View clinical trials related to Anemia.
Filter by:This study will test the safety and effectiveness of a combination of three drugs in treating severe aplastic anemia and preventing its recurrence. Two drugs used in this trial ATG and cyclosporine are standard combination therapy for aplastic anemia. This study will try to improve this therapy in three ways: 1) by altering the drug regimen to allow the drugs to work better; 2) by reducing the risk of kidney damage; and 3) by adding a third drug mycophenolate mofetil to try to prevent disease relapse. Patients with severe aplastic anemia who do not have a suitable bone marrow donor or who decline bone marrow transplantation may participate in this study. Patients will have a skin test for ATG allergy, chest X-ray, blood test, and bone marrow aspiration before treatment begins. ATG will then be started, infused through a vein continuously for 4 days. Ten days after ATG is stopped, cyclosporine treatment will begin, taken twice a day by mouth in either liquid or capsule form and will continue for 6 months. Also, in the first 2 weeks of treatment, patients will be given a full dose of corticosteroid (prednisone) to prevent serum sickness that could develop as a side effect of ATG therapy. The dosage will be decreased after that. Mycophenolate will be started at the same time as ATG, in two daily doses by mouth, and will continue for 18 months. Patients will be hospitalized at the beginning of the study. During this time, blood will be drawn at 3-week intervals and a bone marrow examination will be repeated 3 months after treatment has begun. Additional tests, including X-rays may be required. After hospital discharge, patients will be followed on an outpatient basis at 3-month intervals. The patients own physician will perform blood tests weekly and kidney and liver function tests every 2 weeks during cyclosporine therapy. Transfusions may be required initially.
Diamond Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a condition in which the bone marrow is underdeveloped. DBA is considered a congenital disease, meaning patients are born with it. In DBA there is a lack of cells that give rise to red blood cells. The other elements produced in the bone marrow, such as white blood cells and platelets, are normal. Standard treatments used for this disorder such as steroids and bone marrow transplants are associated with failure, relapse, side-effects, increased morbidity, and even death. Two drugs, antithymocyte globulin (ATG) and cyclosporin have been used to treat DBA, but have only provided occasional responses. No study has ever combined these two drugs for the treatment of DBA. This study is designed to explore the combined use of ATG and cyclosporine as a rational approach to the treatment of DBA.
Sickle cell anemia is the most common genetic disease affecting African-Americans. About 1 in every 1000 African-Americans has the disease and 1 in every 12 carry the genes that could be passed on to their children. People with sickle cell anemia have abnormal hemoglobin, the molecules responsible for carrying oxygen in the blood. The abnormal hemoglobin can cause damage to the red blood cells. The damaged red blood cell may then stick in the blood vessels and cause pain and injury to organs. Some of the complications caused by the sticking of blood cells are called acute pain crisis and acute chest syndrome (ACS). Nitric oxide (NO) is a gas that has been proposed as a possible therapy for the ACS complication of sickle cell anemia. Studies have shown that NO may favorably affect sickle cell hemoglobin molecules, thereby improving blood flow through small vessels. This study is designed to evaluate the effects of NO, when taken in combination with a drug called nitroglycerin on patients with sickle cell anemia and normal volunteers. The effects of these two drugs only last while the patient is receiving them. Researchers hope the information learned from this study will help to develop new therapies for sickle cell anemia.
Severe Aplastic Anemia (SAA) is a rare and very serious blood disorder in which the bone marrow stops producing the cells which make up blood; red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Researchers believe this is caused by an autoimmune reaction, a condition in which the natural defense system of the body begins attacking itself. In SAA the immune system begins attacking the bone marrow. Red blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen to all of the organ systems in the body, and low numbers (anemia) can cause difficulty breathing and fatigue. Platelets are responsible for normal blood clotting and low numbers can result in easy bruising and bleeding which can be deadly. White blood cells are responsible for fighting infections, and low numbers of these can lead to frequent infections, the most common cause of death in patients with aplastic anemia. SAA can be treated by bone marrow transplant (BMT) or by drugs designed to slow down the immune system (immunosuppressants). BMT can be successful, but it requires a donor with matched bone marrow, making this therapy available only to a few patients. BMT with unmatched bone marrow can fail and cause dangerous side effects. Presently, the two drugs used to treat SAA by slowing down the immune system (immunosuppression) are antithymocyte globulin (ATG) and cyclosporin A (CSA). When used in combination these two drugs can improve most patients condition. However, one third of the patients who respond to this therapy experience a relapse of SAA. In addition, some patients treated with ATG/CSA can later develop other disorders of the blood. Recently, researchers have found that another immunosuppressive drug called cyclophosphamide, has been successful at treating patients with SAA. In addition, patients treated with cyclophosphamide do not experience relapses or develop other disorders of the blood. In this study researchers would like to compare the combinations of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) and cyclosporin A (CSA) to cyclophosphamide and cyclosporin A (CSA) for the treatment of SAA.
T Cell Large Granular Lymphocyte (T-LGL) Lymphoproliferative Disorders are a heterogeneous group of uncommon diseases which may involve a polyclonal or a monoclonal T cell population, which bear characteristic surface markers corresponding to activated cytotoxic (CD3+, CD8+) lymphocytes. They are often associated with quite severe neutropenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia which may be life-threatening. There is some evidence that the abnormal cytotoxic lymphocyte population may cause the cytopenias by suppressing hematopoiesis, although the mechanism is unclear. Case reports suggest that immunosuppressive therapy directed toward T cells may reverse the cytopenia. This pilot study involving up to 25 patients evaluates the clinical response to cyclosporine, an immunosuppressive drug, and seeks to elucidate the mechanism underlying the cytopenia.
Fanconi's Anemia is an inherited disorder that can produce bone marrow failure. In addition, some patients with Fanconi's anemia have physical defects usually involving the skeleton and kidneys. The major problem for most patients is aplastic anemia, the blood counts for red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are low because the bone marrow fails to produce these cells. Some patients with Fanconi's anemia can develop leukemia or cancers of other organs. Many laboratory studies have suggested that Fanconi's anemia is caused by an inherited defect in the ability of cells to repair DNA. Recently, the gene for one of the four types of Fanconi's anemia, type C, has been identified. It is known that this gene is defective in patients with Fanconi's anemia type C. Researchers have conducted laboratory studies that suggest Fanconi's anemia type C may be treatable with gene therapy. Gene therapy works by placing a normal gene into the cells of patients with abnormal genes responsible for Fanconi's anemia type C. After the normal gene is in place, new normal cells can develop and grow. Drugs can be given to these patients kill the remaining abnormal cells. The new cells containing normal genes and will not be harmed by these drugs. The purpose of this study is to test whether researchers can safely place the normal Fanconi's anemia type C gene into cells of patients with the disease. The gene will be placed into special cells in the bone marrow called stem cells. These stem cells are responsible for producing new red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
This trial, sponsored by Amgen, Inc., which produces the recombinant methionyl human stem cell factor (r-metHuSCF), also involves two other institutions. The primary objective is determination of the safety of administering multiple doses of r-metHuSCF in the setting of acquired aplastic anemia and evaluation of the effect of r-metHuSCF on peripheral blood counts. Potential effects of r-metHuSCF on frequency of need for red cell or platelet transfusions and on bone marrow morphology/cellularity will also be evaluated.
A total of fifty severely affected patients with homozygous sickle cell disease or other sickling disorders (e.g. B negative or B positive Thalassemia/Sickle) who are greater than 18 years of age will be eligible for treatment. Such patients must be able to tolerate an extensive period without blood transfusion and have relatively well preserved renal and hepatic function (creatinine less than 1.5 mg/dl and normal liver function test with exception of a mild elevation in transaminase). Evidence of severe sickle cell anemia will include recurrent pain crisis, chronic bone oain, evidence of aseptic necrosis with symptoms, and intractable leg ulcer, etc. On admission to the study, each patient will receive a complete history and physical examination. These data and standard laboratory evaluation, including a test for pregnancy if appropriate, will be adequate to ascertain whether any of the criteria for exclusion are present. Each patient must accept responsibility for for using an effective means of contraception. Patients who are found to be HIV positive will be excluded from the study....
The purpose of the TCRN is to accelerate research in the management of thalassemia, standardize existing treatments, and evaluate new ones in a network of clinical centers in North America. The emphasis will be on clinical trials that help identify optimal therapy. Therapeutic trials may involve investigational drugs, drugs already approved but not currently used, and drugs currently used.
To evaluate if HLA-mismatched, unrelated-donor umbilical cord blood stem and progenitor cell units (UCBU) offered a clinically acceptable alternative to matched unrelated-donor allogeneic bone marrow for transplantation with 180-day disease free survival as the endpoint. HLA typing was performed using DNA-base high resolution methods to determine HLA alleles. Patients with "true" HLA 3/6 and 4/6 matches were evaluated. In addition, a separate study in adults addressed the problem of limited cell dose and engraftment failure. The study was not planned as a randomized comparative clinical trial. Instead, it is a phase II/III efficacy study.