The role of the kidney is to filter waste and toxins from the blood in the body. In order to properly evaluate the excretory function of the kidneys, tests that measure the glomerular filtration rate are performed. Glomerular filtration rate, or GFR, measures the rate at which filtered fluid flows through the kidney from the glomerular capillaries into the Bowman’s capsule. GFR can be calculated by measuring substance ratios in samples of urine and blood.

To calculate GFR, a chemical that has a steady presence in the blood and is filtered but not reabsorbed or secreted by the kidneys is identified. The physiological discrepancy between the basal tones of the afferent and efferent arterioles is crucial for the natural maintenance of GFR. For this reason, the quantity of the chemical in the urine that originated from a quantifiable amount of blood in the blood stream serves as the calculable rate of fluid filtered through the kidney.

The GFR equation is as follows:
GFR = (urine filtration x urine flow) / plasma concentration.

Renal failure, also known as kidney failure or renal impairment, is the decline in the glomerular filtration rate of toxins and waste products from the blood. The two types of renal failure are acute kidney disease and chronic kidney disease. A rapid decline in renal function leads to a reduction of urine in acute kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease develops much slower than acute kidney disease.

The MDRD equation is as follows:
GFR = 186 x (0.742 if female) x (1.212 if Black) x creatinine-1.153 x age-0.203

The CKD-EPI equation is as follows:
GFR = 141 x min(Scr/κ,1)α x max(Scr/κ,1)-1.209 x 0.993Age x 1.018 [if female] x 1.159 [if black]
(where Scr is serum creatinine (mg/dL), κ is 0.7 for females and 0.9 for males, α is –0.329 for females and –0.411 for males, min indicates the minimum of Scr/κ or 1, and max indicates the maximum of Scr/κ or 1)

The study found that the CKD-EPI equation more accurately estimates GFR. According to the results from the study, the CKD-EPI equation more accurately identifies people with long-term clinical risk (end-stage renal disease, stroke, coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality) than does the MDRD equation. The MDRD equation is most commonly used in clinical practice and clinical trials to evaluate kidney function. The MDRD equation carries several limitations, such as that it has not been extensively studied among populations that are neither white nor black. Another limitation of the MDRD equation is its over-diagnosing chronic kidney disease due to its underestimations of GFR (in individuals with measured GFR ≥60 ml/min/1.73m2). As compared to the MDRD equation to measure GFR, the CKD-EPI equation more precisely measured GFR overall, especially with respect to middle-aged patients with normal or mildly reduced kidney function (at high GFR rates) and with less bias.

Allison Aiello who was the senior researcher on the study said that the results don’t prove the bug actually causes diabetes. Only that it has shown a strong link to predicting type 2 diabetes in adults. Allison also happens to be a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

There have been questions raised due to the fact that earlier clinical studies which were investigating the relationship between the H. pylori bug and diabetes came up with inconsistent results. Some patients showed a link while others did not. Aiello and her colleagues have stated that their previous diabetes research had only provided snapshots in time of who had diabetes, who didn’t, and who had the infection. So in their next diabetes clinical study, they would track nearly 800 people for an entire decade. This would provide them with a better picture of whether one condition might actually cause the other.

None of the participants, when they began this diabetes clinical study, had type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes has been linked to being overweight and having a bad diet. During the clinical study, 144 of the participants developed type 2 diabetes. They had tested these individuals at the beginning of the study, and 97% of them tested positive for the Helicobacter pylori bacteria.

The researchers took into account other factors such as vascular disease, smoking and being overweight. After compiling the data from their research, they found that the risk of developing diabetes was actually 2.7 times higher among the participants who had been infected by the H. pylori bug.

Due to the fact that the researchers were able to follow these people over such an extensive length of time, they could effectively show the developmental relationship between the diabetes cases and the bacterial infections. Others are still not completely sure that the evidence is conclusive, but most agree it could point to one.

There is still a chance that this diabetes research has singled out the wrong factor. It is possible that in fact there is a protective factor involved with NOT being H. pylori positive, instead of the H. pylori causing the diabetes. Also, maybe since the people who have the infection go to the doctor more often, there is a better chance of having their diabetes detected.

The researchers did find that if they accounted for people who were taking antacids or antibiotics to treat the infection it did not alter their results. This diabetes clinical study also tested for a link among other infections, such as herpes, cytomegalovirus, and varicella virus with diabetes. Luckily, there doesn’t seem to be any causal relationship among these infections and diabetes.

Aiello and her fellow researchers have not found the clear reason that links the infection with diabetes yet. They have speculated that it might have something to do with changing conditions in the gut or inflammation caused by the bacteria. Aiello was surprised to find that a high percentage of her participants in this diabetes clinical trial tested positive for the H. pylori bacteria. She pointed out that there are treatments available for this bacterium, so the infections can be taken care of at least.

Check out Avail’s new Diabetes Clinical Trial today!

Hep C is primarily spread via blood-to-blood contact, and it is debatable if it can be transmitted sexually. Poorly sterilized medical tools, unsafe medical transfusions and intravenous drug usage generally transmit the disease. Disease transmission is unknown in about 20% of HCV cases. Vertical transmission (spreading of the disease from infected mother to fetus) occurs in 10% of pregnancies of women with HCV. Exactly when during pregnancy the disease is spread to the fetus is currently unknown.

However, it is known that long labors involve greater risks of vertical transmission. There is no evidence that hepatitis C can be transmitted via breastfeeding. Nevertheless, it is recommended that women with hep C should not breastfeed their babies if their nipples are cracked and bleeding. There is a 1.8% chance of contracting HCV from a needle used intravenously by a diseased patient. The deeper the puncture wound is, the greater the risk of transmission.

There are about 150 million people across the globe currently infected with HCV. About 85% of these cases are based in the liver, and 50-80% of these cases that receive treatment will be cured. Drugs known as peginterferon and ribavirin are available to cure the infectious disease. Currently, there is no available vaccine against the disease. However, there are many Hep C clinical trials being conducted worldwide in the effort to discover an HCV vaccine.

15% of acute HCV infections are symptomatic. Symptoms of acute HCV include decreased appetite, nausea, muscle or joint pains, weight loss and fatigue. About 80% of Hep C patients develop a chronic infection. Asymptomatic and acute cases could last for decades before becoming chronic. About 20% of those with chronic HCV develop liver cirrhosis and may require liver transplants. Liver cirrhosis can lead to varices, jaundice, bruising and bleeding, build-up of fluid in the abdomen, portal hypertension and hepatic encephalopathy (cognitive impairment associated with HCV).

Chronic HCV cases may require liver transplants. Hep C is the leading cause for liver transplants. The disease tends to recur post transplants, however.

About 9,000 deaths occur due to HCV in the United States each year. It is to be expected that more chronic cases will arise in the next number of years and the mortality rate due to hep C will rise, as these cases will be involving those patients who had contracted the disease before HCV testing became available. China, Egypt and Pakistan are among those countries with high rates of hep C infection.

Disclaimer: This article represents our best efforts but is in no way meant to replace the critical dialogue and recommendations of a healthcare professional. If you believe that you, or someone you know suffers from the conditions described here, see your healthcare provider. Do not attempt to treat yourself or anyone else without proper medical supervision.

Have you been diagnosed with diabetes? If yes, then participating in a clinical trial in Orlando can provide you with access to state of the art treatment and physician care. The range of different conditions that Avail Clinical Research focuses on is incredible. There are clinical trials enrolling for Crohn’s disease, fibromyalgia, hepatitis B and C, constipation, COPD, osteoporosis, and overactive bladder just to name a few. Their highly qualified staff has expertise in a very diverse range of medical fields, so they can certainly handle a lot.

The Avail staff includes a team of clinical research coordinators assigned to every trial. Their physicians are all board certified and they act as the primary investigators with oversight on all trials. Avail employs a laboratory staff, an entire recruiting call center on site, receptionist, and pharmacist. Avail Clinical Research’s goal is to conduct thorough phase I clinical trials in the Orlando area. To do this they need dedicated phase I staff, they are very well trained and committed to bringing people the best medical care possible.

Avail Clinical Research is primarily focused on conducting phase I clinical research trials. Their sister site in Birmingham, AL focuses on phase II-IV clinical trials, and this cooperative system works out really well benefiting both sites. Their research facility is state of the art and fully equipped to handle the wide array of clinical research trials that are being conducted here. They have the latest medical equipment on hand, and their staff is fully trained in utilizing these tools effectively. If that isn’t impressive enough, the facilities location could not be better. Located within DeLand’s medical community, two other major medical facilities are a stones throw away from Avail Clinical Research.

One of the most important aspects of running a successful clinical research facility is having the ability to effectively recruit the necessary numbers of people for your clinical research studies. Fortunately, Avail Clinical Research maintains an on-site recruiting call center team, which is fully capable of enrolling clinical trial volunteers on a continual basis. Potential volunteers include not only special patient populations but also healthy volunteers. Avail keeps an up to date database of over 50,000 prospective and past patients. With its dedicated and well-trained staff, Avail Clinical Research will always be able to meet its recruitment goals and help further modern medicine.

Most patients with COPD suffer from dyspnea. Over time, COPD and dyspnea usually get increasingly worse, with the airflow in the lungs getting progressively lower. In addition to dyspnea, people with COPD may have chest tightness, rapid breathing, exhaustion, enlargement of the chest cavity, exhalation taking longer than inhalation, wheezing, active use of neck muscles to aid in breathing, and a persistent cough and/or mucus production in chronic bronchitis.

The narrowed airways in the lungs, as characterized by COPD, limit the lungs’ efficiency and cause dyspnea. People with COPD suffer from pressure and compression in the chest during exhalation instead of the normal and healthy expansion of the airways. For this reason, expiration (exhalation) may take longer for COPD patients than inhalation. Many COPD patients are incapable of finishing a breath out before needing to inhale again, the result being that some air from the first breath remains inside the lungs during the next breath. This discrepancy causes dynamic hyperinflation (an increased volume of air in the lungs), which causes shortness of breath as it becomes increasingly difficult for patients to breathe with their chest cavities already expanded.

The second cause of dyspnea in COPD is due to emphysema. In emphysema, the surface area accessible for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lungs is decreased, causing a diminution in the rate of transfer of these gases during breathing. This diminution results in low oxygen and high carbon dioxide levels in the body. People with emphysema commonly have increased breathing rates and/or take deeper breaths to compensate, but this is made difficult by the lungs’ oxygen flow limitation and/or dynamic hyperinflation.

Advanced COPD cases can include respiratory failure, causing patients’ lips to turn blue from the lack of oxygen in their blood. This lack of oxygen results in an overload of carbon dioxide, which may cause headaches, twitching, and drowsiness. In addition, extra work is required by the heart in order to pump adequate amounts of blood through the affected lungs. This strain on the heart could cause cor pulmonale (right-sided heart failure), resulting in swelling of the ankles and dyspnea. Other symptoms of advanced COPD include weight loss and pulmonary hypertension.
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Avail Clinical Research is currently conducting a wide array of clinical studies near Orlando targeted towards certain conditions. You may be eligible to participate in one of our clinical trials and contribute to the development and approval of a new drug or treatment. As a participant, there is no cost to you at any point during the study and health insurance is not required. Browse our clinical trials being conducted now to find the study best suited for you.

Find Paid Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Clinical Trials & Research Studies in DeLand, Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach & Orlando, FL

Inpatient and outpatient, 18-75, currently enrolling

Here are two currently enrolling Hep C clinical trials:

Hepatitis C – DeLand, FL – #32720 (inpatient)

Hepatitis C – DeLand, FL – #32720 (outpatient)

Manifestations of acute infection include flu-like symptoms, jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, decreased appetite and itchiness. About 10-60% of infected people have normalization of liver enzymes. Such individuals rid of the virus during the acute phase, as signified by normal levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) and spontaneous viral/plasma HCV-RNA clearance. Unrelenting infections are frequent and usually develop into chronic hepatitis C.

Chronic hepatitis C is an HCV infection that lasts longer than six months. It is commonly clinically asymptomatic and accidentally discovered during routine physician check ups upon discovery and inspection of abnormally heightened liver enzyme levels. The rate at which liver scarring from hepatitis C progresses in individuals varies significantly, therefore making it very difficult to provide accurate estimates of individuals’ disease progression risks. Alcohol consumption, increased age, HIV co-infection and fatty liver cells are associated with faster HCV disease progression. Males have been found to have more rapid disease progression than females. Symptoms of chronic hepatitis C include fatigue, joint pain, itchiness, flu-like symptoms, nausea, inability to sleep, changes in appetite and depression. Symptoms impacting the liver don’t commonly show until there has been significant scarring of the liver.

Once hepatitis C has progressed to liver cirrhosis, decreased liver function and portal hypertension (increased pressure in the blood circulation of the liver) may cause the following symptoms: bruising and bleeding, ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen), jaundice and hepatic encephalopathy (cognitive impairment caused by a build-up of ammonia and other toxins that a healthy liver gets rid of). Cirrhosis can lead to liver failure, liver cancer and deathly varices (enlarged veins) in the abdomen and esophagus.

Treatment for hepatitis C involves a combination of an antiviral drug for 24 to 48 weeks and pegylated interferon-alpha-2a or pegylated interferon-alpha-2b.

Hepatitis C is rarely transmitted through sexual contact. The transmission of hepatitis C from a mother to her baby during birth (vertical transmission) is rare. Only a woman who is HCV-RNA positive at the time of delivery can transmit the disease to her baby, and the risk here is 6%.

Avail Clinical Research is currently enrolling participants ages 18-75 for inpatient studies on hepatitis C at its DeLand, Florida location. Additionally, Avail is also conducting outpatient studies on this disease. Browse our currently enrolling clinical trials to find out if you are eligible to participate. Participation in an Avail clinical study is free. You may be eligible to contribute to a richer understanding of hepatitis C and the development of a new drug or therapy by enrolling in one of Avail’s hepatitis C studies.

The generous donation was made during the 15th annual “Holiday Traditions: A Musical Celebration”, which is set up by Stop! Children’s Cancer, Inc. at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The donation of $1.05 million was accepted by the chief of the pediatric department at UF, Dr. William B. Slayton, and the department’s chair, Dr. Richard Bucciarelli. They announced that the donation is to be used to support ongoing clinical trials that will be conducted at the University under the direction of Dr. Slayton.

“Our goal is for every child at Shands to receive the best medicine that is known right now—to help them survive whatever they are going through”, stated Howard Freeman, Stop! Children’s Cancer’s co-founder after the announcement was made. Dr. Slayton added, “Stop! Children’s Cancer’s gift will fund a clinical trials coordinator, who will help UF open new trials and ensure the trials being done in the safest and most effective way. That means children will have more resources and options for cancer treatment at Shands Hospital at UF.”

Clinical Trials can provide participants with access to new cutting edge medicine and medical technology which could make a real difference in helping to treat their disease or condition. These clinical research trials take a lot of effort and require a very complex process to be followed in order to be conducted effectively. Donations like this one are necessary for clinical research to continue.

Howard Freeman founded Stop! Children’s Cancer with his daughter Bonnie in 1981. Sadly, Bonnie passed away back in 1983 at the age of 12 with leukemia, but her father is committed to carrying on her dream of helping children in the world who have been diagnosed with the disease. This is not the first time that Stop! has made a donation to UF’s College of Medicine. Since 1981, Stop! Children’s Cancer has donated close to $4 million to the school, and all funding has gone to increasing research efforts to find, prevent, and cure childhood cancer.

“All of the research funding we’ve provided in the past has been seed money for hard-core research, so this is the first time we are moving into translational research, where it’s actually going to be applied to a child,” said Laurel Freeman, Bonnie’s mother. ”Hopefully, there will be a lot of positive outcomes from this money we are donating. We’re just really excited to see the shift happening.”

Dr. Slayton graduated from the College of Medicine at UF back in 1992. He specializes in studying the high-risk forms of leukemia and finding treatments for patients. He is excited to see the added benefits of the increased funding for their research at the college. Besides being able to conduct a greater number of clinical trials, participants will have access to treatments that they can get nowhere else.

The goal is that this clinical research will shed new light on the causes and risk factors for diseases like leukemia, which affect children around the world. These clinical trials could provide medicine with a new direction in treatment that could save many lives. Clinical research in Florida has taken another step forward, and our future is definitely looking brighter.

Glucose is a vital form of sugar employed by the cells of the human body. The cells of the body obtain their needed glucose from the glucose made in the liver and muscles, as well as from the food that we eat. Insulin, a chemical made in the pancreas, is required for glucose to be absorbed by the cells. If an insufficient amount of insulin is produced, or if the insulin is not functioning properly, the glucose will not be taken as required by the cells, and as a result will build up in the blood stream. This build-up causes high blood sugar, which leads to pre-diabetes or Type I or Type II diabetes. The unfortunate chain of events can happen to people of all ages and with a variety of dietary habits.

Some people with diabetes do not experience any symptoms before their diagnoses. The test for diabetes involves a simple blood test to assess glucose levels, which will detect diabetes regardless of whether or not the patient is feeling symptoms. If a person experiences any of the following symptoms, he should consult his healthcare professional as it could be a sign of diabetes: severe thirst, frequent urination, severe hunger, exhaustion, unintentional weight loss, dry or itchy skin, slowly healing sores, tingling or numbness in the feet and/or blurred vision.

With regard to the source of Type I diabetes, this occurs when the immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells of the pancreas, and as a result the beta cells stop producing insulin. Type I diabetes (formerly known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes) is usually diagnosed in children, teenagers and young adults.

Type II diabetes is a result of insulin resistance; a disorder in which the fat, muscle and liver cells do not properly use insulin. With Type II diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes or noninsulin-dependent diabetes, the pancreas is forced to produce enough insulin to keep up with the increased insulin demand. However, over time the pancreas becomes incapable of secreting enough insulin after a person has eaten a meal and fills the blood stream with glucose. Lack of physical activity and obesity both increase a person’s risk of developing this type of diabetes.

Eating healthy and engaging in physical activity are ways to help prevent or treat diabetes. In addition, keeping blood pressure and cholesterol in check are advisable preventative and curative courses of treatment. A daily dose of aspirin and injecting insulin are common ways to treat diabetes for those already diagnosed with the disease.

Other forms of diabetes include Pre-diabetes and Gestational diabetes. Pre-diabetes results when the blood glucose levels are higher than they should be, but not high enough to qualify for a diabetes diagnosis. Patients with pre-diabetes have a higher risk of heart disease, stroke and developing Type II diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes in the late stages of pregnancy caused by hormonal changes and/or a shortage of insulin. After the baby is born, gestational diabetes usually goes away and blood glucose levels return to more normal levels. Women diagnosed with gestational diabetes are at higher risk of developing Type II diabetes later in later years.

It is because of the immeasurable benefits that have come from clinical trials that funding has been poured in to trials so that more developments in medical research treatments, strategies and therapies could be developed. Without this funding, such breakthroughs would take years longer to implement. In fact, some would perhaps never come about at all.

Human involvement in clinical studies is crucial for medical researchers to be able to properly assess the efficacy and safety of new drugs and treatments. It is very important for the trials’ medical staff to have a large number of patients to observe in order to accurately form objective conclusions about treatments’ dangers and benefits. Without testing drugs and treatments on humans, doctors would not be able to know how the experimental care would perform on patients who need them.

The leading cause of death in the United States is atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Since the 1960s, the mortality rate for this disease has been cut nearly in half due to the findings of clinical trials. Trial studies have identified risk factors for heart disease, including obesity, smoking, high cholesterol, lack of exercise and hypertension, so that people could more vigilantly control these factors. The drugs, diagnostic tests, therapies and treatments developed by clinical trials (such as drugs that control arrhythmias, bypass surgery methods, balloon angioplasty and cardiac catheterization) have also majorly aided in the decrease of the disease’s mortality rate.

A sustained and enhanced clinical research effort is what will be behind any medical progress made in the next decades. Future research and experimentation will be based largely on what is found today in clinical trials, and what we know today is largely based on what we observed and studied in clinical trials a few decades ago. Advanced imaging technology, virtual screening techniques and more advanced tools will better enable doctors to research and understand diseases and the human body at large and even discover preventative treatments. All of these breakthroughs depend upon the participation of volunteers and ongoing funding of clinical trials.

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