Active clinical trials for "Thalassemia"

CICL670A2209: This study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of deferasirox in non-transfusion dependent thalassemia patients with iron overload. Patients will be treated either with active treatment (deferasirox) or placebo for 12 months (core study phase). Patients who complete the core study phase will be offered to continue their study with the active treatment (deferasirox) in a 12 months extension phase. During the core and extension, the effects of treatment on iron overload in the liver will be evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments. CICL670A2209E1: A one-year open-label extension to a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II study to evaluate efficacy and safety of deferasirox in non-transfusion dependent thalassemia patients with iron overload (Thalassa).

This is a pilot study looking at the safety and efficacy of giving combination chelation with deferasirox and deferoxamine. The hypothesis is that combination chelation is safe in decreasing overall iron in patients with thalassemia.

This study tests the clinical outcomes of one of two preparative regimens (determined by available donor source) in patients with non-malignant hemoglobinopathies. The researchers hypothesize that these regimens will have a positive effect on post transplant engraftment and the incidence of graft-versus-host-disease. Regimen A2 has replaced Regimen A in this study. Two patients were treated on Regimen A but did not have evidence of initial engraftment thus triggering the stopping rule for that arm of this study.

Hepatitis C is one of the most common causes of long-term liver disease in the United States. Ribavirin and peginterferon alfa-2a are two medications that are used to treat hepatitis C infection. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety of these two medications in adults with hepatitis C and thalassemia, a type of blood disorder.

The purpose of this study is to test whether zinc can improve bone health in young patients with thalassemia.

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effects of L-glutamine as a therapy for sickle cell anemia and sickle ß0-thalassemia. as evaluated by the number of occurrences of sickle cell crises.

OBJECTIVES: I. Ascertain whether stem cell transplantation (SCT) is an effective method by which missing or dysfunctional enzymes can be replaced in patients with various inborn errors of metabolism. II. Determine whether clinical manifestations of the specific disease may be arrested or reversed by this treatment.

This study will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of 5-azacytidine and phenylbutyrate for treating thalassemia major. Patients with this disease have abnormal production of hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells), which leads to red blood cell destruction. As a result, patients require frequent red cell transfusions over many years. Because of these transfusions, however, excess iron is deposited in various body organs-such as the heart, liver, thyroid gland and, in men, the testes-impairing their function. Fetal hemoglobin-a type of hemoglobin that is produced during fetal and infant life-can substitute for adult hemoglobin and increase the levels of red cells in the body. After infancy, however, this type of hemoglobin is no longer produced in large quantities. 5-azacytidine can increase fetal hemoglobin levels, but this drug can damage DNA, which in turn can increase the risk of cancer. This study will try to lessen the harmful effects of 5-azacytidine by using only one or two doses of it, followed by long-term therapy with phenylbutyrate, a drug that may be as effective as 5-azacytidine with less harmful side effects. Patients 18 years of age and older with severe thalassemia major may be eligible for this study. Before beginning treatment, candidates will have a medical history and physical examination, blood tests, chest X-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), bone marrow biopsy (removal of a small sample of bone marrow from the hip for microscopic examination) and whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). For the biopsy, the area of the hip is anesthetized and a special needle is inserted to draw bone marrow from the hipbone. For the MRI scan, a strong magnetic field is used to produce images that will identify sites where the body is making red blood cells. During this procedure, the patient lies on a table in a narrow cylinder containing a magnetic field. Earplugs are placed in the ears to muffle the loud thumping sounds the machine makes when the magnetic fields are being switched. An intravenous (IV) catheter (flexible tube inserted into a vein) is placed in a large vein of the patient's neck, chest or arm for infusion of 5-azacytidine at a constant rate over 4 days. Patients who do not respond to this first dose of 5-azacytidine will be given the drug again after about 50 days. If they do not respond to the second dose, alternate treatments will have to be considered. Patients who respond to 5-azacytidine will begin taking phenylbutyrate on the 14th day after 5-azacytidine was started. They will take about 10 large pills 3 times a day, continuing for as long as the treatment is beneficial. All patients will be hospitalized for at least 6 days starting with the beginning of 5-azacytidine therapy. Those who are well enough may then be discharged and continue treatment as an outpatient. Patients will be monitored with blood tests daily for 2 weeks and then will be seen weekly for about another 5 weeks. Bone marrow biopsies will be repeated 6 days after treatment begins and again at 2 weeks and 7 weeks. MRI will be repeated 7 weeks after treatment begins. After 7 weeks, patients will be seen at 3-month intervals. Bone marrow biopsies will be done every 6 months for the first 3 years after treatment. Patients will have red cell transfusions as needed and chelation therapy to remove excess iron.

Thalidomide is known to have hypnosedative, immuno-modulatory and anti-angiogenic effects. The drug is widely used in several neoplastic disorders (e.g. multiple myeloma and malignant melanoma), inflammatory conditions (e.g. Crohn's disease) and skin disorders (e.g. leprosy). Thalidomide has been successfully used in adult thalassemia patients. The current study explores its role in transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients.

This study is looking at the effects of giving early treatment of deferiprone to young children with beta thalassemia who have started receiving regular blood transfusions but have not yet reached the criteria for starting on iron chelation therapy. Half the patients in the study will receive deferiprone, and the other half will receive placebo, for up to 12 months.