View clinical trials related to Chronic Disease.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent patients with COPD, who have participated in physical training for 12 weeks, can maintain their physical activity behaviour and physical capacity on a long-term basis if they get a behavioural medicine intervention.
Several impairing factors contribute to physical limitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as deconditioning, muscle dysfunction and physical inactivity. The available literature clearly indicates that these therapeutic targets benefit from exercise training in patients with COPD and, currently, the key point is not whether patients should or not exercise, but which is the specific contribution of each exercise modality to this population. About this topic, the characteristics of a physical training program to be offered to patients have been a point discussed among researchers in this field, although recently the high-intensity training has been recognized as superior in comparison to the low-intensity training. Literature also indicates that, in order to change the sedentary lifestyle of patients with COPD, long-term training programs are indicated. However, a doubt still remains: if long-term programs are one of the key points to reduce physical inactivity, it is not yet clear whether it is necessary to include high-intensity exercises in that long-term program. If the duration is the only factor influencing the outcomes of the program, thus the intensity of training could be reduced, increasing the adherence of patients to the protocol. Based on this hypothesis, the aim of this study is to compare the effects of two physical training protocols in a long-term rehabilitation program (6 months) in patients with COPD: a high-intensity protocol (based on endurance and resistive training) and a low-intensity protocol (based on callisthenic and breathing exercises training). It is expected that the results of this study contribute to the scientific literature by demonstrating whether low- and high-intensity training contribute equally to change the sedentary lifestyle of patients after a long-term exercise program.
The use of pre-emptive analgesia to prevent pain following sternotomy for cardiac surgery
The purpose of this study is to learn more about the genetics of chronic sinusitis and identify genes involved in chronic sinusitis.
Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate, an pelvic organ of men. Prostatitis can cause great discomfort which varies but can include pelvic pain, pelvic pressure, a vague sense of discomfort, a feeling of malaise and fatigue, fever, burning on urination, pain on reaching orgasm, and bleeding. In many men the symptoms of prostatitis can be chronic. It is estimated that in the United States chronic prostatitis is responsible for as many as two million doctor visits a year. The disease can be ruinous, interfering with work, intimacy, and other things. The causes of chronic prostatitis are not understood. The treatments commonly used, including antibiotics and prostate massage, work poorly. We now have evidence that laparoscopic prostatectomy can eliminate the misery of chronic prostatitis. This trial aims to quantify and better characterize the effect of laparoscopic prostatectomy on the symptoms of chronic prostatitis.
Peritoneal dialysis patients are at increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and are related to the presence of accelerated atherosclerosis. Our recent data showed that inflammation predicts mortality and cardiovascular death, independent of other cardiovascular risk factors in peritoneal dialysis patients. As a considerable proportion of peritoneal dialysis patients showed evidence of inflammation, it raises an important question as to whether anti-inflammatory treatment has any cardiovascular and survival benefit in these patients. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-g) agonist is a class of drug with insulin sensitizing property. Recent experimental and clinical studies demonstrated that this class of drug has anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic properties other than insulin sensitizing effect in type 2 diabetics. We therefore hypothesize that modulation of the PPAR-g activity may be a novel therapeutic strategy for reducing inflammation and retarding the progression of atherosclerosis and possibly lowering mortality in our peritoneal dialysis patients.
Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a condition with several causes of which some remain unknown. It is believed that some types of CP may be genetic or passed down (inherited) from one generation to the next. In this study, we are collecting genetic material and medical information to try to determine if genetic factors play a role in CP/CPPS. We will be collecting DNA (from Blood/Saliva sample) and urine from each participant. Bladder tissue from affected individuals will also be collected. Individuals and families with CP/CPPS will be enrolled. Family members of an individual with CP/CPPS are eligible whether or not they also experience CP/CPPS symptoms.
In earlier work, the Sponsor developed a computer image processing system for analysis of pain diagrams from patients with chronic pain. This system was then tested in a study in over 500 chronic pain patients seen by both primary care practitioners and pain specialists. The hypothesis was that pain location would correlate with the pain type and the underlying cause of the pain. In the study, the computer analysis demonstrated clear correlations between pain diagram data and diagnosis/pain type. The present study extends these observations in a web-based setting, with a focus on the value of computer analysis of pain diagrams as diagnostic predictors.
In summary, the researchers want to construct a longitudinal data bank using voluntary health examination participants. Researchers in the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) campus can utilize these data to clarify the effects of several genetic and environmental factors on various common diseases in Taiwan in the future.
Physical constitution is an important factor for the development and outcome of diseases according to the theory in traditional Chinese medicine. The purpose of the study is to find the correlation between physical constitution and clinical characteristics (age, sex, symptoms, physical signs, life style, laboratory results and image findings) through the questionnaire and results of health examination.