View clinical trials related to Genetic Markers.
Filter by:The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and the associated government-imposed isolationary lockdowns, has led to a mental health crisis on a global scale. Empirical studies have reported a drastic increase in mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, increased loneliness and feelings of disconnectedness from others, while resilience levels have been negatively affected, indicating an urgent need for intervention. The current study study is embedded in a larger study, the CovSocial study (www.covsocial) which focused in its first phase on evaluating the longitudinal changes in vulnerability, resilience and social cohesion during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The present second phase of this CovSocial study will seek to investigate the efficacy of brief online mindfulness-based and socio-emotional interventions in reducing mental health problems, and enhancing psychological resilience, social competencies and social cohesion. After providing informed consent, participants will be assigned to one of three groups: 1) socio-emotional training group (with Affect Dyads as core exercise), 2) mindfulness-based mental training group (with attention-based mindfulness practices such as Breathing Meditation as core practice), or 3) Retest Control Group (waitlist control).All groups will first undergo a pre-intervention testing phase (pre-test) wherein they will provide a comprehensive baseline measurement which covers psychometric measures (such as questionnaires and behavioral tasks), and biological parameters (saliva samples). During the 10-week intervention period, participants will undergo weekly assessments and daily Ecological Momentary Assessment pre and post the daily exercise practice, using self-report scales and questionnaires delivered through a webapp or mobile app. At the end of the intervention, participants will again undergo an assessment of psychometric measures and biological parameters, same as at pre-intervention time (post-test). In a second portion, the waitlist control group will undergo the socio-emotional intervention and will be tested at post-test II again. Results will reveal the effectiveness of brief online interventions in enhancing mental health and social cohesion outcomes. In addition to examining pre-post intervention-related changes, we will also use the data from the phase 1 of the project to evaluate the impact of trait markers of and the longitudinal changes in vulnerability, resilience and social cohesion on the intervention-related changes in markers of vulnerability, resilience and social cohesion. We will also evaluate the predictive impact of genetic markers of vulnerability, resilience and social cohesion (assessed in phase 1) on intervention-related changes in our variables of interest. The present study will serve as a pilot for future application of scalable, low-cost interventions at a broader level to reduce stress, improve mental health and build resilience in the face of global stressors.
Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in men in the Western world. In the United Kingdom (UK), there were over 52,000 new cases diagnosed in 2016-2018 and a lifetime risk of 1 in 8. Prostate cancer (PrCa) can run in some families and research studies have identified several genetic changes in Caucasian populations that are thought to increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. Other studies have shown that men from certain ethnic groups also have a higher risk of prostate cancer, and this includes men of black African or black African-Caribbean ancestry. This study aims to look at men with a higher risk of prostate cancer based on their ethnicity, family history and/or genetic predisposition to see whether any of these genetic changes are present in their DNA (genetic material) and whether this could be a helpful screening tool in prostate cancer screening programmes. It is thought that many genetic changes are involved in the development of prostate cancer and research is being carried out worldwide to identify these genetic changes. Some of these changes may cause a very slight increase in prostate cancer risk while others may cause a much larger increase in risk of developing prostate cancer. The investigators will invite (i) men of any ethnicity with a family history of prostate cancer; (ii) men of black African or black African-Caribbean ancestry; and (iii) men of any ethnicity with a known genetic predisposition to having prostate cancer (e.g., being known to have inherited a gene mutation that increases risk of prostate and/or being known to be in the top tenth percentile of the polygenic risk score (high PRS score prior to enrolment) for targeted prostate screening (Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) testing, MRI and a biopsy of the prostate gland) and genetic profiling. The outcome of these prostate cancer screening investigations will be compared with the genetic profiles of those taking part in the study in order to look for certain genetic changes in the gene code that are thought to increase prostate cancer risk. This research will help us to determine what the role of such genetic profiling is in a prostate cancer screening programme and if it helps identify men at high prostate cancer risk.
Radiotherapy is standard treatment for breast cancer after lumpectomy. Although this treatment showed substantial patient benefits and decrease of local recurrence and deaths from breast cancer, it also results in some severe late side-effects, such as skin fibrosis and cardiac failure. It's possible to offer breast irradiation (RT) and minimizing toxicities radiation dose to skin, lung and heart. This will be achieved with highly conformal RT delivery using Tomotherapy. We plan to evaluate this approach in clinical study. We plan also to evaluate the value of genomic, cellular and functional imaging endpoints as predictive markers of toxicity in our breast cancer population. This program is expected to prospectively validate that Tomotherapy for breast RT can decrease skin, lung and heart toxicities and maintaining excellent cancer control after lumpectomy.