All clinical trials

Asthma is characterized by chronic airway inflammation of the large and small airways. Asthma patients often have episodes with symptoms of dyspnea, wheezing and nocturnal awakening. Currently available inhaled anti-inflammatory treatments reduce the airway inflammation and treatment but do not cure the disease. Therefore asthma patients often need life-long treatment to control their asthma. In a small subset of patients, their asthma resolves spontaneously. This phenomenon is called asthma remission. Subjects with asthma remission do not experience symptoms or signs of airway inflammation anymore and do not require inhaled treatments. Some subjects with asthma remission also have a completely normal lung function without signs of bronchial hyperresponsivess: they have complete asthma remission. Unfortunately, asthma remission occurs only in a small subset of 15-25% of asthma patients.Objective: to determine the underlying mechanisms and molecular events leading to remission of asthma.

Spina Bifida can lead to physical neurocognitive and psychological symptoms. Still little is know about the daily impact of spina bifida on participation possibilities in social life. This exploratory research project want to investigate which lif choices patients with spina bifida has to make and in which way their daily life is organized. In a second part, quality of life will be measured and we hope to discover some dynamics in order to improve patient care.

Participants in the study will be adults with full mobility, with the capacity to give informed written consent. The investigators will recruit a group of volunteers in order to represent a variety of BMIs, in an attempt to gain a sample of the BMIs found in the population. The investigators will mimic current practices and standard equipment in order to replicate real conditions as closely as possible. Participants will lay on the following surfaces in the following scenarios Ambulance scoop: supine (lying flat on their back) A&E trolley: supine Hospital bed: supine Theatre table: supine Theatre table: Left lateral (lying on their left side at 90 degrees to the operating table) with pelvic binders (pads designed to keep the hip immobile). Each participant will remain in each position on that particular surface for a period of 25 minutes. A pressure mapping mattress will lie between the participant and the surface assessed to generate a pressure map. Following completion of data collection, data will be analysed and any areas of potential pressure damage vulnerability will be identified.

A total of 300 consecutive cardiac patients will receive preoperative thyroid function profile evaluation, including 150 patients with Standford type A aortic dissection (STAAD) and 150 normal human.For one thing, we will compare the two groups and study the role of thyroid function in the develoment of STAAD. For another, we will collect all the perioperative data of the STAAD group and study the role of thyroid function in the prognosis of STAAD.

The aim of this study is to prospectively examine the relationship of the uterine junctional zone thickness, evaluated by ultrasonography and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment outcome. The study hypothesis is that the uterine junctional zones of women who did not achieve pregnancy will be thicker than those of the women who do achieve pregnancy

To develop a test to characterize and monitor SLE disease activity status from a participant's home by analyzing the gene expression from participant self-collected blood samples using a novel fingerstick collection kit.

The Urban Institute-a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization-is partnering with Rubicon Programs to conduct a rigorous evaluation of its Fathers Advancing Communities Together (FACT) program. FACT is a multi-faceted program designed to deliver responsible parenting, healthy relationships, and economic stability services on a voluntary basis to low-income fathers in Contra Costa County, California. Urban's evaluation comprised of three key components: The implementation evaluation will describe FACT program activities and services, including communication and coordination across partners, service delivery mechanisms, and whether and how participants and their families received comprehensive services. Urban will identify a logic model for the program and assess the barriers to and facilitators of program performance. The implementation evaluation will draw from interviews with program staff, partners, and stakeholders, as well as field observations, program and administrative data, and focus groups with FACT participants and their families. The outcome evaluation will build on the implementation evaluation to determine whether specific program components, their frequency, and their duration, are related to outcomes. Urban will conduct surveys of program participants at the time of their enrollment into the program and one year following their enrollment to explore how participants' self-reported attitudes on various domains are associated with economic self-sufficiency and family functioning. Urban will also use program and administrative data collected by Rubicon and its partners, specifically Rubicon's case management database, to assess participant outcomes. The impact evaluation will assess to what extent participation in the FACT program is associated with improved outcomes as compared to similarly situated individuals who did not participate in the program. Urban will work with Rubicon's partners to identify individuals living in Contra Costa County who were eligible to participate in the program but, for whatever reason, did not do so. Once a comparison group of fathers has been established, Urban will use individual-level outcome data to determine whether the FACT program has an impact on economic self-sufficiency and family functioning.

The purpose of the current study is to establish a Liquid biopsy method (positive enrichment by a novel immunomagnetic beads capture assay) for detection of malignant cell in serous effusions and to evaluate its sensitivity and specificity for clinical application.

Decisions to limit and stop active therapeutics are common in the emergency unit. They are framed by the Leonetti law of 22 April 2005 recommending the refusal of unreasonable obstinacy and care of the patient's pain in later life. The pain assessment is an issue for these patients whose in majority, are not communicating. Moreover, no specific tool and the teams in charge, not knowing the patient make the recognition and treatment of pain symptoms very complex. This is the potential interest of directly involving the family or the person of confidence in this management , the first step being the detection and evaluation of pain.

The study is intended to identify gene polymorphisms significantly associated with specific behavioral- and preoccupation-typologies of sexual addiction, and to identify additional potential genetic markers of sexual addiction. Research subjects with sexual addiction will be identified from the out-patient and in-patient populations of the investigative sites. Research subjects in the Control Group will be identified from the general population and from the student body of selected colleges. Approximately 1100 subjects will be enrolled in the study. Anticipating 10% drop-out, this is intended to generate a population of approximately 500 men and women clinically diagnosed with sexual addiction, and approximately 500 healthy men and women who do not meet diagnostic criteria for sexual addiction nor have psychopathology who will serve as the control population.