Clinical Trials

The purpose of this study is to assess the long-term tolerability and safety of oral nintedanib treatment in patients with Progressive Fibrosing Interstitial Lung Disease who have completed (and did not prematurely discontinue trial medication in) the phase III parent trial, 1199.247 (INBUILD®).

The purpose of this study is to determine whether treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with positive airway pressure starting shortly after acute ischemic stroke or high risk TIA (1) reduces recurrent stroke, acute coronary syndrome, and all-cause mortality 6 months after the event, and (2) improves stroke outcomes at 3 months in patients who experienced an ischemic stroke.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether pembrolizumab alone as a first-line treatment, followed by pemetrexed and carboplatin with or without pembrolizumab after disease progression, is superior to induction with pembrolizumab, pemetrexed and carboplatin followed by pembrolizumab and pemetrexed maintenance in treating patients with stage IV non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as pemetrexed and carboplatin, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. It is not yet known whether giving first-line pembrolizumab followed by pemetrexed and carboplatin with or without pembrolizumab works better in treating patients with non-squamous non-small cell cancer.

The standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer involves chemotherapy and radiation, known as 5FUCMT, (the chemotherapy drugs 5-fluorouracil/capecitabine and radiation therapy) prior to surgery. Although radiation therapy to the pelvis has been a standard and important part of treatment for rectal cancer and has been shown to decrease the risk of the cancer coming back in the same area in the pelvis, some patients experience undesirable side effects from the radiation and there have been important advances in chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation which may be of benefit. The purpose of this study is to compare the effects, both good and bad, of the standard treatment of chemotherapy and radiation to chemotherapy using a combination regimen known as FOLFOX, (the drugs 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), oxaliplatin and leucovorin) and selective use of the standard treatment, depending on response to the FOLFOX. The drugs in the FOLFOX regimen are all FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved and have been used routinely to treat patients with advanced colorectal cancer.

Background:

• Celiac disease is a condition where the immune system attacks the cells of the small intestine. The intestine becomes inflamed and cannot digest food properly. The disease most often causes a reaction to foods that contain gluten. Most people can treat celiac disease with a gluten-free diet. However, some people have digestion problems even on a gluten-free diet. Researchers want to try a new antibody therapy for celiac disease. The treatment may block the immune reaction that causes the disease. They will test this antibody in people who have celiac disease that has not responded to a gluten-free diet.

Objectives:

• To see if antibody therapy is a safe and effective treatment for celiac disease that has not responded to standard treatments.

Eligibility:

• Individuals at least 18 years of age who have been on a gluten-free diet for 6 to 12 months but still have symptoms of celiac disease.

Design:

• Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical history. Blood samples will be collected. These samples will help determine if the specific antibody treatment is likely to work.
• Before the start of the study, participants will have a biopsy of the small intestine.
• Participants will receive three doses of the study antibody as injections. These doses will be given 3 weeks apart.
• Treatment will be monitored with blood tests and heart function tests. Participants will also have a second small intestine biopsy within a week after the last dose of the antibody.

The purpose of this study is to establish the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of niraparib combination therapies of Part 1 and to evaluate the antitumor activity and safety of niraparib combination therapies of Part 2.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate superiority of macitentan 75 milligrams (mg) in prolonging the time to the first clinical events committee (CEC)-adjudicated morbidity or mortality (M/M) event in participants with symptomatic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) compared to macitentan 10 mg.

Syncope affects about 50% of Canadians, is the cause of 1-2% of emergency room visits, and probably is responsible for CDN $250 million in health care spending each year. It is associated with decreased quality of life, trauma, loss of employment, and limitations in daily activities. The most common cause is vasovagal syncope. This occurs in people of all ages, and is a lifelong predilection. While the median number of faints in the population is 2, those who come to the investigators care have a median 10-15 lifetime spells, and have an increased frequency in the year before presentation. Vasovagal syncope is due to abrupt hypotension and transient bradycardia, which cause cerebral hypoperfusion. The pathophysiology may be either failure of venous return or progressive vasodilation, both due to inappropriately low sympathetic outflow. Sympathetic stimulation might be involved early in the reflex cascade. There is no known medical treatment for frequent fainting. The investigators performed the pivotal CIHR-funded randomized trials that showed that neither permanent pacing, beta blockers, nor fludrocortisone help the majority of patients. However 3 observational studies suggested that beta blockers prevent syncope in older subjects, and the Prevention of Syncope Trial (POST1) showed in a prespecified, -stratified analysis that patients ≥42 years tended to benefit. The investigators recent meta-analysis showed a benefit from metoprolol in these patients, with a hazard ratio of 0.52 (CI 0.27 to 1.01), and an age-specific response to beta blockers (p = 0.007). These results suggest the need for a randomized clinical trial of metoprolol for the prevention of vasovagal syncope in older subjects. Accordingly,the investigators conducted a poll of 48 cardiologists and neurologists in Canada and abroad: 98% stated that a randomized trial was necessary, and 92% agreed to participate in such a trial. Separately, this study emerged as the first choice for syncope randomized trials after consultation with Canadian and international experts. Objective: To determine if treatment with metoprolol in patients ≥40 years old with moderate to severely frequent vasovagal syncope will better suppress syncope recurrences than placebo. Methods: This will be a longitudinal, prospective, parallel design, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. Patients will be enrolled during a recruitment period of 4 years and followed for a fixed period of 1 year. Subjects will have had ≥1 faint in the previous year, and a diagnosis of vasovagal syncope based on a quantitative diagnostic score. They will be randomized to receive either metoprolol or placebo at an initial dose of 50 mg bid. Dose adjustments will be made according to treating physician discretion to optimize tolerance and compliance while maximizing dose. The primary outcome measure will be the time to the first recurrence of syncope (after a 2 week dose titration wash-in period) over the 1-year observation period. The primary analysis will be performed on an intention-to-treat basis. Secondary analyses will include an on-treatment analysis, as well as analyses comparing syncope and presyncope frequency, number needed to treat, quality of life, impact of syncope on daily living, and cost from the perspective of the publicly funded health care system. The investigators will enroll 248 patients to have an 85% power to detect a reduction (p<0.05) in the primary outcome from 50% (placebo group) to 30% (midodrine group), a 40% relative risk reduction. This sample size also allows for a 11% rate of subject dropout with loss to follow-up before a syncopal event. The University of Calgary Syncope Clinic has a well-functioning clinical trial apparatus that successfully completed the randomized, multicenter Prevention of Syncope Trials (POST1: metoprolol for vasovagal syncope; POST2: fludrocortisone for vasovagal syncope) and SIRCAT (Statin-Induced Reduction of Cardiomyopathy Trial). Enrolme

The purpose of this study is to determine whether optimal approach for the management of gram-negative bloodstream-infections (GN-BSI) is (1) intravenous antibiotics for the duration of treatment or (2) initial IV antibiotics followed by early transition to oral antibiotics, accounting for comprehensive patient-informed benefits, adverse events, and quality of life measures through the use of desirability of outcomes rankings and response adjusted for duration of antibiotic risk analytics approach.

This is a phase 2a, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics (PD) of NST-6179 in subjects with intestinal failure-associated liver disease (IFALD) receiving parenteral nutrition (PN).

The study will be conducted in 2 sequential parts. Up to 36 subjects diagnosed with IFALD will be enrolled in the study, of which up to 18 subjects will be enrolled in each of the 2 parts and randomized (2:1) to receive NST-6179 (N=12/part) or matched placebo (N=6/part). Subjects in Part A will receive once daily (QD) oral administration of 800 mg (32 mL solution) NST-6179 or placebo for 4 weeks. The NST-6179 dose for Part B is planned to be 1200 mg QD for 12 weeks. Actual dose, however, will be determined during the safety review meeting.