Active clinical trials for "Tuberculosis"

This trial aims to determine whether the addition of rosuvastatin to standard TB therapy in pulmonary tuberculosis results in accelerated of sputum culture conversion. The trial will also investigate potential new biomarkers of sterilising activity and immune-modulatory activity.

The current TB treatment as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) although capable of achieving 85% cure rates, has limitations, in particular drug interactions, toxicities, and the long treatment duration which increases the possibility of nonadherence. Sub-therapeutic isoniazid concentrations were demonstrated in several studies, including our previous work, carried out among patients with tuberculosis receiving the standard dose (5mg/kg) of isoniazid. The investigators found 78% of patients with HIV had isoniazid concentrations below the recommended threshold. Malabsorption, drug-drug interactions, poor adherence due to high pill burden may contribute to this. Pharmacogenetic variation may compound these factors; isoniazid displays inter-individual variation in serum concentrations and clearance due to differences in individual acetylator status. While patients who metabolize isoniazid slowly (slow acetylators) are at a higher risk of high drug concentrations and toxicities, fast acetylators are more likely to have sub-therapeutic isoniazid concentrations. In other studies, insufficient exposure with isoniazid, one of the cornerstone drugs for TB treatment, has been associated with delayed sputum clearance, development of drug resistance, and treatment failure. Isoniazid is metabolized by the enzyme N-acetyl transferase, which in turn is controlled by the N-acetyl transferase-2 (NAT-2) gene. Polymorphisms in this gene are responsible for the N-acetylation phenotypes, with the distribution of NAT-2 fast, intermediate, and slow acetylators being highly variable especially among African populations. Given that NAT2 acetylator status explains most of the variability in INH exposures, knowledge of NAT2 status may be a simpler way to select the right dose for individual patients. The investigators will therefore provide higher doses to fast acetylators and compare the isoniazid pharmacokinetics in these patients to slow acetylators who receive the standard dose, who are more likely to already be achieving target concentrations.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the second largest infectious disease that causes death in the last 4 centuries in all the world. Observational studies found an association between vitaminD and TB, suggesting a potential therapeutic role of vitaminD supplementation in patients with active tuberculosis. The hypothesis is that the administration of vitaminD is associated with changes in the levels of cytokines in patients with tuberculosis treated with first-line drugs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of vitaminD supplementation on the clinical course, the time of negative smears and cultures, and the effect on the immune response in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TBP).

To determine the best time to begin anti-HIV(Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) treatment in individuals who co-infected with HIV and tuberculosis (Tb). This prospective, randomized study is being conducted on HIV/Tb co-infected patients in China to evaluate and compare the efficacy of antiretroviral therapy after 2 weeks TB treatment versus deferred ART initiated 8 weeks after initiation of TB treatment.

- Background and study aims? Some of the drugs used to treat HIV (anti-retrovirals, or ARVs) can affect the blood levels of other drugs used to treat TB - called a "drug-drug interaction". The main drug used in second-line therapy, Aluvia (lopinavir/ritonavir), is one of the drugs that has this effect. This is why people on second-line ARVs usually cannot use one of the main TB drugs, "rifampicin", and instead will be prescribed a slightly different drug called "rifabutin", which is less affected by these drug-drug interactions. Although blood levels of rifabutin are not as badly affected by Aluvia as blood levels of rifampicin, rifabutin levels in the blood are still increased a lot by taking Aluvia at the same time. This could lead to higher levels of side-effects because there is more drug in the body. So in the past doctors have suggested that instead of taking rifabutin every day with Aluvia, it should only be taken three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. However, in the last 2 years, new studies have suggested that this three times a week regimen might not be enough and that it may not completely cure TB. So the purpose of this study is to find out whether taking rifabutin every day with Aluvia really does lead to more side-effects, and whether taking rifabutin three times a week with Aluvia really does lead to much lower levels of rifabutin in the blood. - Who can participate? This substudy is specifically for people who are already taking anti-TB drugs in EARNEST, or who need to start anti-TB drugs whilst they are in the EARNEST trial. - What does the study involve? Participants will be selected (by chance, chosen by a computer) to one of the following two rifabutin groups: Group 1: Rifabutin (150 mg) taken three times a week on Monday/Wednesday/Friday Group 2: Rifabutin (150 mg) taken every day On these days, one capsule of rifabutin (150 mg) should be taken in the morning by mouth. Participants will be asked to attend clinic 2 and 12 weeks after entering the sub-study then every 6 weeks until the end of their TB treatment, and then return to their usual EARNEST follow-up schedule. This is roughly the same visit schedule for people with TB who are usually seen more frequently than those without TB, whether or not the patients join this sub-study. The 2 week visit is specifically so the investigators can make sure participants are doing OK on rifabutin and to check carefully that they don't have any side-effects. At all these visits (including the day when participants enroll into the substudy) the investigators will take an extra 10 ml (two teaspoons) of blood to do laboratory tests for side-effects of rifabutin, and to measure the levels of rifabutin and other ARVs in the blood - these are called "pharmacokinetic" or "PK" studies. On the day of these visits, participants should not take their dose of rifabutin until after this blood draw, so the investigators can measure the lowest amount of drug likely in their blood. Instead, participants should bring the rifabutin dose to clinic, so that they can take it straight after the blood draw. At the visit 12 weeks after starting rifabutin, participants will need to stay in clinic for a second blood draw of ~3 ml (half a teaspoon) around 4 hours after they take the rifabutin dose immediately after the first blood draw. We use this second sample to see how quickly rifabutin enters the blood. At this special visit the investigators will make sure participants are first seen as early as possible, so they don't have to stay any longer than necessary for the second blood draw to be taken 4 hours later. After participants have completed their TB treatment they will stay in EARNEST until the end of the trial (144 weeks on second-line therapy). - What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? If participants are allocated to Group 1 (150 mg rifabutin three times a week), there is a risk that they may have lower levels of rifabutin in your blood and this may be less effective at treating the TB. However, participants should have fewer side-effects. In contrast, if participants are allocated to Group 2 (150 mg rifabutin daily), here is a risk that they may get more side-effects, but the levels of rifabutin in the blood should be more than high enough to have a good chance of curing the TB. Having blood taken may cause some discomfort and/or bruising in some people. It is currently impossible to know which rifabutin regimen would be best and participants may find in years to come that they may or may not have received the best treatment. Where is the study run from? 9 EARNEST sites in Uganda as follows: JCRC Kampala, IDI, San Raphael of St Francis Hospital (Nsambya), JCRC Mbarara, JCRC Mbale, JCRC Kabale, JCRC Kakira, JCRC Gulu When is study starting and how long is it expected to run? Start 05/03/2012 finish on 31/01/2014 - Who is funding the study? Abbott

We propose a first interaction study between efavirenz (EFV) and R20mg/Kg taking into consideration the absence of data about R induction at this dose. Due to an important inter-patient variability of the CYP2B6 polymorphism, the EFV pharmacokinetic (Pk) will be compared in same patients with and without TB treatment. The main objective is to compare the Pk parameters of EFV in HIV-TB co-infected patients, with and without TB treatment, using R at 10 and 20mg/Kg/day and EFV at 600 and 800mg/day.

Pakistan ranks fifth amongst high tuberculosis-(TB) burden countries, where TB persists as a major cause of misery and death. The Diabetes Mellitus-(DM) is also on rise in Pakistan and people suffering from DM are more prone to catch TB as compared to healthy individuals. This concurrence of two outbreaks may further increase the frequency of TB in Pakistan. The TB DM co-occurrence results in various clinical issues as TB in DM patient increases blood glucose, making DM more difficult to treat, while DM raises the risk of treatment failure, relapse and death among TB patients. In addition, both DM and TB usually coexist with micronutrients deficiencies like vitamin D, which has a vital role in immunity, insulin functioning and respiratory health. It has been suggested that the combined supplementation with vitamin D and calcium might be beneficial in improving the glucose metabolism but the current knowledge is very limited. In a resource restrained country with double burden of infectious and non-infectious diseases, an integrated approach with modification of treatment options may benefit in management of these outbreaks. Therefore, this study aims whether vitamin D and calcium supplementation could influence the recovery in patients with TB of lung and DM.

The optimal time to initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV-associated tuberculous meningitis (TBM) unknown. There are concerns that immediate ART may worsen rather than improve outcome, because drug interactiond and toxicities or development of an intracerebral immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). Conversely, delaying ART may result in increased HIV-related deaths. To answer this question, we are conducting a randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled trial comparing immediate and deferred ART in HIV-infected patients presenting with TBM, to assess effect on survival.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in organ transplant recipients. Management of tuberculosis in this setting is challenging due to the complexity of diagnosis and the potential toxicity of anti-TB therapy, especially in liver transplant candidates and recipients. Although the tuberculin skin test (TST) is recommended for screening of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in all candidates for liver transplantation, the performance of the TST in this setting is less than optimal, due to a lack of specificity (false-positive results due to interaction with BCG vaccine and other mycobacterial infections), and a lack of sensitivity in a population that is relatively immunocompromised. Recently, a new test named QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT-G) has been approved for the diagnosis of LTBI. QFT-G detects the release of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) by sensitized white cells after incubation of whole blood with TB antigens. QFT-G is expected to be more specific than TST. However, there are no studies defining the performance of QFT-G in a population of patients on a waiting list for liver transplantation. We plan to estimate the usefulness of the QFT-G test for the diagnosis of LTBI in a cohort of patients with end-stage liver disease. We hypothesize that the QFT-G test will correlate better with the risk of LTBI. This study advances research on the prevention of a serious bacterial infection that can have devastating consequences in the post-transplant setting. The new diagnostic strategy may more accurately determine the presence of LTBI, thereby allowing appropriate therapy.

Title: Randomized clinical trial to assess the efficacy of short course intermittent regimens for the treatment of HIV-associated tuberculosis Phase: Phase III trial Population: 300 HIV positive patients with tuberculosis. Number of Sites:Four Tuberculosis Research Centre, Chennai Government General Hospital, Chennai Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai Study Duration:36 months Study Objective:To study the efficacy of the standard RNTCP Category I regimen (2EHRZ3 / 4RH3) the control arm vs. an extended continuation phase regimen 2EHRZ3 / 7 RH3 in the treatment of pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB in the HIV positive patients. 2. To study the relationship between stage of HIV disease and response to anti-TB treatment. 3. To study recurrences and their nature (relapse/re-infection) in detail by using RFLP analysis. Study Design:It is a two armed prospective randomized open label controlled clinical trial with stratified random allocation based on CD4 count and sputum smear grade. All enrolled patients will be treated according to the RNTCP guidelines during the intensive phase. In the continuation phase, Cat I patients will be stratified by CD4 counts and by smear grade, and randomly allocated either to the standard RNTCP regimen, or to an alternative extended regimen (2EHRZ3/4RH3 or 2EHRZ3/7RH3).