Active clinical trials for "Fibrosis"

Raltegravir is the first integrase inhibitor used in humans. It has been shown to be highly efficacious and well tolerated in phase III clinical trials in multidrug experienced human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)-infected patients, as well as initial therapy in untreated patients. Pharmacokinetic studies in healthy adult subjects indicate that the major mechanism of clearance of the drug is glucuronidation mediated by UGT1A1, with a minor contribution of renal excretion of unchanged parent compound. Unlike CYP-based metabolism, glucuronidation is generally found to be relatively unaffected by hepatic disease. A single dose pharmacokinetic study of raltegravir in patients with mild to moderate hepatic insufficiency (Steigbigel et al. 2008) found no clinically important effect on the drug pharmacokinetic profile, with no dosage adjustment being necessary. The liver safety and tolerability of boosted atazanavir (ATV/r) has been evaluated in human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus (HIV/HCV) coinfected patients with advanced liver disease (decompensated cirrhosis) (Hermida JM et al. 4th IAS: Sidney, 2007). Similar to Raltegravir, ATV is also mainly metabolized by conjugation through UGT1A1. There is an urgent need for potent and efficacious ARV drugs with a clean safety liver profile even in patients with severe liver disease. The investigators hypothesized that pharmacokinetics will not be altered in HIV/HCV patients with advanced (Child-Pugh grade C) cirrhosis or in those with no histologic liver damage.

Liver cirrhosis (LC) represents a late stage of progressive hepatic fibrosis characterized by distortion of the hepatic architecture and formation of regenerative nodules. The liver transplantation is one of the only effective therapies available to such patients. However, lack of donors, surgical complications, rejection, and high cost are it's serious problems. The potential for stem cells to differentiate into hepatocytes cells was recently confirmed. Particularly, autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC) has been demonstrated to decrease MELD score and increase serum albumin in the patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. Therefore, the investigators propose a hypothesis that umbilical cord-derived MSCs (UC-MSC) can also improve the disease conditions of LC patients, particularly reducing the decompensated conditions in these patients.

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) suffer from chronic infections of the lower respiratory tract that can be caused by one or multiple bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which has been particularly problematic to eradicate and been implicated as the major cause of morbidity and mortality in CF patients. Aerosol delivery of antibiotics directly to the lung increases the local concentrations of antibiotic at the site of infection resulting in improved antimicrobial effects compared to systemic administration. Bacterial resistance to current aerosol antibiotic treatments indicate a need for improved therapies to treat CF patients with pulmonary infections caused by multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other bacteria. High concentrations of MP-376 delivered directly to the lung are projected to have antimicrobial effects on even the most resistant organisms.

This study assesses the aerosol delivery characteristics (measured by in vivo lung deposition, nebulization time, serum tobramycin concentrations, and pharmacokinetic parameters) and safety of tobramycin inhalation solution administered for inhalation by PARI eFlow rapid electronic nebulizer (no compressor) vs. PARI LC PLUS Jet Nebulizer (with compressor) in healthy subjects and in subjects with cystic fibrosis.

The majority of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients die from a progressive pulmonary disease.Airway inflammation plays a major role for the pathogenesis of CF lung disease, and ultimately leads to lung destruction. The release of oxidants during the inflammation process leads to a chronic imbalance of oxidants and antioxidants and may be a central component leading to irreversible lung damage in CF patients. The antioxidant glutathione, which is a naturally occurring tripeptide, is depleted in the extracellular epithelial lining fluid of the CF lung. The elevation of reduced level to normal and also the augmentation of glutathione concentrations above the normal level, as observed in smokers and during defence of Pseudomonas infection, may be desirable to avoid lung damage. Data from pilot studies in humans and animals have indicated that the glutathione concentrations in epithelial lining fluid can be elevated by aerosol application. The main objective of this trial is to evaluate the effect of a 24-week treatment with inhaled glutathione compared with control inhalations (normal saline) on pulmonary function in adult and pediatric CF patients. Secondary objectives are to determine the effects of inhaled glutathione on inflammatory variables, glutathione levels and free elastase in induced sputum and to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the 24-week treatment with inhaled GSH. There is considerable hope within the CF community that the addition of anti-oxidative therapy to an already comprehensive program for treating the lungs will decrease morbidity and improve the quality of life for patients with CF.

This is a clinical trial which will evaluate the efficacy of Liprotamase treatment in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (PI).

Torasemide is a loop diuretic (pyridine-sulfonylurea)with a wide experience in the treatment of oedema associated to heart failure, kidney or liver disease and either in the treatment of arterial hypertension (alone or combined with other anti-hypertensive drugs). It has been developed a new formulation of Torasemide (Torasemide prolonged release). The aim of this trial is to study the effects of Torasemide prolonged released in comparison with furosemide, in the reduction of myocardial fibrosis in patients with chronic heart failure (Class II-IV of the New York Heart Association Classification.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of ivacaftor in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) who were aged 18 years or older and have a G551D mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. Ivacaftor is a potent and selective CFTR potentiator of wild-type, G551D, F508del, and R117H forms of human CFTR protein. Potentiators are pharmacological agents that increase the chloride ion transport properties of the channel in the presence of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) activation.

In some participants with cystic fibrosis (CF), the disease is caused by a nonsense mutation (premature stop codon) in the gene that makes the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) protein. Ataluren has been shown to partially restore CFTR production in animals with CF due to a nonsense mutation. The main purpose of this study is to understand whether ataluren can safely increase functional CFTR protein in the cells of participants with CF due to a nonsense mutation.

Our data indicate that the CFTR-molecule functions as a transporter for sphingosine-1-phosphate and sphingosine or regulates the uptake of these sphingolipids by epithelial cells. The disturbed uptake of sphingosine and sphingosine-1-phosphate over the cell membrane results in an accumulation of ceramide in the cell membrane, which finally triggers a pro-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic status in the respiratory tract of cystic fibrosis patients. Amitriptyline reduces the cera-mide levels in the lung tissue, normalises the activity of cytokines and prevents constitutive cell death of epithelial cells observed in CFTR-deficient mice. Most important, amitriptyline prevents pulmonary infections of CFTR-deficient mice with P. aeruginosa. These effects of amitriptyline may result in an improved lung function of cystic fibrosis patients.