5 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Background: - Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is caused by tapeworms that infect people. NCC can lead to serious brain problems such as seizures, sevre headaches and difficulties with movements or sensation in the limbs. Researchers want to learn more about the different ways in which people in the United States present with this disease and how they respond to standard and newer treatments. Objective: - To learn about the different forms of NCC that occurs throughout North America and how patients with these forms respond to treatment. Eligibility: - Adults age 18 or older with NCC. Design: * Participants will be screened with: * Medical history and physical exam. * A computed tomography (CT) brain scan The participant will lie still on a table that slides into a large donut-shaped scanner. * Blood drawn through an arm vein for analysis * A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain and spine. They will lay flat in a long metal cylinder as the machine makes images of the body. During the scan, participants will receive a contrast agent through an IV that allows high resolution imaging of the brain and spine * Participants will visit the clinic at 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months (7 times), and depending on the need for monitoring, more times. Participants will receive a schedule that will explain the procedures done at each visit. * At these visits, participants may: * Repeat the screening procedures. * Be asked about their NCC symptoms and their physical and mental health. * Have a urine test. * Take a test of their ability to concentrate, their memory and spatial recognition. * Have a lumbar puncture, if indicated by the state and severity of infection. A needle will be inserted through the skin and into the space between the bones in the back. Cerebrospinal fluid will be removed.
The purpose of this protocol is to measure peripheral benzodiazepine receptors in the brain using positron emission tomography (PET) and compare the imaging results between patients and healthy people.
The purpose of this protocol is to measure peripheral benzodiazepine receptors in the brain using positron emission tomography (PET) and compare the imaging results between patients and healthy people.
Neurocysticercosis is a brain disease due to the larval stage of the pork tapeworm (Taenia solium). The most common symptoms patient experience from infection inside the substance of the brain (parenchymal disease) are seizures and headaches. When the infection is either inside the fluid pockets inside the brain (ventricular disease) or in the space around the brain (subarachnoid disease) patients can have chronic headaches, relapsing aseptic meningitis, hydrocephalus, stroke, and may require neurosurgical intervention. The purpose of this study is to treat patients with anthelmintic therapy (praziquantel and/or albendazole) and anti-inflammatories in alignment with currently accepted best practices and guidelines, depending on the neurocysticercosis subtype. The purpose of the study is to better understand and characterize clinical, biologic, and management factors during treatment that influence long term outcomes. In order to understand this further we collect patient clinical information, patient survey responses, blood, urine samples, and additional cerebral spinal fluid if already being collected for clinical care.
The objectives of the Phase I study are to evaluate the safety and tolerance of increasing single oral doses of oxfendazole in healthy volunteers.The secondary objectives assess the pharmacokinetic profile of oxfendazole and assess the metabolism of oxfendazole. The description of agent used is single oral dose of an aqueous suspension of oxfendazole, a benzimidazole carbamate antiparasitic drug. Each new cohort will be dosed only after the two week safety data for the preceding group have been reviewed. If a clinically significant AE is observed, and if this event is drug-related the safety monitoring committee will be convened to determine whether the study should continue.