View clinical trials related to Syndrome.
Filter by:This study is an evaluation of the effect of rituximab compared to placebo in combination with steroids on salivary flow and serological and clinical parameters in patients with primary SS.
The metabolic syndrome consists of five concurrent conditions which increase risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Persons with the metabolic syndrome usually have high triglyceride and low HDL levels and are overweight. Low fat, high carbohydrate diets may not provide the same cholesterol-lowering benefits to obese individuals as they do to non-obese individuals. The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of a low fat, high carbohydrate diet versus a moderate fat, moderate carbohydrate diet on the heart, blood vessels, and cholesterol levels in individuals with metabolic syndrome.
Biosynthesis of proteins is essential for growth and continued maintenance of the entire neuron including axons, dendrites, and synaptic terminals, and it is clearly one of the important biochemical processes underlying adaptive changes in the nervous system. Studies in experimental animals with the quantitative autoradiographic L [1 (14)C]leucine method have demonstrated a number of the physiological and pathological conditions in which changes in regional rates of cerebral protein synthesis (rCPS) occur. We have recently developed the first fully quantitative method for determining rCPS with positron emission tomography (PET). The PET method was adapted from the autoradiographic L [1 (14)C]leucine method; it uses L [1 (11)C]leucine as the PET tracer, dynamic scanning, and a kinetic modeling approach for quantification. This method was validated in nonhuman primates by comparison of PET measurements with those based on established biochemical and autoradiographic techniques. The objective of the present study is to examine the degree to which changes in rCPS in human subjects can be quantified with the L [1 (11)C]leucine PET method. We propose three studies to be carried out sequentially. In Part I we will establish the L-[1-(11)C]leucine PET method in human subjects. In Part II we will measure rCPS in normal control subjects in two states: awake and under deep sedation/general anesthesia with propofol. A difference in rCPS between these two states may indicate that we can detect activity-dependent protein synthesis with the PET method. In Part III we will study subjects with fragile X syndrome. This patient group was chosen since the affected gene in fragile X syndrome codes for a protein that is thought to be a negative regulator of message translation. Thus an effect on protein synthesis may be very close to the underlying genetic abnormality in fragile X syndrome. Regionally selective increases in rCPS have been found in studies in a mouse model of this disease. The present study will establish the sensitivity of the L [1 (11)C]leucine PET method to detect changes in rCPS in human subjects. A quantitative and sensitive method to measure rCPS with PET will augment the tools available for investigating the brain and its regional adaptive responses. Ultimately the method may have widespread applications, not only for the study of normal development and plasticity but also in clinical medicine, e.g., in the investigation of disorders of brain development, recovery from brain injury, and neurodegenerative diseases. SPECIFIC AIMS 1. <TAB>Establish the L-[1-(11)C]leucine PET method for measurement of rCPS in human subjects. Evaluate the optimal scan time and the variability of the measurement in an individual. 2. <TAB>Determine the effect of deep sedation with propofol on rCPS in normal human subjects. We will use the [1-(11)C]leucine PET method to evaluate lambda, i.e., the fraction of the precursor pool for protein synthesis that is derived from arterial plasma, and rCPS in the same subjects under awake and deep sedation conditions. I)<TAB>Hypothesis 1a. Deep sedation with propofol has effects on rCPS. II)<TAB>Hypothesis 1b. Deep sedation with propofol has effects on values of lambda. 3. <TAB>Assess the sensitivity of the [1-(11)C]leucine PET method to detect differences in rCPS in subjects with fragile X syndrome. I)<TAB>Hypothesis 3a. There are regionally selective changes in rCPS in subjects with fragile X syndrome compared with age-matched healthy controls. Regions affected include hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and frontal and parietal cortex. II)<TAB>Hypothesis 3b. In centrum semiovale, cerebellum, striatum and occipital and temporal cortex rCPS are unchanged in subjects with fragile X syndrome compared with age-matched healthy controls. III)<TAB>Hypothesis 3c. Values of lambda in the brain as a whole and in the regions examined are unchanged in subjects with fragile X syndrome compared with age-matched healthy controls. IV) Hypothesis 3d. The average rate of protein synthesis in the brain as a whole is unchanged in subjects with fragile X syndrome compared with age-matched healthy controls.
The hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS)and pre-HPS is a disease seen in patients with chronic liver disease, whereby patients develop dilations in the blood vessels of the lungs, resulting in low oxygen levels and shortness of breath. In this study, each HPS and pre-HPS subject will be treated with a commonly used antibiotic called "norfloxacin" (approved for use in the treatment of gonorrhea, prostatitis and urinary tract infections) for a 4-week period. In order to ensure that any observed improvement was indeed due to norfloxacin, each subject will also be treated with a separate 4-week course of an identical placebo. There will also be a 4 week wash-out period (no study medication/placebo) between the 2 courses of treatment. The primary aim of the study will be to measure improvements in oxygen levels while on norfloxacin, although a number of secondary parameters will also be followed.
Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) is one of the most common forms of nephrotic syndrome (NS) in adults and is usually treated by corticosteroids in combination with cytotoxic drugs especially cyclophosphamide or cyclosporine. Tacrolimus, a new immunosuppressive agent, was proved to be effective in treating refractory NS. Whether it is effective in IMN has not been reported. We therefore undertook a multi-center, controlled study to investigate the efficacy and safety profile of tacrolimus compared with cyclophosphamide in the treatment of patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy and nephrotic syndrome.
This study will test the accuracy of screening tests for Cushing s syndrome in overweight people with signs of the disorder. Cushing s syndrome is a rare disorder caused by excess production of the hormone cortisol. Patients may have various problems, such as weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, infections, mood problems, trouble concentrating, and increased blood clotting. These symptoms are seen in many other disorders as well, complicating the diagnosis. The reliability of tests currently used to diagnose Cushing s syndrome is not known. To test their accuracy, subjects in this study who test positive for Cushing s syndrome will be evaluated at NIH for 2 years to either confirm or refute the laboratory results. Patients between 18 and 75 years of age who are being treated at the George Washington University Weight Management Program (GWUWMP) may participate in this study. Candidates will be screened with a medical history, physical examination, measurement of body fat, blood tests, and oral glucose tolerance test. They will also complete a symptoms checklist and quality of life questionnaire. Participants will be tested for Cushing s syndrome with a saliva collection, 24-hour urine collection, and dexamethasone suppression test (DST). For the DST they will take 1 mg of dexamethasone at night and report to GWUWMP the next morning for a blood draw. All specimens blood, saliva, and urine will be tested for cortisol levels. People whose test results are abnormal will be seen at the NIH outpatient clinic for a medical history, physical examination, and blood tests; bedtime saliva collection; two 24-hour urine collections; and a 2-day 2-mg DST, followed by administration of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). CRH is a naturally occurring hormone that causes cortisol levels to rise. Pre-treatment with dexamethasone prevents CRH from causing an increase in cortisol in healthy people, but not in patients with Cushing s syndrome. For the 2-day DST, the subject takes 0.5 mg dexamethasone every 6 hours for eight doses. Two hours after the last dose, CRH is injected through a catheter (thin plastic tube) inserted into an arm vein. Blood is drawn just before giving CRH to measure dexamethasone and cortisol levels and after giving CRH to measure cortisol levels. People whose test results are normal will not be seen further at NIH. Those with high cortisol levels will have repeat urine and saliva tests every 2 to 8 weeks for up to 24 months, and a 1-mg DST every 3 months during routine clinic visits at GWUWMP. People whose increased cortisol is found to be due to another condition besides Cushing s syndrome will be referred for evaluation and possible treatment. Those diagnosed with Cushing s syndrome will have standard tests to identify the tumor causing the disorder, followed by standard medical and surgical treatment.
RATIONALE: Vaccines made from cancer cells may help the body build an effective immune response to kill abnormal cells. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well vaccine therapy works in treating patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
The goal of this clinical research study is to find out if Revlimid can help to control the disease in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with abnormalities in chromosome number 5. The safety of this treatment will also be studied.
This study will investigate the genetic basis of oculocerebrorenal syndrome of Lowe (OCRL)-a rare X-linked disorder (carried by females and passed to males). Patients with OCRL have abnormal development of the eye lens, developmental delay, muscle weakness and kidney dysfunction. The study will examine DNA and cell samples obtained and archived from patients with OCRL enrolled in a previous protocol (HG008A) between 1996 and 1999. It will identify mutations in the OCRL1 gene responsible for OCRL in affected males and try to correlate them with specific biochemical or cellular activities (e.g., enzyme activity, protein stability, cellular localization and trafficking). When test results are available, the information will be communicated to the patients, their parents (if the patient is a minor) and their physicians, and families will receive genetic counseling.
RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy, such as busulfan, fludarabine, and melphalan, before a donor umbilical cord blood stem cell transplant helps stop the growth of abnormal or cancer cells and prepares the patient's bone marrow for the stem cells. When the healthy stem cells from a donor are infused into the patient they may help the patient's bone marrow make stem cells, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor can make an immune response against the body's normal cells. Giving cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil may stop this from happening. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well combination chemotherapy followed by a donor umbilical cord blood transplant works in treating infants with high-risk acute leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes.