View clinical trials related to Disease Susceptibility.
Filter by:Reduction of the spinal cord injuries during scoliosis surgery is a major goal of the anesthesia and surgical team. Despite improvement in scoliosis surgery over the years, the development of neurological deficits remains the most feared complication of spine surgery. During scoliosis surgery it is very important to monitor the spinal cord to detect spinal cord injury with surgical manipulation. Continuous or intermittent intraoperative electrophysiological monitoring (neuron-monitoring) is used routinely during these procedures to provide the surgeon with information concerning the integrity of neurological structures at risk. All neuron-monitoring modalities are affected by the anesthetic regimen used. Of the various intravenous anesthetic drugs, the combination of propofol, remifentanil and dexmedetomidine appear to impact neuron-monitoring the least. The current anesthetic practice is to use the three drugs in combination at doses that do not depress the signals but there is no data relating targeted dexmedetomidine and propofol blood levels to neuron-monitoring signals. The lack of data results in wide variability in dosing with consequent variability in patient response. Hypothesis: Clinically relevant blood levels of dexmedetomidine will affect the amplitude of transcranial motor-evoked potentials (TcMEP) either independently or by interaction with propofol in a dose dependent manner.
The purpose of this study is to better understand genetic susceptibility to infections and the interactions of specific genetic polymorphisms of innate immune receptors with microbial and fungal organisms. The goals of this study are: 1. Find out if some people are more likely to get severe infections, than others. To do this we will compare patients with leukemia who develop severe infections to patients who do not develop infections. 2. Find out if some people are more likely to develop lymphoma than others. To do this we will compare patients with lymphoma to people without lymphoma who are of the same sex and similar age and ethnic background to the patients with lymphoma.
The purpose of the study is to see if we will be more able to tell what the risk is for bladder cancer to reoccur or worsen when genetics and risk factors are examined along with the stage and grade of the tumor. Superficial bladder cancer is a cancer that does not grow into the muscle layer of the bladder wall. Even though it is a superficial cancer, this type of cancer tends to come back after being treated and is often more aggressive when it returns. We already know, that the "stage" or how deeply the tumor grows into the bladder wall and the "grade" or how fast the tumor grows affect whether the tumor will come back or get worse over time. Now we use information about the stage and grade of your tumor to decide how to treat the tumor and how often you should be checked after the treatment is over. However, this has not been very reliable, because each person has unique genetic characteristics and other factors that are likely to affect what happens to the tumor over time. For instance, we know the risk for developing a cancer may be affected by your surroundings and other factors such as what you eat, the type of habits you have such as smoking, and the type of job you have, but not everyone exposed to the same risk factors gets a cancer. We believe this is due to unique genetic characteristics in each person which may help their body fight cancer.
Granulomatous lung diseases are diseases in which inflamed clusters of white cells, known as granulomas, form in lung tissue. Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) and sarcoidosis are two granulomatous diseases that share similar clinical symptoms, physiological changes in the lungs, and immune responses to the disease. Genetic variations may make some people more susceptible to developing CBD or sarcoidosis. This study will identify common genetic regions associated with increased risk of developing the granulomatous diseases CBD and sarcoidosis.
This study will identify which regions on the genes, and genes themselves, may account for an increased risk of end stage renal disease (ESRD), that is, near-total loss of kidney function, for people of African American descent. Researchers will use a technique called admixture linkage disequilibrium (MALD) to study genomes, genetic material, in about 2,500 participants from two existing studies and participants who will serve as controls. ESRD disproportionately affects African Americans, who constitute 29% of all ESRD patients in the Medicare ESRD program. The disease can result from a variety of diseases, with diabetes as the leading underlying cause (44% of cases) and hypertension as the second leading cause (26%). The proportion of ESRD cases caused by diabetes has increased dramatically. Patients age 18 and older who are African American, who have ESRD, and who are participants of the FIND and CHOICE studies may be eligible for this study. FIND, or Family Investigation of Diabetes and Nephropathy, involves a multicenter study to identify susceptibility genes, that is, those with a risk, for diabetic and other forms of kidney disease. CHOICE, or Choices for Healthy Outcomes in Caring for ESRD patients is an ongoing study that identifies risk factors for cardiovascular outcomes in ESRD patients. The principle of mapping by MALD involves genetic variations that exist across populations. When mixing occurs between populations having different (heterogeneous) genes, the admixed offspring inherits chromosomes of distinct ancestry. However, over generations of mating, and recombination over several generations, originally large blocks of DNA from African ancestry have become part of smaller segments throughout the chromosome. The study will focus on risk alleles, that is, alternative forms of genes that carry a disease risk. Risk alleles are closely related to nearby ancestral gene markers found in a person. Patients will undergo a collection of blood and urine for genetic testing. Researchers are conducting separate analyses in this study. Case-control analysis of ESRD will consist of 1,150 participants from FIND and 250 from CHOICE. There will also be 750 control participants from FIND. For the case-control analysis of diabetic ESRD, there will be about 750 participants from FIND, 125 from CHOICE, and 750 controls from FIND. Finally, there is the quantitative trait analysis, which looks at the phenotype-meaning visible characteristics produced by the interaction of a person's genetic makeup with the environment. That analysis will involve 350 patients with diabetic nephropathy but not ESRD and 750 controls from FIND.
It has been shown, that subjects susceptible to high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE)are characterized by an abnormal increase of pulmonary artery pressure at rest in hypoxia and during exercise in normoxia. This abnormal rise of pulmonary artery pressure has also been observed in about 10 % of otherwise healthy subjects without prior altitude exposure. The aim of the study is to investigate the susceptibility to HAPE in unacclimatized subjects with abnormal increase of pulmonary artery pressure at rest in hypoxia and during exercise in normoxia after rapid ascent to high altitude (4559 m).
This is a registry for patients who have a risk-reduction mastectomy ("prophylactic mastectomy") due to being at high risk for developing breast cancer, followed by breast reconstruction. Eligible patients include those who have a breast cancer-related gene, a strong family history of breast cancer, or a personal history of high-risk conditions such as cancer in the other breast or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Patients are enrolled in the registry before surgery, and are followed for up to ten years afterwards. In addition to studying medical outcomes, we will periodically survey patients for quality-of-life issues and psychological well-being. There is no compensation for being enrolled in this registry. This registry is conducted through the Department of Plastic Surgery at Georgetown University Hospital, and is a sub-registry to the Fisher Familial Cancer Registry at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University.
Alteration of the post- eruptive enamel microstructure due to a mutation of a gene coding for a matrix protein could increase the susceptibility of the enamel to caries after tooth eruption. To identify in young patients with severe caries incidence, the occurrence of mutations in several candidate genes which result in an alteration of the enamel microstructure that could explain the high caries susceptibility of the patient.
Primary Objectives: 1. To test the hypothesis that children whose mothers are Migrant/Seasonal Farmworkers (MSFs) (occupationally-exposed to pesticides) may be at a higher risk for exhibiting mutagen-induced DNA damage than children whose mothers and fathers are not MSFs. 2. To test the hypothesis that MSF mothers (occupationally-exposed to pesticides) may be at a higher risk for exhibiting mutagen-induced DNA damage than mothers who are not MSFs. Secondary Objectives: 1. To test the hypothesis that both the extent of pesticide exposure and the type of polymorphisms in chemical detoxification genes and DNA repair genes contribute to the extent of cytogenetic damage found in children of MSF women. 2. To test the hypothesis that both the extent of pesticide exposure and the type of polymorphisms in chemical detoxification genes and DNA repair genes contribute to the extent of cytogenetic damage found in MSF mothers. 3. To test the hypothesis that the total concentration levels of organochlorine (OCP) and organophosphate (OP) pesticides will correlate with the mutagenic potency of the serum and urine of the children. 4. To test the hypothesis that the total concentration levels of OCP and OP pesticides will correlate with the mutagenic potency of the serum and urine of the mothers. 5. To test the hypothesis that inherited polymorphisms in the PON1 gene and its expression modulate the risk for OP genotoxicity measured by the inhibition of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme in MSF children. 6. To test the hypothesis that inherited polymorphisms in the PON1 gene and its expression modulate the risk for OP genotoxicity measured by the inhibition of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme in MSF mothers.
There are worrying signs that parasitological responses to the artemisinin drugs for uncomplicated falciparum malaria are slower than elsewhere in the world.If responses to artesunate are poor it is essential to have characterised the blood concentration profile as well as the parasitological response to differentiate resistance from abnormal pharmacokinetics. The primary objective of the study is to assess the level of resistance to artemisinin derivatives in Western Cambodia. A detailed evaluation of 2 different artesunate containing regimens in patients with uncomplicated malaria will be performed. Patients will be randomised to receive either a) Artesunate 2mg/kg/day for 7 days or b) Artesunate 4mg/kg/day for 3 days plus mefloquine 15mg/kg on day 3 and 10mg/kg on day 4 The effect on parasite clearance and cure will be assessed in relation to blood concentrations of the antimalarial drugs ('PK-PD').