Active clinical trials for "Syndrome"

OBJECTIVES: I. Investigate the pathobiology of Tourette syndrome and related disorders by measuring various compounds of interest in cerebrospinal fluid, plasma, and urine of patients with Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, and/or chronic tics. II. Determine the pattern of familial aggregation of Tourette syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder by systematic assessment of all first-degree family members of patients selected for cerebrospinal fluid studies. III. Establish the neurochemical and neuropeptide profile associated with the range of expression of the putative Tourette gene expression in adult and adolescent patients.

This study will follow patients with salivary gland dysfunction to identify the long-term course of this disorder and its effects on the mouth, oral function, and overall health. Saliva is important in maintaining oral health and comfort. It moistens the mouth, lubricates food for easier swallowing, provides enzymes needed to begin the digestive process and promotes repair and cleansing of soft tissues of the mouth. Decreased salivary production or changes in salivary composition may affect oral and systemic health and cause an increase in tooth decay. Patients 4 years of age and older with dry mouth symptoms and a diagnosis of primary, secondary or incomplete Sj(SqrRoot)(Delta)gren s syndrome or salivary gland dysfunction due to radiation may be eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a complete medical and dental history and blood and saliva tests. Some patients will have a biopsy of the minor salivary glands, usually from the lower lip, to confirm or rule out the diagnosis of Sj(SqrRoot)(Delta)gren s syndrome and determine the extent of changes in the salivary glands. (A biopsy is the surgical removal of a small piece of tissue for laboratory examination.) The ability to taste and smell may also be evaluated, and patients may have an ultrasound examination of their swallowing function. Participants will have a general oral examination of the teeth and soft tissues of the mouth, general physical examination, eye examination and blood tests and will fill out a questionnaire on oral health and function. In addition, they will have the following tests and procedures: Identification of possible fungal infection Patients rinse their mouth with 2 teaspoons of a salt-water solution and spit it in a sterile container for laboratory examination. If a fungal infection is detected, treatment will be offered. Unstimulated salivary function assessment Saliva production is measured by collecting saliva samples through small suction cups connected to collection tubes over the salivary gland ducts in the mouth. Stimulated salivary function assessment A sour-tasting liquid (2% citric acid) is applied to the top and sides of the tongue at 30-second intervals to stimulation saliva production while saliva is collected using the procedure described above. Identification of markers of precancerous lesions The salivary gland biopsy done at the screening evaluation (or from outside sources) is examined for markers of precancerous lesions, as about 5 percent of patients with Sj(SqrRoot)(Delta)gren's syndrome develop a tumor called Non-Hodgkin s lymphoma. In some cases, the minor salivary glands may be re-biopsied a few years after the screening biopsy. Patients will be followed once a year with a comprehensive history and physical examination, eye examination, full oral examination, salivary function assessment and questionnaires about signs and symptoms of salivary gland dysfunction.

Patients with Cushing disease have hormone producing tumors in their pituitary gland. Often these tumors are so small they cannot be detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The inferior petrosal sinuses are small veins that drain the blood from the pituitary gland. By taking a small sample of blood from these sinuses, doctors can differentiate a small tumor in the pituitary gland from other tumors in the body producing the hormone. Patients with Cushing disease have high levels of the hormone ACTH in the petrosal sinuses. Patients with other causes of Cushing syndrome do not have increased levels of ACTH in the petrosal sinuses. The procedure to collect blood from the petrosal sinus is called Inferior Petrosal Sinus Sampling (IPSS). The technique is very sensitive and can tell the difference between a pituitary tumor and other causes of Cushing syndrome nearly 100% of the time. However, IPSS is very difficult to perform and is only available in a few hospitals. Therefore, researchers are looking for another possible way to diagnose Cushing syndrome that would be less technically difficult and more readily available to patients. ACTH is produced in the pituitary gland as a response to the production of Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone (CRH) in the brain (hypothalamus). This study will compare ACTH levels in the internal jugular veins before and after CRH stimulation with those obtained by conventional IPSS from patients with Cushing's syndrome. Obtaining blood from the jugular veins is a simple, practically risk free procedure that could be done easily in a community hospital on an out patient basis. Researchers believe that CRH stimulation will increase ACTH production from tumors of the pituitary gland (corticotroph adenomas) so that the diagnostic information from jugular venous sampling would be equivalent to that of IPSS. This proposal to develop jugular venous sampling (JVS) with CRH stimulation as a test for the differential diagnosis of Cushing Syndrome would potentially contribute greatly to the medical care of patients with Cushing syndrome, as a less costly, safer and more widely available alternative to IPSS.<TAB>

To investigate whether women with Polycystic Ovary syndrome (PCOS) have evidence of an increased prevalence rate of subclinical atherosclerosis as measured by the presence of plaque, increased intima-medial carotid artery wall thickness and lower brachial artery flow mediated vasodilation.

OBJECTIVES: I. Evaluate electrocardiographic parameters, including QT and PR intervals and QRS morphology/duration, across clinical stages in patients with Rett syndrome. II. Characterize abnormalities of cardiac conduction and repolarization. III. Assess arrhythmias, heart rate variability, and autonomic nervous system function in these patients using 24-hour Holter monitoring. IV. Record events believed to represent seizures with video, electroencephalogram (EEG), and polygraph monitoring in patients who have more than 1 clinical seizure every 5 days. V. Characterize these events with respect to clinical manifestations, EEG correlates, and other physiologic data. VI. Determine the frequency of seizures vs. events without electrographic correlates in these patients. VII. Determine whether Rett syndrome patients have characteristic or unique types of seizures and/or an epileptic syndrome.

Combined letrozole with chromium versus letrozole only in induction of ovulation in polycystic ovary syndrome

The lack of serum markers that can be used to identify the levels of steatosis in obese subjects, or that can indicate a rapid progression of the metabolic disease, in which it is very often difficult to perform analyzes with imaging techniques, limits the current evolution from a generalized medicine to a personalized medicine. With the project proposal the aim is to identify serum markers for the characterization of steatosis in subjects affected by genetic obesity, which will most likely also be used in metabolic obesity.

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) is a common health problem among men and can cause severe quality of life. The pathophysiology of CPPS is still poorly understood and effective treatments are a challenging issue. This study aims to investigate the possible relationship between the presence of microorganisms in the prostatic fluid and symptom severity by presenting a retrospective analysis based on data from CPPS patients.

Piriformis muscle syndrome (PMS) is a neuromuscular disorder that can cause symptoms of hip joint motion limitation, buttock pain and tenderness, and numbness radiating to the back of the thigh due to compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve.In the etiology of PMS myofascial trigger points are the most common cause and also hypertrophy in the piriformis muscle tissue, inflammation, trauma, anatomical variations of the piriformis muscle or sciatic nerve may also cause the development of PMS . Physical examination supports the diagnosis of PMS and may help to eliminating competing diagnoses. Multiple physical examination maneuvers have been identified to help diagnose but no physical examination maneuver is diagnostic for PMS. Compression and deep palpation may also exacerbate buttock or gluteal pain. Electrodiagnostic tests are usually normal in FMS and useful in excluding other conditions such as lumbosacral radiculopathy .There is no gold standard treatment option for PMS, conservative treatment and lifestyle changes remain the mainstays for the treatment. Piriformis muscle stretching is the form of an exercise technique in physiotherapy method that is generally used for those patients. The exercises focused on relaxing the priformis muscle to increase the resting length of the muscle and reduce the potential sciatic nerve compression because of this thigtness. Dry needling (DN) therapy is a treatment method where myofascial trigger points are stimulated using acupuncture needles or injection needles .DN can be applied according to the anatomical landmark method or under the guidance of ultrasound (US) and fluoroscopic imaging. US guidance is important in the management of PMS, which allows imaging of specific deep muscle groups and avoids complications such as procedural pain and damage of neurovascular structures . There are no randomized controlled studies other than case series on the use and frequency of application of the US-guided DN technique in PMS. The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of dry needling treatment applied to the piriformis muscle once a week for a total of 3 times under US guidance and 3-week exercise program treatment in PMS. The secondary outcomes of this study is to evaluate and compare the effect of these treatment modalities on Visuel Analg Scale (VAS) scores ,Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), lower extremity functional scale (LEFS) and (Douleur Neuropathique 4 Questionare ) DN4 scores in PMS patients at 3 months follow up.

Determination of the best positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) based on oxygenation or driving pressure in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after cardiothoracic surgery The use of a positive end-expiratory pressure in acute respiratory distress syndrome is obvious in ARDS management. On the one hand it serves to fight against the reduction of functional residual capacity (FRC) and enable the limitation of hypoxia; and on the other hand it allows the limitation of "opening/closing" lesions in pulmonary alveoli which lead to increase "bio trauma". However elevated PEEP has harmful effect such as hemodynamic effect on the right ventricle and distension on healthy part of the lung.Other adverse effects are: decreasing cardiac output, increased risk of barotrauma, and the interference with assessment of hemodynamic pressures. Ideally the adjustment of PEEP level must be done by taking into account each patient characteristic. PEEP titration based on blood gas analysis is one of the most used techniques by physicians. Current guidelines for lung-protective ventilation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) suggest the use of low tidal volumes (Vt), set according to ideal body weight (IBW) of the patient, and higher levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) to limit ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). However, recent studies have shown that ARDS patients who are ventilated according to these guidelines may still be exposed to forces that can induce or aggravate lung injury. Driving pressure (DP) is the difference between the airway pressure at the end of inspiration (plateau pressure, Ppl) and PEEP. Driving pressure may be a valuable tool to set PEEP. Independent of the strategy used to titrate PEEP, changes in PEEP levels should consider the impact on driving pressure, besides other variables such as gas exchange and hemodynamics. A decrease in driving pressure after increasing PEEP will necessarily reflect recruitment and a decrease in cyclic strain. On the contrary, an increase in driving pressure will suggest a non-recruitable lung, in which overdistension prevails over recruitment. The main purposes of this study are to assess the optimal PEEP based on the best driving pressure or the best oxygenation.