88 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The goal of this study is to create a data registry to capture clinical, pathologic, and molecular data/outcomes for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who undergo live donor liver transplantation.
This study will test the safety and efficacy of living donor liver transplant after standard-of-care chemotherapy for participants with non-resectable liver metastases (LM) from colorectal cancer. 25 donor-recipient pairs will be enrolled (50 participants). Donors will be on study for 2 years and recipients will be on study for up to 5 years.
Living donor (LD) kidney transplantation is the optimal treatment for patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). However, LDs take on a higher risk of future ESKD themselves. African American (AA) LDs have an even greater, 3.3-fold, risk of ESKD than white LDs post-donation. Because evidence suggests that Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) risk variants contribute to this greater risk, transplant nephrologists are increasingly using APOL1 testing to evaluate LD candidates of African ancestry. However, nephrologists do not consistently perform genetic counseling with LD candidates about APOL1 due to a lack of knowledge and skill in counseling about APOL1. Without proper counseling, APOL1 testing will magnify LD candidates' decisional conflict about donating, jeopardizing their informed consent. Given their elevated risk of ESRD post-donation, and AAs' widely-held cultural concerns about genetic testing, it is ethically critical to protect AA LD candidates' safety through APOL1 testing in a culturally competent manner to improve informed decisions about donating. No transplant programs have integrated APOL1 testing into LD evaluation in a culturally competent manner. Clinical "chatbots," mobile apps that use artificial intelligence to provide genetic information to patients and relieve constraints on clinicians' time, can improve informed treatment decisions and reduce decisional conflict. The chatbot "Gia," created by a medical genetics company, can be adapted to any condition. However, no chatbot on APOL1is currently available. No counseling training programs are available for nephrologists to counsel AA LDs about APOL1 and donation in a culturally competent manner. Given the shortage of genetic counselors, increasing nephrologists' genetic literacy is critical to integrating genetic testing into practice. The objective of this study is to culturally adapt and evaluate the effectiveness of an APOL1testing program for AA LDs at two transplant centers serving large AA LD populations (Chicago, IL, and Washington, DC). The APOL1 testing program will evaluate the effect of the culturally competent testing, chatbot, and counseling on AA LD candidates' decisional conflict about donating, preparedness for decision-making, willingness to donate, and satisfaction with informed consent. The specific aims are to: 1. Adapt Gia and transplant counseling to APOL1 for use in routine clinical practice 2. Evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention on decisional conflict, preparedness, and willingness to donate in a pre-post design 3. Evaluate the implementation of this intervention into clinical practice by using the RE-AIM framework to longitudinally evaluate nephrologist counseling practices and LDs' satisfaction with informed consent. The impact of this study will be the creation of a model for APOL1 testing of AA LDs, which can then be implemented nationally via implementation science approaches. APOL1 will serve as a model for integrating culturally competent genetic testing into transplant and other practices to improve patient informed consent.
Living donor (LD) kidney transplantation is the optimal treatment for patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). However, LDs take on a higher risk of future ESKD themselves. African American (AA) LDs have an even greater, 3.3-fold, risk of ESKD than white LDs post-donation. Because evidence suggests that Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) risk variants contribute to this greater risk, transplant nephrologists are increasingly using APOL1 testing to evaluate LD candidates of African ancestry. However, nephrologists do not consistently perform genetic counseling with LD candidates about APOL1 due to a lack of knowledge and skill in counseling about APOL1. Without proper counseling, APOL1 testing will magnify LD candidates' decisional conflict about donating, jeopardizing their informed consent. Given their elevated risk of ESRD post-donation, and AAs' widely-held cultural concerns about genetic testing, it is ethically critical to protect AA LD candidates' safety through APOL1 testing in a culturally competent manner to improve informed decisions about donating. No transplant programs have integrated APOL1 testing into LD evaluation in a culturally competent manner. Clinical "chatbots," mobile apps that use artificial intelligence to provide genetic information to patients and relieve constraints on clinicians' time, can improve informed treatment decisions and reduce decisional conflict. The chatbot "Gia," created by a medical genetics company, can be adapted to any condition. However, no chatbot on APOL1 is currently available. No counseling training programs are available for nephrologists to counsel AA LDs about APOL1 and donation in a culturally competent manner. Given the shortage of genetic counselors, increasing nephrologists' genetic literacy is critical to integrating genetic testing into practice. The objective of this study is to culturally adapt and evaluate the effectiveness of an APOL1 testing program for AA LDs at two transplant centers serving large AA LD populations (Chicago, IL, and Washington, DC). The APOL1 testing program will evaluate the effect of the culturally competent testing, chatbot, and counseling on AA LD candidates' decisional conflict about donating, preparedness for decision-making, willingness to donate, and satisfaction with informed consent. The specific aims are to: 1. Adapt Gia and transplant counseling to APOL1 for use in routine clinical practice 2. Evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention on decisional conflict, preparedness, and willingness to donate in a pre-post design 3. Evaluate the implementation of this intervention into clinical practice by using the RE-AIM framework to longitudinally evaluate nephrologist counseling practices and LDs' satisfaction with informed consent. The impact of this study will be the creation of a model for APOL1 testing of AA LDs, which can then be implemented nationally via implementation science approaches. APOL1 will serve as a model for integrating culturally competent genetic testing into transplant and other practices to improve patient informed consent.
The goal of this study is to estimate risk of post-donation healthcare use attributable to informal caregiving among obese living donors. Improving our understanding of the relationship between caregiving, donation, and healthcare use will allow us to improve living donor informed consent and post-donation care, particularly among older donors and those of minority race/ethnicity.
Phase I/II, single center, prospective, open-label, non-controlled, non-randomized, interventional, cohort study in which low risk living donor liver transplant (LDLT) recipients who are between 1 and 3 years after transplantation and meet specific criteria (no positive crossmatch, no clinically treated rejection within 2 years preceding enrollment, permissive liver function tests (LFTs) within 30 days preceding enrollment, no prior liver biopsy showing significant fibrosis or ductopenia\*) will be enrolled and will undergo a protocol liver biopsy unless they have had a permissive liver biopsy\*\* within 90 days of anticipated immunosuppression weaning. Those patients with permissive liver biopsy\*\* will then receive a single infusion of donor-derived DCreg and will remain on their current standard of care (SOC) immunosuppression. One week after DCreg infusion, immunosuppression weaning will be initiated. Recipients will be slowly weaned off immunosuppression. Successfully weaned participants who remain rejection-free will undergo 3 years of follow-up after the last dose of immunosuppression. They will undergo a liver biopsy at 1 yr and 3 yrs after immunosuppression withdrawal. Participants who are removed from the study protocol at any time will return to standard of care but will continue to be followed by the study team and will undergo a liver biopsy at the end of the study. \* Permissive LFTs are defined as ALT, AST and total bilirubin \< 2.5 times the upper limit of normal. \*\*A permissive biopsy is based on 2016 Comprehensive Update of the Banff Working Group on Liver Allograft Pathology (the criteria detailed in Table 8, Demetris et al. 2016).
1.1. Background: Renal transplantation is the treatment of choice for eligible patients with end-stage renal disease. It provides better outcomes in terms of life expectancy and quality of life than dialysis (Liu, Narins, Maley, Frank, \& Lallas, 2012). Kidney transplants from living donors also have additional benefits in terms of graft function and survival compared to transplants from cadaver donors (Galvani et al., 2012). Living donor transplants provide an opportunity to have good quality grafts and to perform the procedure when the recipient is in an optimal clinical status (Creta et al., 2019). Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy was first introduced in 1995 and is currently accepted as the gold standard for kidney procurement from living donors. The first worldwide robotic assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy was performed in 2000 by Horgan et al. (Horgan et al., 2007). The main obstacle to living donation is the exposure of a healthy subject to the risks of a major surgical intervention. Therefore, efforts have been made to reduce complications and postoperative pain, achieve faster recovery, and minimize the surgical incisions. Minimally invasive procedures like hand-assisted and robotic approaches greatly enhance living donation rates, and in 2001 the number of living donors exceeded the number of cadaver donors (Horgan et al., 2007). 1.2. Aim(s)/Objective(s): The objective of this study is to compare intra- and postoperative patient outcomes of kidney donors following hand-assisted and robotic kidney transplants at a single center. 1.3. Rationale for the study: More research is needed regarding the differences between minimally invasive approaches to kidney transplantation.
A randomized controlled study to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and overall benefit of FCR001 cell therapy in de novo living donor renal transplantation.
This study will determine whether a preparatory regimen including total lymphoid irradiation (TLI), total body irradiation (TBI), anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) and infusion of the donor hematopoietic stem cells when given along with recipient regulatory T cells (Tregs) will allow for eventual discontinuation of anti-rejection drugs after living donor kidney transplantation.
For most of the patients in the United States with end stage renal disease (ESRD), kidney transplantation represents the optimal treatment, and living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) is preferable. Nevertheless, there are pervasive racial disparities in access to LDKT. The main outcome of this study is change in the proportion of study participants who have at least one living donor inquiry by friends/family over study period.The long-term objective is to understand the combined effect of a systems-level intervention (Transplant Referral EXchange or T-REX) and a culturally-sensitive individual-level educational intervention (web-based Living ACTS: About Choices in Transplantation and Sharing) on racial disparities in access to LDKT.
The overall goals of this study are to demonstrate the change in renal tubular function in living donors pre and post nephrectomy at 6 months.
The investigators' primary aim is to determine the impact of using hybrid closed-loop (HCL) system in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and end stage renal disease (ESRD) prior to kidney transplantation. The investigators will also determine whether HCL, by improving glucose control, will affect short-term (1 month) and long-term (12 months) complications after kidney transplantation in patients with T1D.
Kidney transplantation is a good treatment option for people with kidney disease. However, there is still much to learn about how to best care for the transplanted kidney and keep it functioning for a long time. Transplant recipients receive induction therapy and immunosuppression (anti-rejection) drugs to prevent their body from rejecting the new kidney. These drugs are used to prevent the immune system from attacking the transplanted kidney. This research study will evaluate the safety and activity of mesenchymal stromal stem cells (MSCs) infusion compared to saline-only infusion in reducing the immune suppression necessary to achieve optimal renal function in renal transplant recipients. All participants will receive routine care: basiliximab, tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and corticosteroids.
Prospective Clinical Trial of HIV+ Living Donor Kidney Donation for HIV+ Recipients
The investigators are interested in whether or not the use of a mobile health (mHealth) application increases the rate of follow-up compliance among living kidney donors. The investigators aim to test this by randomly assigning living kidney donors to the intervention (use of mHealth application to complete required living kidney donor follow-up at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years) or control arm (standard of care) upon discharge from their initial donation hospitalization, and tracking follow-up compliance over time. The study population will be approximately 400 living kidney donors who undergo donor nephrectomy at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital (200/year for 2 years). The investigators will also recruit patients from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center into the study, however, these study participants are not a part of the Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT).
The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of cellular immunotherapy with MDR-101 for induction of functional immune tolerance in recipients of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched, living donor kidney transplants.
This research study is to determine if donor blood stem cells given after living, related, HLA antigen (Ag) haplotype match or living, unrelated donor kidney transplantation. Minimal HLA antigen matching will include matching of 2 HLA antigens that can be either HLA A, B, and /or DR. This research will change the immune system such that immunosuppressive drugs can be completely withdrawn or reduced to minimal dose without kidney rejection.
Phase I/II, single center, prospective, open-label, non-controlled, non-randomized, interventional, cohort study in which low risk living donor liver transplant (LDLT) recipients will receive a single infusion of donor-derived DCreg 1 week prior to transplantation. All patients will be maintained on MPA and Tacrolimus (Tac) for the 1st 6 months after transplantation. At that time point, recipients meeting specific criteria will be slowly weaned off MPA per standard of care over a period of 6 months. Participants will then be evaluated for TAC weaning at 1 yr after transplantation. Those who meet specific criteria be weaned off Tac over 6 months . Successfully weaned participants who remain rejection-free will undergo 3 years of follow-up after the last dose of immunosuppression.
In this study, patients undergoing live donor kidney transplantation will be allocated to the control group or remote ischemic preconditioning group (RIPC). RIPC is the utilization of short periods of ischemia to provide protection of the myocardium or other organ (i.e. kidney) from a subsequent ischemic event. Before allograft implantation, RIPC will be accomplished in the treatment group donor and control group donor by inducing intermittent extremity ischemia through intermittent inflation of an extremity tourniquet three times for five-minute intervals with five minutes of deflation between inflation periods. The monitored clinical end points will include total urine output following kidney reperfusion over five days, plasma creatinine declination over five days, initiation of dialysis, and development of graft injury. Magnitude of graft injury is the primary endpoint and will be measured using biochemical markers, such as, plasma and urinary concentration of neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL), interleukin-18 (IL-18), and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1). The sample size calculation is based on a projected difference of NGAL levels between the two study arms. Hall et al reported a mean NGAL level of 49 mg/mL (SD = 37 mg/mL) for a group of patients that had immediate graph function and a mean NGAL level of 248 mg/mL in a group of patients with slow graft function. (which Hall reference is this) Based on these data, a conservative estimate of a mean difference between study groups will be considered 35 mg/mL NGAL. Using these assumptions, an alpha level of 0.05 and 80% power, a sample size of n= 19 per study group will be calculated. By rejecting our null hypothesis, RIPC may serve as a safe, cost-effective protective strategy to prevent allograft injury in the clinical setting of live donor kidney transplantation.
Living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) is the optimal treatment for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). But, the evaluation process for a kidney transplant is lengthy, time consuming, and burdensome to the patient. Also, race disparities exist in rates of transplant evaluation completion, transplantation, and LDKT. Our previous and ongoing NIDDK-funded research indicates that cultural factors (i.e., perceived discrimination in health care, religious objection to LDKT), transplant knowledge, and demographic characteristics (e.g., age, education, income) independently and significantly predict time to complete transplant evaluation. In December 2012 the investigators' transplant center implemented a one-day streamlined evaluation process, dubbed Kidney Transplant Fast Track (KTFT), but it has not been evaluated for efficacy or cost effectiveness. Thus, the investigators propose a quasi-experiment to determine the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the KTFT (n=1030) compared to historical controls (n=1140) who were recruited for the investigators' current NIDDK study to increase transplant rates. At the same time, the investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) targeting vulnerable patients with the educational component of the TALK intervention (Talking About Live Kidney Donation) to increase LDKT. For both components of the proposal, the investigators will target vulnerable populations because they are most at risk for extended evaluation times and lower rates of LDKT. Using CONSORT standards, participants will be randomly assigned to TALK (n=515) versus no-TALK (n=515) conditions and undergo two interviews at pre-transplant work-up and at completion of transplant evaluation in order to: (1) test whether KTFT and TALK will reduce transplant evaluation time, and increase rates of transplant and LDKT in members of vulnerable groups; (2) determine whether engaging in a streamlined and coordinated-care evaluation experience within the transplant center reduces negative perceptions of the healthcare system; and (3) test the cost effectiveness of the KTFT with TALK relative to standard practices. The results of this two-pronged approach will help pave the way for other transplant centers to implement a fast-track system at their sites, improve quality of care by transplanting a larger number of vulnerable patients, and may help address stark race/ethnic disparities in rates of LDKT.
Because of the deceased donor organ shortage, more kidney patients are considering whether to receive kidneys from family and friends, a process called living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT). Although Blacks are 3.4 times more likely to develop end stage renal disease, they are less likely to receive LDKTs. To address this disparity, this randomized controlled trial will assess whether Black and White transplant patients' knowledge and receipt of LDKTs can be increased when they receive access to the Your Path to Transplant computerized Expert System (YPT). This trial will also examine how other known patient, family, and healthcare system barriers to LDKT impact YPT's effectiveness. Nine hundred (900) Black,White and Hispanic ESRD patients presenting for transplant medical evaluation at University of California-Los Angeles Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program (UCLA-KPTP) in Los Angeles, California will be stratified by race and randomly assigned to one of two education conditions (YPT vs. Usual Care Education). As they undergo transplant evaluation, patients in the YPT condition will receive individually-tailored feedback reports, coaching, and socioeconomic resource guidance associated with reducing barriers to access to LDKT. Control patients will receive usual care transplant education provided by UCLA-KPTP. Changes in knowledge, readiness to pursue LDKT, pros/cons to LDKT, and self-efficacy will be assessed at four time points: prior to presenting at the transplant center (baseline), during transplant evaluation (approximately 2 months post-baseline), and 4- and 8-months post-baseline. Completion of transplant evaluation and receipt of LDKTs will be assessed 18-months post-baseline. At the conclusion of the study, we will have developed an innovative and cost-effective YPT Computerized Expert System that could be utilized to tailor LDKT discussion and education in different medical settings based on the needs of individual patients of different races.
Regulatory CD4+CD25+ T cells (Treg) derived from the thymus and/or peripheral tissues have been demonstrated to broadly control T cell reactivity (14). Importantly, Tregs have been shown to control immune responsiveness to alloantigens and significantly contribute to operational tolerance in transplantation models (15, 16). However, there have been limited efforts to harness the therapeutic potential of directly isolated CD4+CD25+ Treg cells for controlling graft rejection and inducing transplantation tolerance, such as for kidney transplants. In order for CD4+CD25+ Treg cells to be used as a clinical treatment, the following cell properties could be necessary: ex vivo generation of sufficient numbers of cells, migration in vivo to sites of antigenic reactivity, ability to suppress rejection in an alloantigen-specific manner, and survival/expansion after infusion for a critical, but currently unknown, period of time. Our published work and that of other investigators has demonstrated 1) the feasibility of expanding Treg ex vivo, 2) the ability of these cells to downregulate allogeneic immune responses in vitro, and 3) the efficacy of Treg for prevention of allograft rejection in animal models (15,16). We have developed strategies for the ex vivo expansion of naturally occurring human Tregs (nTregs) that allow for the practical employment of this cellular therapy in the clinic. Our central hypothesis is that sufficient human nTreg can be expanded ex vivo and used to both prevent renal transplant rejection and facilitate the reduction and subsequent withdrawal of drug-based immunosuppression. This study will allow for us to define the safety of Treg adoptive cellular transfer (TRACT) in living donor renal transplant recipients that draws upon our extensive preclinical experience with expanded Tregs, as well as our recognized clinical expertise with designing immunosuppressive regimens compatible with this type of therapeutic cell transfer.
Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), involves complex systems and processes of care that are particularly vulnerable to medical errors and preventable complications. This ancillary study of the Adult-to-Adult Living Liver Transplantation Cohort Study (A2ALL) will focus on conducting a proactive, systematic, and comprehensive assessment of the vulnerabilities in the systems and process of LDLT care to reduce medical errors and preventable complications thereby improving the safety of LDLT care. This project will address an important gap in the knowledge needed to achieve high quality and safe LDLT care of patients by developing a process to: 1) proactively, systematically and comprehensively identify areas of vulnerabilities in LDLT care that can result in medical errors, 2) design and implement solutions to mitigate these weaknesses, and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of these solutions to improve the safety of LDLT care by measuring clinical and process outcomes before and after solution implementation across four A2ALL participating transplant centers
The purpose of this trial was to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of everolimus in combination with reduced tacrolimus, compared to tacrolimus control, in living donor liver transplant recipients.
Donor-Specific Antibody (DSA) (HLA) levels and non-HLA antibody levels in recipients prior to living kidney transplantation and randomize these individuals into a desensitization protocol in order to evaluate shifts that can occur with the Luminex and XM-One assay after treatment and up to 6 months post transplant. If desensitization is needed prior to transplantation in individuals with a negative crossmatch but positive DSA and/or XM-one - patients will be evaluated clinically with routine lab tests (serum creatinine levels, spot urine protein and spot urine creatinine levels) as well as protocol biopsy evaluations.
An open-label study to assess the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of FCR001 cell therapy in adult recipients 3-12 months after kidney transplantation from a living donor.
The study is being conducted for the following reasons: 1. To determine the prevalence, course, and predictors of poor Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) outcomes associated with living donor donation. 2. To collect data and biosamples prior to, during, and after a living donor liver transplant (LDLT) among all donors and recipients for use by other adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant studies and future studies. 3. To study the effects of pressure and flow on the outcomes of LDLT. 4. To characterize the differences between living donor liver transplant and deceased donor liver transplant in terms of recipient post-transplant outcomes including patient and graft survival, surgical morbidity, and resource utilization. 5. To compare the long-term histological outcomes in recipients of LDLT and deceased donor liver transplant (DDLT) with recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. 6. To understand the history of pain management and to measure quality of care in pain control in living donors following partial hepatectomy.
Hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver transplants in the USA. Given that there is a national organ shortage, living donor liver transplantation has became a viable option for patients with end stage liver disease who are not severely ill. Recently particular polymorphisms of IL-28B gene were reported to correlate with histological recurrence and antiviral treatment response after orthotopic liver transplantation for hepatitis C. Similar results have not been described yet in living donor liver transplant patients. There is data suggesting slightly inferior outcomes in living donor liver transplants when done for hepatitis C. The investigators postulate that such inferior outcomes may be related to IL28 polymorphism concordance (i.e., unfavorable recipient polymorphism patients receive similarly unfavorable polymorphism livers from their relatives).
The purpose of this trial was to determine the safety and efficacy of eculizumab in the prevention of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in sensitized recipients of a living donor kidney transplant requiring desensitization therapy.
The primary purpose of this study is to test different methods by which kidney transplant centers can educate potential transplant candidates about living donor kidney transplant (LDKT). The most effective ways to educate kidney transplant candidates about LDKT remain unclear. The goal is to determine, among a diverse cohort of potential kidney transplant candidates, whether a transplant center-based intervention will increase understanding of the opportunities for and process, risks, and benefits of living kidney donation and LDKT. The investigators hypothesize that kidney transplant candidates' understanding of living kidney donation and LDKT will be increased by interventions implemented at the transplant center on the day of transplant evaluation. The investigators propose a single-center, 2-arm, cluster-randomized, controlled trial to compare the effects of two educational strategies upon transplant candidates' understanding of living kidney donation and LDKT: 1. Usual transplant education implemented by the transplant center, on the day of the transplant evaluation (standard care); and 2. Intensive initial transplant education implemented on the day of the transplant evaluation. Intensive initial transplant education will utilize videos of living donors' experiences as well as a session with a trained Transplant Educator, who will focus upon living donation education. One week after the transplant evaluation day and 3 months later, the investigators will assess transplant candidates' knowledge of LDKT (using questionnaires), identify correlates of increased understanding of LDKT, and assess racial/ethnic differences in the understanding of LDKT.