160 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The PARK study is a multi-center observational study to assess the performance of the QSant test with kidney biopsy. QSant is a test based on 6 urinary biomarkers that is used for the evaluation and management of acute rejection in renal allograft recipients with clinical suspicion of rejection.
The incidence of end stage renal disease (ESRD) is rapidly increasing, now affecting an estimated 7.4 million people worldwide. Numerous parameters such as demographic, clinical and functional factors drive the deterioration of the kidney, ultimately leading to ESRD. Although some ESRD prediction models have been derived in the past years, none of these models are dynamic: they do not integrate the repeated measurements recorded throughout individuals' follow-up. As highlighted in several studies, kidney function repeated measurements (i.e., trajectories) are highly associated with graft survival after kidney transplantation. The investigators made the hypothesis that these trajectories may bring relevant information in the context of graft survival risk prediction model. Hence, combining these trajectories with standard graft survival risk factors may enhance prediction performance. This could permit to derive a robust tool that could be updated over time by continuously capturing patient' personal evolution.
The gold standard for characterizing chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which is commonly estimated in both native and transplanted kidneys for patient monitoring and therapeutic management and ultimately guides decision-making about whether a patient needs renal replacement therapy. In particular, the National Kidney Foundation has defined CKD stages according to estimated GFR (eGFR) values and in several studies, the eGFR slope or change has been found to be strongly associated with end stage renal disease (ESRD). However, little is known about the heterogeneity of eGFR evolution in time - i.e. eGFR trajectories - and the related progression to ESRD and death. To date, no studies have investigated eGFR trajectories in diversified cohorts and populations worldwide, although this approach could provide a better understanding of CKD evolution and hence improve risk stratification. In addition, determinants of eGFR trajectories remain poorly described. An unsupervised approach could allow examining eGFR trajectories over time and could lead to the identification of patient groups according to the probability of the progression of their kidney disease. Therefore, this study aims: 1. To identify the long-term eGFR trajectories after kidney transplantation using latent class mixed models; 2. To identify the clinical, immunological, histological and functional determinants of the eGFR trajectories using multinomial regressions; 3. To investigate the associations of the eGFR trajectories with the progression to ESRD and death. Based on the results, the investigators will provide an easily accessible tool to calculate personalized probabilities of belonging to eGFR trajectories after kidney transplantation, by using datasets from prospective cohorts and post hoc analysis of randomized control trial datasets.
This is a prospective cohort observational study to assess the role of AlloSure Donor Derived Cell Free DNA (ddcfDNA) assay in the monitoring of three high-risk groups of kidney transplant patients for antibody mediated processes. * Group A. Thirty participants with a positive Virtual Cross-Match (VXM) at the time of transplant will be monitored for 12 months * Group B. Similarly, 24 participants with dnDSA will undergo a SOC biopsy within approximately three months to determine the incidence of Active Antibody Mediated Rejection (AMR) * Group C. 15 additional participants with the diagnosis of Chronic Active Antibody Mediated Rejection (cAMR) will undergo standard of care therapy and be monitored for treatment response with a follow-up biopsy at three months
The objective of this study is to determine whether cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) measurement can be used as a biomarker for successful treatment of an acute rejection (AR) episode after kidney transplantation. A fall in donor cf-DNA level may be a biomarker for successful AR treatment. The goal is to do an exploratory study to determine, in recipients with biopsy-proven AR, whether persistence or elevated levels of donor cf-DNA are associated with ongoing inflammation at the time of exit biopsy; and whether fall in donor cf-DNA level is associated with successful AR treatment. Measurement of cf-DNA has recently been started for kidney transplant recipients. There will be two groups of patients eligible for this study: 1. those who have had sequential measurement of cf-DNA prior to graft dysfunction leading to a biopsy, and 2. those who have not had previous measurement of cf-DNA
The rationale for the current protocol is to collect data from extended follow up in subjects that have received a kidney transplant following imlifidase dosing to provide a better understanding regarding the long-term outcome for these subjects. Data of parameters such as patient and graft survival, comorbidity, treatment of graft rejection episodes and quality of life as well as anti-drug antibody levels will be collected. This prospective, observational follow up study of subjects who have received imlifidase prior to kidney transplantation will provide important data to future prescribers and patients of the potential long-term benefits of imlifidase mediated transplantation.
The primary objective is to compare the effect of treatment with an immediate-release tacrolimus to an extended-release tacrolimus (i.e., Envarsus® XR) immunosuppressive regimen on cognitive and motor function in kidney transplant recipients
Ten percent of American adults, more than 20 million people, have chronic kidney disease, which in the advanced state of end stage renal disease is most desirably and cost-effectively treated by kidney transplantation. However, 20-30% of transplanted kidneys fail in living recipients by 10 years, owing largely to insufficient monitoring methods. The goal of the proposed research is to improve noninvasive kidney transplant monitoring using a new ultrasound-based imaging method called Viscoelastic Response (VisR) ultrasound.
This is an open label, single-center, randomized phase IV pilot study of steroid and calcineurin inhibitor avoidance in renal transplant recipients. All patients will receive two doses of alemtuzumab to achieve peripheral T-cell depletion. Intravenous glucocorticoids will be administered prior to alemtuzumab administration to limit cytokine release syndrome in association with this monoclonal antibody, and continued for the first two days post-transplant. Thereafter, steroids will not be used for immunosuppression. All transplant recipients will be started on oral immunosuppressive therapy with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) prior to transplant. Pretransplant, these patients will be randomized to receive, in addition, either tacrolimus (Tac) or sirolimus. After six months, patients in the tacrolimus arm who do not experience rejection will be randomized to continue on tacrolimus or to be converted to the combination of sirolimus and MMF. Individuals in this arm of the study who do not experience acute rejection, and demonstrate evidence of donor specific hyporesponsiveness at 9 months post-transplant (those staying on Tac + MMF) or 3 months post-conversion (those converted from Tac + MMF to sirolimus + MMF) will be weaned to MMF monotherapy. Individuals in the sirolimus + MMF arm who do not experience acute rejection and demonstrate evidence of donor specific hyporesponsiveness at 6 months post-transplant will be weaned to MMF monotherapy.
The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate cardiometabolic and inflammatory parameters in kidney transplant recipients after transitioning to a plant-based diet (PBD). The main aims of the study are as follows: * To test the feasibility of transiting renal allograft recipients who are \> 3 months post-transplant to a PBD * To study the effect of a PBD on cardiometabolic parameters in kidney transplant recipients * To assess the effect of a PBD on peripheral blood Th17/Treg ratio and systemic inflammation in kidney transplant recipients Participants will be asked to: * Complete a 2-week investigator-designed PBD transition program * Follow a PBD for a minimum of 16 weeks * Consent for blood draws, urine samples, and fecal samples along with physical exams * Complete intermittent food frequency questionnaires and quality of life questionnaires * Periodically meet with investigators and other study participants Researchers will compare baseline measurements with future measurements for each participant.
This study seeks to determine if administration of the drug belumosudil (KD025) will be safe and improve transplant tolerance in subjects undergoing combined Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) single haplotype-matched related or 0-3 antigen (at A, B, C, DR) HLA mismatched unrelated living donor kidney and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
The study seeks to determine if patients with a pre-existing, well-functioning kidney transplant from a HLA-identical living donor can be withdrawn from immunosuppressive medications without compromising allograft function through hematopoietic stem cell (HPSC) infusion from the same donor. HPSC infusion will be preceded by a conditioning regimen of total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) and rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin (rATG).
This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in de novo kidney transplant patients to determine if the addition of fingolimod (brand name Gilenya®, candidate name- FTY720) on the background of standard immunosuppression will prevent expansion of the interstitial compartment of the transplanted kidney. Interstitial expansion is the precursor of interstitial fibrosis and graft loss. The study will test the hypothesis that abgrogating the fibrogenic effects of both the RhoA and mTOR pathways with fingolimod will reduce structural damage in transplanted kidneys and possible subsequent transplant failure.
The optimal timing for immunosuppression tapering for patients with failed kidney transplant is not known. This pilot study would be to correlate rise in cf-DNA and increase in cPRA.
Major cardiovascular events are greatest in liver transplant recipients with sustained post-transplantation diabetes1. However, the optimal A1c target after transplantation has not been studied. The objective is to understand the optimal A1c target post liver and combined liver and kidney transplant. Strict A1c control will improve mortality and cardiovascular risk post liver and combined liver and kidney transplant and improve complications post liver and combined liver and kidney transplant.
This is a one year, prospective, randomized, open-label trial examining once versus twice daily tacrolimus dosing regimen using two preparations, extended-release Tacrolimus (Envarsus XR) versus twice daily Tacrolimus (Prograf). It will examine kidney function between the two groups using estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and also examine one-year kidney outcomes, including graft loss and patient death. Patients will be followed for up to 1 year during the open-label study period.
This investigator-initiated post-marketing study will evaluate the role of Hispanic ethnicity on drug dosing of Envarsus in first-time stable renal transplant recipients. Tacrolimus trough drug levels will be studied as a primary endpoint at 24 hours after drug dosing and at steady state (e.g., trough level at 3 months post conversion) and secondary compliance assessments will be done by pill counts at clinic visits. Secondary outcomes will be the safety of once a day dosing as well as assessment of graft rejection and graft failure. In addition, concentration/dose ratios will be analyzed. The results of this study will provide important information about dosing of once a day tacrolimus (Envarsus) in Hispanic kidney transplant patients, which represents the largest growing group of patients with End-Stage Renal Disease
Patients who have had a previous allograft failure represent a major problem for transplant centers as they are highly-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) sensitized and unlikely to receive another transplant without significant desensitization. This single center, phase I/II, open label single-arm exploratory study focuses on enrolling twenty patients (ages 15-75) who will begin desensitization therapy to achieve HLA incompatible (HLAi) renal transplantation. Patients who qualify will receive up to 6 doses of clazakizumab 25 mg monthly pre-transplantation. If patients receive an HLAi transplant during the study, the participants will continue to receive another 6 monthly doses of clazakizumab 25 mg, followed by a 6 month protocol biopsy. Patients will continue another 6 doses over 6 months if improvements are seen after the 6th dose of clazakizumab. Patients who develop evidence of persistent allograft dysfunction may have non-protocol biopsies for cause. Patients who receive 12 doses of clazakizumab post-transplant will receive a 12M protocol biopsy.
Hyperparathyroidism (HPT) is common in people with a kidney transplant. Patients with HPT often have high parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels and may have large parathyroid glands in the neck. Patients with HPT can develop bone disease (osteodystrophy). This bone disease can cause bone pain, fractures, and poor formation of red blood cells. Other problems from HPT may include increases in blood levels of calcium (hypercalcemia) and low blood levels of phosphorus (hypophosphatemia). The high calcium levels may cause calcium to deposit in body tissues. Calcium deposits can cause arthritis (joint pain and swelling), muscle inflammation, itching, gangrene (death of soft tissue), heart and lung problems or kidney transplant dysfunction (worsening of kidney transplant function). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of cinacalcet (Sensipar/Mimpara) on high calcium levels in the blood in patients with HPT after a kidney transplant.
Graft microvascular inflammation poses a significant challenge to successful kidney transplantation due to its heterogeneous clinical presentation. There is a critical need to unravel the clinical significance of newly defined allograft microvascular inflammation phenotypes in the Banff 2022 classification and assess the implications of these new phenotypes on kidney transplant precision diagnostics and patient risk stratification.
This study will compare the performance of Gene Expression Profile (GEP)/ Donor derived cell free deoxyribonucleic acid (dd-cfDNA) tests, to the following tests: Molecular Microscope (MMDx) and histopathology (study of changes in tissues caused by disease) in their ability to diagnose (exactly identify) various types of injury within the transplanted kidney.
Can the investigators create an effective way to improve adherence to immunosuppressant medication and reduce rejection, graft loss, and death in adolescents and young adults who have undergone kidney or liver transplantation? The investigators' mobile technology intervention uses real-time electronic pillbox-assessed dose timing and text message prompts to address antirejection medication nonadherence when nonadherence is detected.
Donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) has shown promise as an early marker for cellular injury caused by rejection. dd-cfDNA changes may also indicate other injuries that lead to progressive decline in transplant organ function associated with, in the case of kidney transplantation, the presence of interstitial fibrosis (IF) and tubular atrophy (TA) seen in biopsy specimens. Here, we will study the utility of dd-cfDNA to predict rejection in pancreas and pancreas-kidney recipients.
Detecting allograft injury and rejection is critical to preventing graft loss. The current standard of care (SoC) relies on serum creatinine (SC) and biopsy to monitor for and identify kidney injury earlier. SC has poor specificity and sensitivity and response to rejection is often delayed. Protocol biopsy is more accurate but involves the risk of complications. A more definitive, less invasive method for monitoring injury and early rejection is needed. We report on the clinical utility of donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) in transplant recipients' blood, measured using a novel SNP-based mmPCR NGS methodology, to diagnose allograft injury/rejection. In this study, investigators will measure how use of dd-cfDNA changes clinical practice.
Evaluation Dose Adjustments in Kidney Transplant Patients on Immediate Release and Extended Release Tacrolimus
This study is a comparison of the analgesic efficacy of transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks with ropivacaine bolus plus continuous ropivacaine infusion via catheters versus single shot TAP blocks with liposomal bupivacaine.
The purpose of this protocol is to determine the safety and efficacy of abdominal wall transplantation as a treatment for the reconstruction of abdominal wall defects. Abdominal wall transplantation may be performed alone or in combination with another transplant.
This study is being done to investigate the impact of changing immunosuppressive medications from tacrolimus (Prograf®) to belatacept (Nulojix®) between three (3) and six (6) months after kidney transplantation. The immune system is the body's defense against infection and other disease. After transplantation, the body sees the new organ as "foreign" and tries to destroy or "reject" it. Immunosuppressive medications help to prevent the immune system from attacking the transplanted organ. The primary purpose of this research study is to evaluate the effects of three (3) different immunosuppressive treatments on rejection in post-transplant kidney recipients. This study will test whether switching from tacrolimus to belatacept will improve long-term kidney function. Three of the immunosuppressants used in this study- mycophenolic acid (MPA), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and tacrolimus- are medications approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used after transplant. All of these medications have been routinely used in kidney recipients here at Northwestern University. Belatacept (the "study drug") has been approved by the FDA for use at the time of transplant. However, the use of belatacept in this study is considered investigational as it has not been FDA approved for use beginning at 3 months after transplant. This study will involve 51 adult kidney transplant recipients at Northwestern.
This research study is for patients who are going to receive a kidney transplant from a living donor. After kidney transplantation, it is necessary for transplant recipients to take "immunosuppressive drugs". These drugs work by preventing the body's immune cells from attacking and "rejecting" the new kidney. Taking these drugs long-term may also cause harm to the transplanted kidney. Therefore, the transplant community is very interested in finding ways to decrease immunosuppressive drug treatment and further reduce the risk of kidney rejection. One method to do so is known as "induction of tolerance", which is when the person who receives a transplant has treatment to make their immune cells tolerant to the donor cells. In this study, we will try to induce tolerance by mixing recipient cells and their donor's cells together with belatacept, an immunosuppressive drug. Belatacept is a protein that attaches to immune system cells, interferes with the immune response and results in tolerance induction. After we mix the recipient cells with the donor's cells, we will sort out one particular kind of immune cell, called a regulatory T cell, and inject them back into the recipient. Regulatory T cells are the cells that are affected by induction to reduce rejection of donated organs. This method for inducing tolerance has been used in bone marrow transplantation, but this is the first time it is being done in kidney transplantation. This study is being conducted as part of a unique collaboration of US and EU centers called The ONE Study. The ONE Study centers have agreed to work together using common protocols and procedures but with each testing their own regulatory population for safety and the ability to promote kidney survival. Sharing data among the participating sites will permit a deeper understanding of how and why some treatments might succeed while others work less well.
A recent therapeutic strategy following renal transplantation includes simultaneous use of reduced calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) dosing and maximized use of a non-nephrotoxic, antiproliferative drug (inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) or TOR inhibitor), with the goals of reducing/avoiding CNI nephrotoxicity, the incidence of acute rejection, and chronic allograft injury (CAI) (i.e., interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy), leading to more favorable longer-term patient and graft survival.1-7 Early corticosteroid withdrawal has also been used in the attempt to avoid well-known side effects while maintaining favorable patient and graft survival.8-10 While the investigators center and numerous other centers have also included single agent, antibody induction utilizing the lymphodepleting polyclonal antibody rabbit anti-human thymocyte globulin (ATG), nondepleting human anti-interleukin-2 receptor (CD25) monoclonal antibody daclizumab (Dac) or basiliximab, or lymphodepleting humanized anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody alemtuzumab,11-17 evidence now suggests that an even more effective induction strategy may include the combined use of more than one induction agent (each with fewer doses than if used alone), with the goal of bringing the kidney transplant recipient even closer (through more effectively timed lymphodepletion) to an optimally immunosuppressed state, allowing further reduction in long-term maintenance drug dosing.18-25 The investigators have now successfully used dual ATG/Dac induction therapy in both kidney-alone23-24 and simultaneous kidney-pancreas (SPK) transplantation,18-20 and a recent report from the investigators center of kidney-alone and SPK recipients shows that the addition of anti-CD25 to ATG for induction therapy more effectively delays the return of peripheral blood CD25+ cells.25 In the kidney-alone recipient study 3 doses of ATG were combined with 2 doses of Dac for induction,23-24 vs. the investigators previous studies utilizing single agent induction with 7 doses of ATG or 5 doses of Dac.4,16,17 Successful combination of ATG/basiliximab as dual induction in kidney transplantation has also been reported elsewhere,21-22 along with equivalency in clinical outcomes using daclizumab vs. basiliximab.13