View clinical trials related to Immune Dysfunction.
Filter by:Over the past twenty years, Prof. Yanick Crow and his team have developed internationally recognized expertise in genetic pathologies affecting the immune and neurological systems. The pathologies studied have a particularly severe impact on patients' quality of life, with a high mortality rate and a significant risk of occurrence in affected families. These pathologies are rare, and very often under-diagnosed. To date, there is virtually no effective curative treatment. Prof. Crow's team operates at the frontier between clinical and research work, and from experience, the team knows that patients and families affected by these serious pathologies are often highly motivated to help research into the pathology that affects them. Initially, Prof. Crow's research focused primarily on the study of the genetic disease Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome (AGS). However, there is an undeniable clinical and pathological overlap between AGS and other forms of disease such as autoimmune systemic lupus erythematosus and many other genetic pathologies - e.g. familial lupus engelure, spondyloenchondromatosis and COPA syndrome. This is why research is being extended to all genetic diseases with immune and neurological dysfunctions.
Background: The increasing effect of environmental, occupational and climate change poses serious global threat for public health. More than half of the world's population, including around 85% people in Bangladesh, are exposed to household air pollutants (HAP). Environmental consequences of climate change are among the highest. Little evidence is available on the effects HAP on cardiopulmonary outcomes in low-income populations. Same is true for occupational health and climate change. The investigators will evaluate the effects of HAP on cardio-pulmonary and markers of immune function among non-smoking individuals. The investigators will also conduct two pilot studies to explore health effects associated with working in the garments industry and that of temperature due to climate changes. Hypothesis: 1. Preclinical measures of cardiovascular diseases and pulmonary function are associated with exposure level of house hold air pollution (HAP) (assessed through PM2.5, CO and BC concentrations) 2. Stable biomarkers of immune function and inflammation are associated with exposure level of HAP. 3. Use of improved cook stove reduces exposure to HAP and thereby improve pre-clinical and molecular measures of cardio-pulmonary and immune functions. Methods: The investigators will conduct a cross sectional study to assess the associations of HAP with preclinical makers of CVD among 600 non-smoking participants aged 25 to 65 years. Biomass exposure will be assessed for PM2.5, carbon Monoxide (CO) and black carbon (BC) by collecting personal air samples for 24-hour. Blood sample will be utilized from a subset of 200 adult participants and 60 children aged 3-5 years for assessing immune markers. The study will be conducted in icddr,b and URB study site at Matlab and Araihazar respectively. After the cross sectional assessment, the investigators will conduct a pre-post intervention study to evaluate effectiveness of improved stoves in a subset of 200 homes. The investigators will measure the aforementioned markers after two years of cook stove installation. Finally, as pilot studies, health outcomes due to climate change (temperature change) and occupation (garment industry work) will be explored. Outcome measures: HAP will be assessed through PM2.5, CO and BC concentrations. Pulmonary function will be assessed through FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC. Preclinical makers of CVD will include RH-PAT, FMD, IMT, BAD, EKG and PFT. Markers of Immune function - proliferation of macrophage, dendritic cells (DC), neutrophils and T-cell, as well as macrophage derived cytokines (a panel of 17 or 27 cytokines) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)
Patients with obstructive jaundice (OJ) often require surgical, endoscopic or radiological interventions to facilitate biliary drainage and relieve jaundice. However it is known that patients with OJ have increased surgical risks than non-jaundiced patients undergoing the same procedures. Surgery for severe OJ is associated with a significant post-operative mortality (10-15%) and morbidity (30-65%). The commonest complications are related to sepsis but the pathophysiological mechanisms behind this susceptibility to bacterial infection are not clear. Recent work has shown a pivotal role of bile in the maintenance of enterocyte tight junctions and the expression of tight junction-associated proteins which could account for the translocation of enteric bacteria and bacterial products to mesenteric lymph node complexes, the portal circulation and subsequently the liver. Some of these bacterial products, such as endotoxin and quorum sensing signalling molecules (QSSMs), have immunomodulatory properties which may dampen normal immune responses to infection resulting in life-threatening organ dysfunction. Bacterial endotoxin and quorum sensing signalling molecules (QSSMs) represent good candidates for the mediators of this immune suppression and although there is a compelling case for their involvement in the pathogenesis of sepsis, evidence to support their involvement in the aetiology of infection in OJ is currently lacking.