Active clinical trials for "Syndrome"

The purpose of this data registry is to prospectively collect data from patients referred to an Complex Chronic Diseases Program (CCDP) at BC Women's Hospital + Health Centre to assess the quality of life of the CCDP Patients before, during and after their care at the CCDP.

This is a single center study in which Naglazyme® will be given weekly for two years in patients with Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome, also known as mucopolysaccharide VI (MPS VI), who have previously been treated with an allogeneic transplant.

Background: Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS) is a rare disorder of automatic control of breathing. This disease can manifest as early as birth. Patients with this disease have a fundamental lack of central drive breathing. They do not mount any responses to hypoxia or hypercapnia during sleep or wakefulness. This places them at risk of injury or death whenever they are not consciously breathing. They require lifelong assisted ventilation while sleeping, and some while awake. Progesterone is a known respiratory stimulant in normal individuals, and it has been shown in one study of 2 patients that this drug may improve CO2 responsiveness in patients with CCHS. However, this observation requires confirmation. Hypothesis: Exogenous progesterone (in oral contraception pills) will improve CO2 responsivity by hyperoxic hypercapnic ventilatory response testing, hypoxic responsivity using 5-breath nitrogen breathing, hyperoxic ventilatory response while breathing 100% oxygen, and improve spontaneous ventilation during sleep in CCHS females >15-years of age. The progesterone will also depress ventilatory response using a hyperoxia test. Study Methodology: Baseline measures of CO2 and oxygen responsivity, and spontaneous ventilation during sleep, will be performed at baseline and after 3-weeks of taking a progesterone containing oral contraceptive agent. CO2 responsivity will be measured using a hyperoxic hypercapnic ventilatory response test. Hypoxic responsivity will be measured using a 5-breath 100% nitrogen breathing test. Hyperoxic responsivity will be measured by having subjects breathe 100% oxygen for 2-minutes. Subjects will perform an overnight polysomnogram to assess adequacy of gas exchange during spontaneous breathing while asleep. A progesterone containing oral contraception pill will then be given for 3-weeks, and the above measures repeated. Serum progesterone will be measured at baseline and at the time of study.

Based on pilot patient observations, and experience from the prior study KTS-1-2008, the investigators anticipate that severely affected chronic fatigue syndrome patients may benefit from B-cell depletion therapy using Rituximab induction with maintenance treatment. The hypothesis is that at least a subset of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients have an activated immune system involving B-lymphocytes, and that prolonged B-cell depletion may alleviate symptoms. An approved amendment (April 15th 2011): the study will be extended with up to 5 patients. For up to 5 patients in the study, standard plasma exchange may be performed 2-3 weeks prior to start of B-lymphocyte depletion using Rituximab (as in the protocol). Approved amendment (December 2011): for patients with gradual improvement in CFS/ME symptoms after 12 months follow-up, but not having reached a clear response, up to 6 additional Rituximab infusions (500 mg/m2, max 1000 mg) may be given during the following 12 months period.

The purpose of this research is to study why most children who have tics never develop Tourette syndrome but some do. In other words, we aim to find features that may predict whose tics will go away and whose tics will continue or worsen, in children ages 5 through 10 years whose first tic occurred within the past 9 months.

Andersen-Tawil Syndrome (ATS) is a rare genetic disorder that causes episodes of muscle weakness, potentially life-threatening changes in heart rhythm, and skeletal developmental abnormalities. The cause of some ATS cases remains unknown, and no specific treatments have been established. The purpose of this study is to determine whether potassium supplements and/or the medication acetazolamide affect the duration of muscle weakness and heart rhythm abnormalities in people with ATS.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) has a close association with ischemic stroke; however, the optimal treatment strategy for APS-related stroke has yet to be established. The clinical guidelines suggest using warfarin for APS-related stroke, but these suggestions are largely based on retrospective studies from the 1990s and expert opinion, rather than high-quality clinical trials. Moreover, the evidence on the role of antiplatelet drugs other than aspirin (e.g., clopidogrel) in APS-related stroke is particularly limited. Considering the relatively young age of patients with APS and the high clinical burden of using warfarin, it is necessary to verify whether warfarin is essential. Thus, the investigators aim to compare clopidogrel-based antiplatelet therapy and warfarin as a secondary preventive medication for patients with APS-related stroke. APS-STROKE is an exploratory, multicenter, prospective, randomized, open, blinded-endpoint clinical trial. Adult patients with definite APS who have a history of ischemic stroke will be included. Patients with high-risk APS (triple positivity or persistently high titers of anti-cardiolipin or anti-β2-glycoprotein I antibodies), systemic lupus erythematous, or indications for continued antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy will be excluded. Eligible patients will be 1:1 randomized to receive clopidogrel-based antiplatelet therapy or warfarin. Patients assigned to the clopidogrel-based antiplatelet therapy group will be permitted to use additional antiplatelet drugs other than clopidogrel at the investigator's discretion. The primary outcome is a composite of any death, major adverse cardiovascular events, systemic thromboembolic events, and major bleeding during a follow-up period of at least 2 years. This study would provide valuable information for determining the optimal secondary prevention strategy for APS-related stroke.

The post-fall syndrome or psychomotor disadaptation syndrome can be considered as a complication of a fall and can lead to a total loss of autonomy. This syndrome remains little studied, despite its important frequency in acute geriatric services or geriatric rehabilitation care, and despite its recognized seriousness. Decreased grip strength seems to be a risk factor for psychomotor disadaptation syndrome in after a fall, which is why we hypothesize that muscle strengthening adapted to the elderly subject would limit the appearance of this syndrome. By limiting this risk, it would reduce complications such as loss of functional independence, but also reduce the number and duration of hospitalization of elderly patients.

Acute compartment syndrome (ACS) is a surgical emergency that can develop in patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). ACS is a type of limb ischemia, which means that the limb, such as the arm or leg, loses blood flow. Patients on ECMO can develop this condition for many reasons, but most commonly from the ECMO procedure itself. This most commonly involves the leg. Key symptoms of ACS include severe pain, loss of pulses, loss of feeling, and inability to move the limb. However, because patients on ECMO are often sedated, ACS is difficult to diagnose as patients can not report symptoms. As a result, the only available tool for diagnosing ACS may be measurement of pressures in the limb. This is normally done with a needle-device, which is inserted into the leg for a single measurement. However, a recently developed device, called the MY01 Continuous Compartment Pressure Monitor, allows for continuous pressure readings instead of a single measurement. Multiple measurements may allow for much greater accuracy in diagnosing ACS, which may result in faster time to surgery and potentially save more limbs than single measurements. This device may also be less invasive than an older method of continuous pressure measuring, which uses a needle and tubing that is 14-gauge in size. Therefore, this study aims to compare 3 different types of methods for diagnosing ACS in patients on ECMO, which are 1) Standard of Care, 2) Standard of Care and MY01, and 3)Standard of Care and 14-gauge slit catheter.

Bowel symptoms like constipation and abdominal pain are characteristic symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The pathogenesis and pathophysiology are not fully understood but subject to intense research, with emphasis on aberrations in the gut-brain axis, low-grade inflammation and gut barrier dysfunction that results in increased permeability and microbial translocation. Many patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have reported bowel symptoms similar to that in IBS patients decades prior to the diagnosis of PD. Epidemiological studies show a significantly elevated risk of developing PD in IBS patients, though there is no knowledge on a pathogenic connection between these disorders. Recent studies show increased gut permeability and intestinal presence of pathological alpha-synuclein aggregates, the neuropathological hallmark in PD, indicating the involvement of the gut-brain axis. We aim to compare the presence of colonic alpha-synuclein between IBS, PD patients and healthy controls to relate these findings to intestinal permeability, ultrastructural mucosal changes, immune cell interactions, microbiota composition and brain function. This project could identify IBS groups at risk of developing PD and birth the development of early clinical diagnostic methods.