There are about 620 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Bangladesh. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
Adalimumab is a recombinant monoclonal antibody (IgG1 subclass) against human TNF-α (Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha). It is an immunosuppressive medication predominantly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis autoimmune disease. It is also used for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and Crohn's disease etc. Adalimumab binds specifically to TNF-α and blocks its general cytokine effects, thereby reducing TNF-induced inflammation and halting tissue destruction. Adalimumab was approved for medical use in the United States in 2002. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. It is available as a biosimilar medication. In 2017, it was the 169th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than three million prescriptions. Adalimumab is an expensive product which is indicated in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, etc. Each patient will be provided the study drug free of cost in this study which will benefit them immensely. The advent of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies has given a major boost to the treatment of individuals suffering from autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis. Adalimumab is one such therapeutic monoclonal antibody used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis marketed with brand name Humira by Abbvie Ltd. (USA) was the only adalimumab biosimilar available for patients in Bangladesh until recently. Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Bangladesh has introduced Bangladesh's first locally manufactured adalimumab biosimilar Advixa that is available at a fraction of Humira's cost. This study aims to evaluate the pharmacokinetics, safety and efficacy of the Adalimumab biosimilar (Advixa) in comparison to Adalimumab (Humira) as reference. The biosimilar Advixa being a local product will a cost-effective alternative to imported drugs currently available in the market. Objectives of the Protocol General objectives- 1. To assess the Pharmacokinetic between Test Product (A): Adalimumab (Advixa) 40 mg/ 0.4 ml of Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd of Bangladesh and the corresponding Reference Product (B): Humira 40 mg/ 0.4ml of Abbvie Ltd in normal, healthy, adult, human subjects in a Parallel group study. 2. To evaluate the safety between two products. 3. To assess efficacy, tolerability and safety of biosimilar adalimumab (Advixa, Incepta) in compared with reference adalimumab (Humira, AbbVie) in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Specific objectives- 1. Pharmacokinetic (PK) Parameters: For Cmax and AUC0-t the 90% confidence interval for the ratio of the test and reference products should be contained within the acceptance interval of 80.00-125.00%. 2. Safety assessment: Evaluation and comparison between references vs. test drug in terms of safety end point. 3. Efficacy assessment: The primary endpoints will be - 1. Proportion of patients with an ACR20 response in both the treatment groups at week 12. 2. Evaluation and comparison of safety between references vs. test drug. The secondary endpoints will be - 1. Change in Disease Activity Score of 28 joints - CRP (DAS28-CRP), 2. Proportion of patient with an ACR50 response and 3. Proportion of patients with an ACR70 response in both the treatment groups at week 12.
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common oral malignancy worldwide. The prognosis of the OSCC patient is not significant despite the modern treatment facilities. Late presentation is one of the most crucial cause of this and for that reason, the importance of early diagnosis of OSCC should be the main concern. Till now, incisional biopsy followed by histopathological examination is the gold standard for diagnosis of oral cancer. The aim of the present study is to find out the association of salivary amino acid levels with oral squamous cell carcinoma, whether the levels are increased or decreased in the patient suffering from OSCC. This might be helpful for early diagnosis of oral cancer and better prognosis.
A caesarean section (C/S) is a surgical procedure performed to prevent difficulties during childbirth. World Health Organization considered the standard rate for the C/S would be between 10% and 15%. However, since 2000 the rate of C/S was increasing globally, and it became about twofold from 12.1% to 21.1% in 2015. In Bangladesh, C/S continued to increase from 8% (2007) to 33% (2017). Medically unnecessary C/S was estimated about 77% of all C/S in 2018, and it was increased from 66% since 2016. In Bangladesh, unnecessary C/S observed 9.0% and 3.2% C/S done due to avoid labour pain and 5.8% for the convenience of the mother. The economic burden of each C/S is average USD 612 and unfortunately, each patient spends this amount of money from out of pocket. Aim of this study is to do ultrasonography and health education can reduce unnecessary caesarean section among pregnant women compared to control group in a resource poor setting. Investigators will conduct this randomized controlled trial (RCT) at Dhaka and Sir Salimullah Medical College & Hospital, and two rural Upazila Health Complexes (Savar Upazila Health Complex and Munshigonj General Hospital). Investigators will randomly select one urban hospital from two urban hospitals and one rural hospital from two rural hospitals for the intervention. The other one urban and one rural hospital will be assigned as control hospitals. One research staff, who will not involve any of the research activity of this trial, will do this randomization. Pregnant mothers will be identified and recruited during their routine antenatal visits. Pregnant mothers receive 2 USG during their routine ANC visits at 1st visit of 8-12 weeks and 4th visit of 36-38 weeks. In the intervention centres, Investigators will perform additional 4 ANC visits at 20, 30, 36 and 40 weeks (total 8 visits) and USG additional 2 times during the 2nd visit of 24-26 weeks and 5th visit of 34 weeks (2 routine USG + 2 USG in 3rd and 5th ANC visits and even more USG if needed + Health education; pictorial flip chart showing danger sign during pregnancy and potential risks for unnecessary caesarean delivery to increase awareness for safe delivery) for all the enrolled pregnant mothers. In the control centres, Investigators will collect information from the pregnant mothers. Investigators are expecting the pregnant women who will receive antenatal care with ultrasonography and health education will have reduced number of unnecessary C/S compared to control group who will not receive those.
Background (brief): Shigellosis is the second leading cause of death due to diarrheal diseases worldwide (>200,000 deaths/year). Though the mortality rate associated with Shigellosis has decreased, the fact that the bacteria have acquired resistance to multiple antibiotics, is a cause for major concern. Oral azithromycin and intravenous ceftriaxone are the recommend first and second line therapies, respectively in Bangladesh. Approximately 20% of Shigella isolates are resistant to azithromycin suggesting that a substantial number of children will require second-line therapy. While resistance to ceftriaxone in shigellosis is low in Bangladesh at 5%, the potential for rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance to this third-generation cephalosporin and ceftriaxone's resource-intensive delivery method, underscore the need for evidence-based alternative antibiotic regimens for multidrug resistant Shigella infections Hypothesis: Children treated with tebipenem-pivoxil will have no worse clinical and microbiologic failure rates compared to ceftriaxone. Primary Aim To determine whether tebipenem-pivoxil is clinically non-inferior to the currently WHO-recommended second line Shigella therapy (ceftriaxone) 3 days after treatment initiation. Hypothesis: Children randomized to tebipenem-pivoxil experience no more clinical failures than children treated with ceftriaxone 3 days after treatment initiation. Secondary Aim: To determine whether tebipenem-pivoxil is clinically non-inferior to the currently WHO-recommended second line Shigella therapy (ceftriaxone) 7 and 30 days after treatment initiation. To determine whether tebipenem-pivoxil is microbiologically non-inferior to the currently WHO-recommended second line Shigella therapy (ceftriaxone) 7 and 30 days after treatment initiation. Describe the number of adverse events, between children with shigellosis treated with oral tebipenem-pivoxil or IV ceftriaxone. Compare the prevalence of ceftriaxone and carbapenam resistance, as well as ESBL-and carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli, in children treated with tebipenem-pivoxil or ceftriaxone 7 and 30-days after initiation of second-line therapy. Methods: Investigators propose a phase IIb randomized controlled trial (RCT) to determine the efficacy and safety of oral tebipenem-pivoxil, compared to IV ceftriaxone, for children with Shigella infections unresponsive to first-line antibiotic therapy. Bangladeshi children aged 24 to 59 months with suspected Shigella infections and no clinical improvement within 48 hours of first-line therapy will be randomized to a 3-day course of oral tebipenem-pivoxil (4 mg/kg 3x daily) or 3-days of IV ceftriaxone (50 mg/kg 1x daily). The children will be evaluated for key clinical, microbiologic, and safety outcomes during the subsequent 30-day period. Additionally, investigators propose a lead in study of 15 patients to confirm the safety profile and pharmacokinetics and efficacy of tebipenem in the study population. During this pharmacokinetic study period investigators will compare 15 children with oral Tebipenem randomizing with 15 children with oral Azithromycin arm. Investigators will also check invitro susceptibility of Tebipenem-pivoxil in 200 shigella isolates prior to the clinical trial in collaboration with Infectious Diseases Division, icddr,b. Randomization Block randomization (1:1) in random sized blocks of will be used to assign treatment groups at study enrollment by an independent statistician. Treatment allocation (once assigned) will be known to the managing clinician and the participant due to the differing drug delivery mechanisms of the two antibiotics (oral vs. injectable). However, the team conducting the statistical analyses will be blinded to treatment allocation (allocation will appear A and B).
Burden: The global burden of sepsis is difficult to ascertain, although a recent scientific publication estimated that in 2017 there were 48.9 million cases and 11 million sepsis-related deaths worldwide, which accounted for almost 20% of all global deaths. Recent chart analysis from Dhaka Hospital, icddrb recorded 350 adults with severe sepsis admitted over four years. Among them, 69% of patients progressed to septic shock. Knowledge gap: Clinical features of shock due to sepsis and shock due to severe dehydration are very intertwining and often predicament for critical care physicians. If not recognized early and managed promptly, it can lead to septic shock, multiple organ failure, and eventually death. Serum lactate may play a role as the point of care test in differentiating shock due to severe sepsis from shock due to severe dehydration. Relevance: Being the largest diarrhoeal disease hospital, the Dhaka Hospital of icddr,b is ideal for researching shock with diarrheal diseases. Even though the onset of sepsis can be acute and poses a short-term mortality burden, it can also cause significant long-term morbidity, requiring treatment and support. Thus, addressing sepsis and severe sepsis by early detection and prompt management should be a comprehensive way to reduce the burden in our community.
Maternal nutrition profoundly affects foetal growth, development, and subsequent infant birth weight. Babies with low birth weight (LBW) have an elevated risk of death in infancy and later childhood. A recent systematic review revealed that multiple micronutrient supplementations (MMS) could reduce the risk of LBW by 13% in comparison with iron and folic acid (IFA). Based on this newer evidence, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended MMS during a pregnancy instead of IFA, with consideration of the country context-specific research. However, little progress is being achieved in ensuring adequate MMS coverage to improve pregnancy outcomes. Based on the WHO recommendation, CIFF awarded the Social Marketing Company (SMC) to set up a sustainable business model with affordable and quality MMS to pregnant women in Bangladesh over a period of 5 years through SMC's pharmacy networks. The investigators propose to develop an evaluation design including both process and outcome evaluation to evaluate the implementation and effect of the MMS by the SMC in Bangladesh. The evaluation study will comprise both process and outcome evaluation, complementing each other. The design will be a quasi-experimental cluster-based open cohort, two-arm, mixed-methods design. The evaluation would take place in 5 divisions of Bangladesh.
Background: Children with acute malnutrition have immature gut microbial communities compared to age-matched children with healthy growth that can not be repaired by existing therapeutic foods (Subramanian et al., Nature. 2014). Hence, investigators' recent work in Bangladesh has focused on developing Microbiota-Directed Complementary Foods (MDCF) containing locally-available food ingredients, that repair the gut microbiota of children with acute malnutrition to a configuration that resembles that of healthy children living in the same urban community (Raman et al., Science 2019; Gherig et al., Science 2019). The investigators recently completed a randomized, controlled proof-of-concept (POC) study of current lead microbiota-directed complementary food, MDCF-2 compared to a standard ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF), in Bangladeshi children with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM)(Chen et al., N Engl J Med 2021). Children who received MDCF-2 for 3 months exhibited significantly greater repair of their gut microbial communities and faster rates of ponderal growth compared to those treated with RUSF (a formulation that was not designed based on knowledge of its effects on the gut microbiota). The superior effect of MDCF-2 on gut microbiota repair and weight gain was even more notable as the RUSF was significantly more energy dense than MDCF-2. In the aforementioned POC study, MDCF-2 was prepared fresh daily in icddr,b field kitchens prior to distribution and supervised administration to study participants. The lack of a shelf-stable, bio-equivalent formulation of MDCF-2 limits the ability to perform larger studies in Bangladesh as well as in other geographic settings. This pre-POC study in Bangladeshi children with MAM will assess the bioequivalence of MDCF prototypes that the investigators have developed with the potential for improved storage stability compared to current MDCF-2, using the degree of microbiota repair after 4-weeks of treatment as the primary outcome. Objective: To develop a scalable, shelf-stable formulation that is bioequivalent to MDCF-2 with respect to microbiota repair in 8-12 month-old Bangladeshi children with MAM after 4-weeks of treatment. Methods: A 5-arm, randomized single-blind pre-POC study will be conducted in 8-12-month-old Bangladeshi children with MAM to compare the efficacy of alternative MDCF formulations in repairing their gut microbiomes compared to the repair produced by the current kitchen prepared MDCF-2 formulation. Arm 1 - Reference control: kitchen-prepared MDCF-2 Arm 2 - Ready-to-use supplementary food Arm 3 - Individually packaged, pre-measured sachets of MDCF-2 ingredients, combined and reconstituted in the home setting prior to consumption. Arm 4 - MDCF-2 shelf-stable foil pouch formulation with green banana powder. Arm 5 - MDCF shelf-stable foil pouch formulation with sweet potato instead of green banana.
An outbreak of the novel coronavirus nCoV-19 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), was first detected in Hubei province, Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019. It has rapidly spread globally with approximately 157,343,044 confirmed cases and 3,278,510 deaths till 7th May, 2021 [1]. World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID- 19 pandemic on 11th March 2020. The world is facing the second wave of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic which is the most troublesome challenge to public health. The second wave is running and nobody knows where we are in the course of this disease. It becomes a significant challenge for the public health, science, and medical sectors [2]. According to the World Health Organization, about 80% of infections are mild or asymptomatic, 15% result in moderate to severe symptoms (requiring oxygen) and about 5% are critical infections, which require ventilation. We are learning something new every day. Our understanding of the pandemic is growing and changing daily. The world is focusing on the short term - flattening the curve, treating the sick and discovering a vaccine. But there is more to this pandemic than the short term. We know a lot about the transmission and clinical feature of COVID-19, but relatively little about what happens after someone recovers. Much is still unknown about how COVID-19 will affect people over time. There's still much to be learned from those who have recovered from COVID-19.
This will be a semi-experimental study on constipation predominant IBS patient. One group of patient will receive prucalopride 2mg daily and another group of patient will receive lubiprostone 8 microgram twice daily. IBS-SSS and IBS-QOL score will be recorded at baseline and at follow up at 3 week and 6 week. Effectiveness of both drug will be evaluated by comparing the baseline data with data at 3 week and 6 week(IBS-SSS and IBS-QOL).
Title: Effect of n-acetylcysteine as add-on therapy with Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors in moderate to severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder patients. Purpose of the study: To assess the effects of the addition of n-acetylcysteine with SSRIs on the severity of symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder patients.