiple Sclerosis.

The drug being tested in this study is GSK1223249. It is being developed by GlaxoSmithKline to treat symptoms in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The drug works by inhibiting the protein that prevents nerve growth. This will be the first time the drug will be given to man. The trial is expected to involve approximately 76 patients. The study objective is to investigate the tolerability, safety and the way the body handles GSK1223249 after a range of single doses or repeat dose escalation in patients with ALS.