12 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Women with antibodies to proteins called SSA/Ro and or SSB/La face a 2% chance of having a child with a life threatening heart condition regardless of whether they have very active lupus, are in remission, or have only vague symptoms. This heart problem is referred to as congenital heart block (the most serious being third degree complete block) and represents damage thought to be caused by these autoantibodies. The heart beats abnormally slowly and almost all children require permanent pacemakers before the age of 20. Importantly, women who have had one child with heart block have a ten-fold higher risk of having another child with the same heart condition. Unfortunately, even close monitoring by special techniques during pregnancy does not reverse complete heart block once it is observed. Thus, treatments aimed at prevention are critical. This study will evaluate for the first time whether hydroxychloroquine, a drug used by many patients with SLE, prevents the development of this heart condition. Data from laboratory experiments suggests that this drug, which crosses the placenta, may decrease the inflammation initiated by the passage of anti-Ro antibodies to the fetus. The study uses a Simon's 2-Stage design, and plans to enroll 19 patients in Stage 1 and 35 patients in Stage 2 if Stage 1 is successful. Patients can already be on hydroxychloroquine or will be started as soon as pregnancy is confirmed. The hope is that fewer than 3 cases of heart block will occur in Stage 1, and fewer than 6 cases will occur out of all 54 patients if Stage 2 is reached. The results of this study are expected to become an integral part of the counseling of women with anti-Ro/La antibodies who are considering pregnancy.
Neonatal lupus (NL) is the name given to a group of conditions that can affect the babies of mothers who have certain autoantibodies against components of the body's cells that are called SSA/Ro and SSB/La. NL can appear as a temporary rash that usually goes away by the time the baby is 6 months old, or very rarely an abnormal blood or liver condition that also improves with time - or it can cause permanent and often life-threatening damage to the fetal heart, known as congenital heart block (CHB). In women with anti-Ro/La antibodies who are pregnant for the first time, only about 2% of the babies will develop CHB. But for a woman who has already had a child with CHB or NL rash, the risk of CHB in her next pregnancy is nearly 20%. Unfortunately, once complete (third degree) heart block has been unequivocally identified in a fetus, it has never been reversed with any of the therapies that have been tried to date. Our previous studies strongly indicate that scarring of the conduction system (the heart's own natural "pacemaker"), a consequence of inflammation triggered by the mother's antibodies, damages or even destroys the cells that allow the heart to beat at a normal rhythm. Instead, the damaged heart beats extremely slowly, to an extent that is fatal to nearly 20% of affected babies (with most deaths occurring as fetal demises). Nearly all surviving children with CHB require permanent implantation of a pacemaker device. Because it is so difficult to treat or repair the damaged heart, a high-priority strategy is to try to prevent the inflammatory process before irreversible scarring can occur. The aim of this clinical-based proposal is to determine whether treating the pregnant mother with intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) will prevent the development of CHB.
Some newborns are born with congenital heart block (CHB), a condition occurring in babies with neonatal lupus. The first part of the study will test the effectiveness of fluorinated steroids, including dexamethasone, in improving the heart function and general health of newborns who have auto-antibody-associated CHB. The second part of this study will use ultrasound and heart monitoring to observe high-risk pregnant women and their fetuses during the third trimester of pregnancy.
Women with lupus and other related disorders produce certain antibodies in the blood. Some women have these antibodies even if they have not yet developed symptoms of lupus or Sjogren's syndrome. When these women become pregnant, they may pass the antibodies to their infants. The infants may then develop a disease called neonatal lupus. The symptoms of neonatal lupus include an abnormally slow heart beat (heart block) and a skin rash. This registry collects information on women and infants affected by neonatal lupus as well as other family members who may be healthy.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the exercise capacity of patients with complete heart block who are chronically being paced from the right ventricle. Also, we hope to correlate the level of uncoordinated contraction with the patients exercise capacity. We will enroll patients with complete heart block as diagnosed by standard electrocardiographic means and now have a permanent pacemaker. All patients we approach for this study will receive an echocardiogram to assess their heart function. As part of the echocardiogram, they will also receive a Tissue Synchronization Imaging (TSI) evaluation to assess the level of uncoordinated contraction they have. The patients will then be subjected to a cardiac exercise stress test which will involve them running on a treadmill until they cannot continue while data is collected regarding their heart's response to exercise. All portions of the study are noninvasive, which means they work from probes and monitors outside the body.
Postoperative pain after cardiothoracic surgery can be a significant problem interfering with recovery, yet difficult to manage due to the sedating effects of opiates. These patients frequently have associated postoperative pulmonary changes and are at risk of respiratory depression with opioid analgesia. The ultrasound-guided transversus thoracic muscle plane block (TTMPB) is a recently described regional anesthetic technique showing improvements in postoperative pain management. Further investigation is needed to establish the potential of the TTMPB as an analgesic modality in congenital cardiothoracic surgery in patients under the age of 18.
This study is a prospective, randomized, non-blinded clinical trial examining the use of paravertebral peripheral nerve block in the neonatal and infant populations. The primary aim of this study is to determine the feasibility of studying whether a single-shot paravertebral nerve block is effective in providing intraoperative and postoperative pain control in infants undergoing a thoracotomy for coarctation of the aorta. This will be determined by comparing consumption of narcotics, expressed as morphine equivalents, in the standard of care and intervention groups.
Recent studies have shown beneficial effects of sildenafil in patients with single ventricle congenital heart disease. The purpose of this study is to determine whether Bosentan, a drug with similar effects, will have similar benefit in this patient population.
This study will monitor device performance and outcomes of the SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve (THV) System in subjects with a dysfunctional right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) conduit or previously implanted surgical valve in the pulmonic position with a clinical indication for intervention.
To assess the safety and effectiveness of pulmonic THV implantation in subjects with dysfunctional RVOT conduit requiring treatment for moderate or severe pulmonary regurgitation (≥3+ pulmonary regurgitation) and/or RVOT conduit obstruction (mean gradient of \>=35mmHg) by TTE.
The primary objective of this study is to determine the clinical benefits of percutaneous intervention to improve pulmonary blood flow on oxygen saturations, symptoms, exercise tolerance and hematocrit in patients with complex cyanotic congenital heart disease who are not candidates for surgical repair.
The purpose of this chart review study is to examine the effects of beta -adrenergic blocking agents on systemic ventricular dimensions, systemic atrioventricular valve function and exercise tolerance in patients with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and systemic ventricular dysfunction.