View clinical trials related to Adaptive Immunity.
Filter by:Adequate control of immunosuppression is critical in preventing graft failure after solid organ transplantation (SOT) and in avoiding life-threatening viral and malignant complications. Prolonging patient and graft survival and delaying re-transplantation as children reach adulthood is critical to optimal use of a scarce resource. This requires tailoring post-transplant management to the unique needs of the child. Immunosuppression management is challenging in infants, children and youth. The interval from birth to young adulthood sees profound changes in physiological processes, body size and immune maturation; infancy and adolescence are the periods of most rapid and dramatic change. Three pivotal factors affect immunosuppression control in the child: 1) age-dependent variation in drug metabolism; 2) developmental changes in immune function with increased childhood susceptibility to infections, including those caused by viruses; and 3) behavioural changes in adolescence and young adulthood linked with poor treatment adherence. This project will identify the most important factors influencing immunosuppression control across the pediatric age range, from infancy to young adulthood, including age-related changes in drug metabolism, immune function, and susceptibility to viral infections, as well as health care system factors affecting treatment adherence. This is the first comprehensive, multi-organ transplant study to identify age-related biologic and health care systems determinants of variability in immunosuppression control in children and youth. Results will inform personalized age-appropriate strategies to improve immunosuppression control and reduce the unacceptably high graft failure and viral complication rates in this vulnerable population. The POSITIVE Study brings together researchers across Canada and is one of 6 projects and 3 cores that constitute the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) funded interdisciplinary research program called the Canadian National Transplant Research Program (CNTRP). The CNTRP is a national program designed to increase organ and tissue donation in Canada and enhance the survival and quality of life of Canadians who receive transplants. As a national program, CNTRP provides robust power for pediatric studies that would not otherwise be possible. While primarily focused on issues unique to a pediatric and young adult population, this study will interact closely with all other CNTRP projects. These reciprocal interactions will accelerate new discovery that can be cross-applied in different populations outside of pre-specified age groups. Interactions will ensure rapid knowledge transfer, uptake and dissemination into practice. This is the largest national cohort study of pediatric transplant patients to date in Canada, and it will create a longitudinal dataset with clinical and biological specimens linkable to transplant registries and provincial administrative datasets.
Background: The primary focus of the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the NIH is to develop vaccines for HIV/AIDS. The main purpose of this study is to look in detail at the body s immune response to two experimental HIV vaccines currently in development at the VRC. One is known as the rAd5 vaccine and the other is known as the DNA vaccine. These vaccines are made with pieces of manufactured DNA. They do not contain live or killed HIV. It is impossible for study vaccines to give you HIV and they cannot cause you to give HIV to someone else. Both of these experimental vaccines have been given to people before in other research studies. They have not been approved for treating or preventing HIV infection. Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to look in detail at the body s immune responses after the experimental HIV vaccines are given and to assess safety of the study vaccines. Eligibility: Healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 50 who are not infected with HIV and who meet the eligibility requirements. Design: Participants will be screened with a medical history (including questions about sexual history and drug use), physical exam, and blood tests. The study will have two groups: <TAB>One group will receive one injection of the rAd5 vaccine, and have 8 clinic visits over 3 months. <TAB>The second group will have three injections of the DNA vaccine, one injection of the rAd5 vaccine, and have 12 clinic visits over 6 months. All participants will be asked to provide blood and body fluid samples for testing during the study. Payment for participation will be provided....