View clinical trials related to Kidney Diseases.
Filter by:The purpose of this cohort study is to estimate the risk of cardiovascular mortality associated with abnormal calcium metabolism
The Look AHEAD study is a multi-center, randomized clinical trial to examine the long-term effects of a lifestyle intervention designed to achieve and maintain weight loss. The study will investigate the effects of the intervention on heart attacks, stroke and cardiovascular-related death in individuals with type 2 diabetes who are also overweight or obese.
This study is intended to help doctors learn about the relationships between specific genetic makeup (gene markers) and the development of chronic rejection. This study is being done to see if there is a relationship between genetic patterns and the development of Chronic Allograft Nephropathy (CAN). Medical scientists also hope to learn more about how genetic differences between people determine their response to a drug or a disease by storing a small blood sample in a special "bank". This sample may be tested at some point in the future in an attempt to better understand the factors that may influence rejection, transplantation outcomes and transplant success rates.
This protocol will test a humanized monoclonal antibody known as Campath-1H for its ability to induce a state of permanent allograft acceptance, or tolerance, when administered in combination with a brief course of the immunosuppressive drug deoxyspergualin (DSG) at the time of human renal allotransplantation. Campath-1H is specific for the common lymphocyte and monocyte antigen CD52. Its administration temporarily depletes mature lymphocytes and some monocytes without altering neutrophils or hematopoietic stem cells. Deoxyspergualin inhibits the NFkB pathway thus preventing monocyte and macrophage activation. Recipients of living or cadaveric donor kidneys will be treated with one dose of Campath-1H prior to transplantation to insure that peripheral depletion is achieved at the time of graft reperfusion. Three subsequent doses of Campath-1H will be administered on the first, third and fifth days after the transplant to deplete passenger donor leukocytes and residual recipient cells that mobilize in response to the allograft. In addition, patients will be treated with DSG for 14 days beginning on the day prior to surgery. This trial expands on pilot studies at the NIH of 15 patients in which Campath was given alone at the time of transplantation. In those studies, excellent peripheral depletion occurred after just one dose of Campath though central depletion required additional dosing. This allowed for greatly reduced immunosuppression to be used to prevent rejection, but to date, all patients have required some immunosuppressive medication. It is hoped that the addition of DSG will eliminate the need for long-term immunosuppression. Patients will be followed closely in the post transplant period. If patients experience rejection, they will be treated with methylprednisolone and have immunosuppression added using sirolimus as the predominant immunosuppressive agent. In the previous phase of this study without DSG, this maneuver has in all cases been successful in returning the allograft to normal function. In addition to evaluating graft function following transplantation, this protocol will also characterize and evaluate the function of the immune system and the composition of the T cell repertoire following the administration of Campath-1H and DSG, and during immune system recovery after transplantation.
This protocol facilitates the development of methods for determining whether transplant recipients have developed immune hyporesponsiveness or tolerance towards their allograft. These methods will involve the study of peripheral blood or biopsy tissue obtained at regular intervals from patients receiving kidney or combined kidney-pancreas allografts at the Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center. In addition, patients that have previously received a kidney or combined kidney-pancreas allograft will be evaluated using assays requiring peripheral blood mononuclear cells and/or biopsies. Assays developed under this protocol will be used in subsequent protocols to assess the effects of immune modulating treatment regimens and may eventually be used to direct clinical care or guide the withdrawal of immunosuppressive agents. However, patients enrolled in this protocol will not have any change in treatment based solely on the assays developed without being enrolled in an additional study.
Oxaliplatin is an experimental anti-cancer drug that can shrink tumors such as colon cancer. However, because this drug can damage the kidneys, it is necessary to determine what doses of the drug can safely be given to patients with poor kidney function. Patients with advanced cancer, poorly functioning kidneys, and no good standard treatment options are eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with imaging tests, such as CT and MRI scans, to determine the size and location of the cancer and with blood and urine tests to evaluate kidney and liver function. Study participants will receive oxaliplatin intravenously (through a vein) every 3 weeks for as long as the cancer is under control and there are no serious side effects from the drug. If significant side effects develop, the dosage will be reduced, or the drug will be stopped. Blood tests to measure blood cell counts will be done at least once a week, and CT scans, chest X-rays, and MRIs will be done about once every 6 weeks to assess the tumor's response to the treatment. Additional blood tests will be done at the beginning of the first two treatment cycles to measure the amount of oxaliplatin in the blood, and urine will be collected during the first 24 hours of drug treatment to determine how much drug is eliminated by the body in urine.
The von Hippel Lindau (VHL) gene has recently been identified as the genetic defect resulting in a syndrome of multiple neoplasias. Patients with VHL disease develop retinal angiomata, renal cysts and/or carcinomas, CNS hemangioblastomas as well as pancreatic cysts and pheochromocytomas. Investigators have shown the gene to be a tumor suppressor type proto-oncogene located at chromosomal locus 3p26. The gene includes three exons whose gene product targets a cellular transcription factor Elongin SIII. Binding of the VHL proteins to two subunits of this elongation factor inhibits transcription and may play a crucial role in the clinical development of the von Hippel Lindau phenotype.
High dose methotrexate with leucovorin rescue has demonstrated activity in numerous malignancies. Although high dose methotrexate is generally well tolerated, unpredictable life-threatening toxicity can occur. For patients who have markedly delayed clearance of methotrexate secondary to renal dysfunction, therapeutic options are few and are of limited efficacy. Carboxypeptidase-G2 inactivates methotrexate by hydrolyzing its C-terminal glutamate residue. Carboxypeptidase-G2 could be used to rescue patients with renal dysfunction and delayed methotrexate excretion, as it provides an alternative to renal clearance as a route of elimination.