Sirolimus for Treatment of β-Thalassemia: From Pre-Clinical Studies to the Design of Clinical Trials

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 291-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse A. Stokum ◽  
Volodymyr Gerzanich ◽  
Kevin N. Sheth ◽  
W. Taylor Kimberly ◽  
J. Marc Simard

Cerebral edema, a common and often fatal companion to most forms of acute central nervous system disease, has been recognized since the time of ancient Egypt. Unfortunately, our therapeutic armamentarium remains limited, in part due to historic limitations in our understanding of cerebral edema pathophysiology. Recent advancements have led to a number of clinical trials for novel therapeutics that could fundamentally alter the treatment of cerebral edema. In this review, we discuss these agents, their targets, and the data supporting their use, with a focus on agents that have progressed to clinical trials.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 749-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia Kiwanuka ◽  
Bo-Michael Bellander ◽  
Anders Hånell

When evaluating the design of pre-clinical studies in the field of traumatic brain injury, we found substantial differences compared to phase III clinical trials, which in part may explain the difficulties in translating promising experimental drugs into approved treatments. By using network analysis, we also found cases where a large proportion of the studies evaluating a pre-clinical treatment was performed by inter-related researchers, which is potentially problematic. Subjecting all pre-clinical trials to the rigor of a phase III clinical trial is, however, likely not practically achievable. Instead, we repeat the call for a distinction to be made between exploratory and confirmatory pre-clinical studies.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P.A. Ioannidis

Importance. COVID-19 has resulted in massive production, publication and wide dissemination of clinical studies trying to identify effective treatments. However, several widely touted treatments failed to show effectiveness in large well-done randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Objective. To evaluate for COVID-19 treatments that showed no benefits in subsequent large RCTs how many of their most-cited clinical studies had declared favorable results for these interventions. Methods. Scopus (last update December 23, 2021) identified articles on lopinavir-ritonavir, hydroxycholoroquine/azithromycin, remdesivir, convalescent plasma, colchicine or interferon (index interventions) that represented clinical trials and that had received >150 citations. Their conclusions were assessed and correlated with study design features. The ten most recent citations for the most-cited article on each index intervention were examined on whether they were critical to the highly-cited study. Altmetric scores were also obtained. Findings. 40 articles of clinical studies on these index interventions had received >150 citations (7 exceeded 1,000 citations). 20/40 (50%) had favorable conclusions and 4 were equivocal. Highly-cited articles with favorable conclusions were rarely RCTs while those without favorable conclusions were mostly RCTs (3/20 vs 15/20, p=0.0003). Only 1 RCT with favorable conclusions had sample size >160. Citation counts correlated strongly with Altmetric scores, in particular news items. Only 9 (15%) of 60 recent citations to the most highly-cited studies with favorable or equivocal conclusions were critical to the highly-cited study. Conclusion. Many clinical studies with favorable conclusions for largely ineffective COVID-19 treatments are uncritically heavily cited and disseminated. Early observational studies and small randomized trials may cause spurious claims of effectiveness that get perpetuated.


2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Tompkins ◽  
X. Xu ◽  
J. Ahmarani

Probiotics as dietary supplements have been readily accepted by Asian populations. Use of certain probiotic preparations is widespread and the number of clinical trials undertaken with such products is unparalleled in western scientific literature. One such preparation, containing a combination of Enterococcus faecium R0026 and Bacillus subtilis R0179, has 23 publications on post-market clinical studies involving over 1,800 adults. The majority of these publications are printed in Chinese and Korean journals. This review examines the clinical findings with this probiotic combination. As mono-therapy, it has been used to overcome symptoms associated with chronic diarrhoea and irritable bowel syndrome. It has been used as co-adjuvant therapy with sulfasalazine and mesalazine to improve remission times in mild to moderate Ulcerative Colitis and to improve compliance with conventional triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication. While the much of the data is preliminary and the study designs require refinement, the contribution of these trials should not be ignored. The information derived in this review will provide practitioners with practical information on appropriate applications for probiotic supplements, expected outcomes, dosing regimes, safety and reported adverse events. Furthermore, identification of problems in these trials should help researchers design better clinical trials when investigating probiotic products.


1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 1277-1282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa V. Kot ◽  
Ngaire A. Pettit-Young

OBJECTIVE: To review the current published clinical studies evaluating the clinical efficacy and safety of lactulose compared with other laxatives or placebo. Adverse effects associated with lactulose are also reported. DATA SOURCES: Information was retrieved by searching the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases for clinical trials, abstracts, conference proceedings, and review articles dealing with lactulose. STUDY SELECTION: Emphasis was placed on clinical trials where lactulose was compared with other laxatives or placebo in patient populations where the diagnosis of constipation was reasonably established. DATA EXTRACTION: The methodology and results from clinical studies were evaluated. Assessment of the studies was made based on diagnosis of constipation, prior management of patients, follow-up of patients, dosage, and adverse effects. DATA SYNTHESIS: Clinical trials in geriatric patients, terminally ill patients, children, and normal and constipated subjects were reviewed. In most instances, lactulose was compared with a placebo, without incorporating the current education on dietary techniques for improving defecation. CONCLUSIONS: Generally, clinical trials have demonstrated a beneficial response compared with placebo, although sometimes that response has been only marginally better, from a clinical point of view.


Nanomedicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milad Ghorbani ◽  
Zhila Izadi ◽  
Samira Jafari ◽  
Eudald Casals ◽  
Foroogh Rezaei ◽  
...  

The wide prevalence of oxidative stress-induced diseases has led to a growing demand for antioxidant therapeutics worldwide. Nanozyme antioxidants are drawing enormous attention as practical alternatives for conventional antioxidants. The considerable body of research over the last decade and the promising results achieved signify the potential of nanozyme antioxidants to secure a place in the expanding market of antioxidant therapeutics. Nonetheless, there is no report on clinical trials for their further evaluation. Through analyzing in-depth selected papers which have conducted in vivo studies on nanozyme antioxidants, this review aims to pinpoint and discuss possible reasons impeding development of research toward clinical studies and to offer some practical solutions for future studies to bridge the gap between preclinical and clinical stages.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Danet ◽  
Joan Carles March Cerdá ◽  
Manuel Romero Vallecillos

Objetivo. Los ensayos clínicos con heroína (diacetilmorfina-DAM) han aportado al arsenal terapeútico disponible una alternativa en la atención a drogodependientes. El objetivo del presente artículo es conocer las experiencias y resultados clínicos de los estudios sobre el uso terapéutico de la heroina.Metodo. Revisión bibliográfica de los diferentes estudios y ensayos clínicos realizados hasta el presente a nivel mundial, sobre la intervención con pacientes dependientes de opioides. Se han consultado las bases de datos: EMBASE, ScienceDirect, Wiley-Blackwell, PubMed, Bio-Med Central, Medline, Ovid, y los descriptores «heroin», «diacetylmorphine», «clinical trial», «survey».Resultados. Se detectan 42 referencias, 16 presentan los resultados de ensayos clínicos de Suiza, Holanda, Alemania, Canadá, España y Reino Unido, comenzando con 1994. El resto de estudios se refieren a: captación y participación de los drogodependientes, mortalidad, calidad de vida, efectos secundarios y necesidad de nuevas investigaciones y ensayos clínicos.Conclusiones. Los estudios clínicos llevados a cabo hasta la actualidad muestran heterogeneidad en los métodos y variables empleadas, pero los objetivos son comunes (parten de evaluar los efectos del uso terapéutico de la heroina) y los resultados constatan la seguridad y efectividad de la prescripción médica de la diacetilmorfina. AbstractObjective. Clinical trials with heroin (diacetylmorphine) bring an alternative to the available therapeutic possibilities for addict people. The purpose of this article is to describe the experiences and results of clinical studies centered on the therapeutic use of heroin.Method. Literature review of studies and clinical trials, centered on the intervention with opiois- dependent patients. The databases consulted were : EMBASE, ScienceDirect, Wiley-Blackwell, PubMed, Bio-Med Central, Medline, Ovid. The descriptors : «heroin», «diacetylmorphine», «clinical trial», «survey».Results. The literature review revealed the existence of 42 references, of which 16 presented the results of clinical trials in Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Canada, Spain and United Kingdom, starting with 1994. Other references are centered on uptake and involvement of the drug, mortality quality of life/ side effects and need for further research and clinical trials.Conclusions. Clinical studies carried out until the present show heterogeneity in the methods and variables used, but the objectives are the same (based on assessing the effects of the therapeutic use of heroin) and the results confirm the safety and effectiveness of medical prescription of diacetylmorphine.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark P Maskery ◽  
Christian Holscher ◽  
Stephanie P Jones ◽  
Christopher I Price ◽  
W David Strain ◽  
...  

Stroke mortality and morbidity is expected to rise. Despite considerable recent advances within acute ischemic stroke treatment, scope remains for development of widely applicable neuroprotective agents. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), originally licensed for the management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, have demonstrated pre-clinical neuroprotective efficacy in a range of neurodegenerative conditions. This systematic scoping review reports the pre-clinical basis of GLP-1RAs as neuroprotective agents in acute ischemic stroke and their translation into clinical trials. We included 35 pre-clinical studies, 11 retrospective database studies, 7 cardiovascular outcome trials and 4 prospective clinical studies. Pre-clinical neuroprotection was demonstrated in normoglycemic models when administration was delayed by up to 24 h following stroke induction. Outcomes included reduced infarct volume, apoptosis, oxidative stress and inflammation alongside increased neurogenesis, angiogenesis and cerebral blood flow. Improved neurological function and a trend towards increased survival were also reported. Cardiovascular outcomes trials reported a significant reduction in stroke incidence with semaglutide and dulaglutide. Retrospective database studies show a trend towards neuroprotection. Prospective interventional clinical trials are on-going, but initial indicators of safety and tolerability are favourable. Ultimately, we propose that repurposing GLP-1RAs is potentially advantageous but appropriately designed trials are needed to determine clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness.


Drug Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saptarshi Chatterjee

AbstractRemdesivir is presently been considered as ‘molecule of hope’ to curb the menace of COVID19. Non-availability of any USFDA approved drug has led to several attempt of drug-repurposing and development of new therapeutic molecules. However, Remdesivir has been found to be effective against a broad range of virus including SARS, MERS and COVID 19 through in-vitro studies. Several clinical research attempt are presently being conducted showing promising result yet not conclusive. This review summarized all such clinical trials to critically appraise the usage of Remdesivir against COVID 19 along with the publications related to the results of the clinical studies. The present regulatory aspect i. e. Emergency Use Authorization (EYA) and information of molecule and plausible mechanism is also dealt.


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