View clinical trials related to Virus Diseases.
Filter by:This study will follow blood transfusion recipients for 6 to 9 months following transfusion to monitor the quality and safety of blood transfusion. Improved viral testing and careful donor screening in the last several years has dramatically reduced the rates of transfusion-related HIV and hepatitis. Nevertheless, ongoing surveillance of transfusion-related infections is essential to maintain a high safety standard and to determine the transfusion risk of other infectious agents, such as cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, parvovirus B-19, HHV-8 (Kaposi s sarcoma virus) and other possible hepatitis viruses that might be blood-transmitted. Transfused patients blood will be tested for various infectious agents. Their blood samples and blood samples from their donors will be frozen and stored in a repository so that any new infectious agent can be rapidly evaluated for its danger to the safety of the blood supply. Adult patients at the National Institutes of Health and children at the Children s National Medical Center who are scheduled to receive a blood transfusion or to undergo surgery for which a blood transfusion may be needed are eligible for this study. All participants will have a 20- to 25-milliliter (about 2 tablespoonfuls) blood sample drawn before their transfusion and again at 1, 2, 4, 12 and 24 weeks after the transfusion. Patients who are transfused on more than one occasion over the course of the study will provide three additional monthly samples. Patients who develop a transfusion-transmitted infection during the study will provide up to four more samples to study the infection and its effects. Participants will complete a brief questionnaire at the end of the study regarding prior blood transfusions and the development of any illnesses, such as hepatitis, that might have been caused by the transfusion.
This study will examine liver tissue to investigate the role of viral infections in fulminant hepatitis, liver failure, and profound bone marrow failure. All patients who are undergoing liver biopsy or liver transplantation may participate in this study. For patients undergoing liver biopsy, a small piece of liver tissue will be taken from the sample collected during the scheduled biopsy. For patients undergoing liver transplantation, a small piece of tissue will be collected from the diseased liver that is to be removed.
This study will examine the effects of long-term antiviral therapy with valaciclovir (Valtrex) on Epstein-Barr virus infection. This virus infects more than 95 percent of people in the United States. Most are infected in childhood, have no symptoms, and are unaware of their infection. People infected as adolescents or adults may develop infectious mononucleosis, which usually resolves completely. Once infected, most people shed the virus from their throat occasionally, and all carry the virus in their white blood cells for life. This study will determine whether the amount of virus in the blood declines or disappears with long-term valaciclovir treatment. Normal volunteers who are not taking any antiviral medicines and patients enrolled in NIH's protocol no. 97-I-0168 (Evaluation of Valaciclovir for Prevention of Herpes Simplex Virus Transmission) or Glaxo-Wellcome protocol HS2AB 3009 at collaborating centers may be eligible for this study. Patients in the multi-center study must be about to start valaciclovir therapy for at least 1 year. All candidates must be 18 years of age or older. Study participants will be seen in clinic for about 1 hour every 3 months for a year. During these visits, they will provide information about the medicines they are taking, gargle twice with salt water and spit the fluid into a tube, and have blood drawn (no more than 8 teaspoons each visit). The blood and gargled fluid will be tested for the amount of Epstein-Barr virus and antibodies to the virus. (Blood samples will also be tested for HLA type in order to do immunologic studies in the laboratory. HLA is a marker of the immune system that is similar to blood-typing testing.) The results in people taking valaciclovir will be compared with those in people not taking the drug. People whose results show the virus has disappeared from the body will continue to be followed twice a year for 5 years with the blood and gargling tests to continue to look for evidence of virus. Also, people who develop symptoms resembling mononucleosis (e.g., enlarged lymph nodes with fever and sore throat) will be asked to have their blood tested for the virus.
The diverse clinical syndromes associated with hepatitis C underscore the multifactorial and polygenic nature of HCV infection. Both viral and host factors likely contribute to variations in infection outcome, disease susceptibility and progression, and treatment response. This protocol will focus on the immunogenetics of HCV infection. Various candidate genes, most of them related to host immune response in microbial infection, have defined genetic polymorphisms that have been associated with variable manifestations of infections including malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, AIDS and hepatitis B. In this proposal, we plan to collect peripheral blood mononuclear cells as a source of DNA from approximately 1500 patients with HCV infection, analyze genetic polymorphisms of various candidate genes in association with viral clearance, disease progression or treatment response, and characterize the functional consequences of these polymorphisms in patients with well-defined clinical sequelae of HCV infection. We will also collect blood from patients with other forms of liver diseases (approximately 300) or normal volunteers (approximately 200) as controls. By identifying relevant host factors genetically and investigating their molecular interactions with HCV, we may gain additional insights into HCV pathogenesis and uncover new potential targets for vaccine development and treatment intervention.
To determine the prevalence and natural history of pulmonary and cardiac complications associated with HIV infection in utero, in infancy, and during early childhood.
This study will evaluate hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in blood donors who test positive for antibodies to this virus. Most HCV-infected people do not become ill and are not aware that they have hepatitis or have had it in the past. Some infected people recover completely, whereas others remain chronically infected. The study will try to define infectivity of anti-HCV positive individuals, routes of transmission of the virus, and the number of HCV-infected persons who have evidence of liver disease. Blood donors at the NIH Clinical Center or the Central Maryland Chapter of the American Red Cross who test positive for HCV may be eligible for this study. Participants will have a physical examination and history, including questions about socioeconomic status and current sexual practices. They will have 100 milliliters (ml) (6 tablespoons) of blood drawn at the first visit and 50 ml (3 tablespoons) drawn 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after the initial visit. Some participants may undergo plasmapheresis, a procedure for collecting additional plasma (the liquid portion of the blood). For this procedure, whole blood is collected through a needle placed in an arm vein. The blood circulates through a machine that separates it into its components. The plasma is then removed, and the red and white cells and platelets are returned to the body, either through the same needle used to draw the blood or through a second needle placed in the other arm. In some individuals, other body fluids (saliva, urine or semen) may also be collected. Participants may be asked to bring their household contacts and sexual partners to NIH for interview and blood testing for evidence of HCV infection and liver disease. Although this is not required for participation in the study, it would provide additional valuable information. Participants found to have chronic viral infection will be seen more often and will provide additional blood samples for routine medical care. Further medical evaluation may include X-rays or liver scans and referral to a specialist for additional tests or therapy. Ten people in this study will be recruited to participate in a secondary investigation to analyze changes in the level of HCV and the immune response to it, and to relate these changes to the degree of liver damage. In addition to blood collected for the primary study, participants in this investigation will have an additional 50 ml (3 tablespoons) of blood drawn from an arm vein every week for 10 weeks to measure levels of virus, ALT (a liver enzyme), and immune response.
To provide oral sorivudine ( BV-araU ) to pediatric HIV-infected patients with varicella-zoster viral disease who have failed or are intolerant of alternative therapy.
PRIMARY: To evaluate the clinical activity of foscarnet cream on the index lesion of mucocutaneous herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections in immunocompromised patients previously unresponsive to acyclovir treatment. SECONDARY: To evaluate the clinical activity and virologic activity of foscarnet cream on all treated lesions in this patient population. To evaluate the local tolerance and side effects of treatment with foscarnet cream in this patient population.
To determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and toxicity of sargramostim (recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor; GM-CSF) given by continuous intravenous infusion (CIV) in patients with leukopenia in association with AIDS virus infection. In addition, single dose and steady state pharmacokinetics will also be determined.
To determine the safety, immunogenicity, biological activity, ad pharmacokinetics of sargramostim ( recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor; GM-CSF ) human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor ( GM-CSF ), given by subcutaneous ( SC ) injection to patients with leukopenia in association with HIV infection.