MS

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the most common chronic complication of diabetes, affecting about 50% of patients with diabetes and leading to severe morbidity, poor quality of life, high mortality, and high health care costs. Due to the complex structure and anatomy of the peripheral nervous system, DPN presents with a very broad spectrum of clinical symptoms and deficits, including severe pain, sensory deficits, foot ulcers and amputations. Presently there is no treatment for DPN and even with good blood glucose control DPN develops especially in patients with type 2 diabetes. There is a need to identify effective interventions for DPN. Preclinical studies have provided evidence that the combination of fish oil and salsalate is an effective treatment of DPN. The human subject study to be performed will examine the effect of fish oil with and without salsalate on the blood lipid profile and circulating metabolites of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Fish oil is an excellent source for the nutrition dependent omega-3 PUFA, primarily eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6). These fatty acids are the source of anti-inflammatory metabolites known as resolvin, neuroprotectin and maresin. Preclinical studies have also demonstrated that the metabolites of EPA and DHA are neuroprotective. Furthermore, when fish oil is combined with salsalate the production of these metabolites is increased in vivo. Thus, the investigators hypothesize that fish oil and salsalate will be an effective therapy of DPN. However, prior to doing a formal study of the effect of fish oil + salsalate on DPN there is a need to learn more about what concentration combination will provide the most efficacious effect on the omega-3 index (defined as the sum of EPA and DHA, as a percentage of total fatty acids in red blood cells) and that will safely increase the production of the anti-inflammatory metabolites. These studies will be performed at two sites the University of Iowa (Dr. Yorek) and University of Michigan (Dr. Pop-Busui) by treating human subjects with type 2 diabetes and DPN with either 2g or 4g of fish oil per day (capsules) for 4 months and then adding salsalate 1.5 g or 3g per day (tablets) to the fish oil treatments for an additional 2 months. At baseline and after treatment with fish oil alone and after treatment with the combination of fish oil and salsalate the omega-3 index and levels of circulating omega-3 PUFA metabolites will be determined as primary endpoints. Secondary endpoints will include determination of circulatory inflammatory markers and non-invasive measurements for DPN. The risks to subjects are minimal and are very reasonable in relation to the importance of the knowledge to be gained.

In parallel with the growth of American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network's (ATHN) clinical studies, the number of new therapies for all congenital and acquired hematologic conditions, not just those for bleeding and clotting disorders, is increasing significantly. Some of the recently FDA-approved therapies for congenital and acquired hematologic conditions have yet to demonstrate long-term safety and effectiveness beyond the pivotal trials that led to their approval. In addition, results from well-controlled, pivotal studies often cannot be replicated once a therapy has been approved for general use.(1,2,3,4) In 2019 alone, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued approvals for twenty-four new therapies for congenital and acquired hematologic conditions.(5) In addition, almost 10,000 new studies for hematologic diseases are currently registered on www.clinicaltrials.gov.(6) With this increase in potential new therapies on the horizon, it is imperative that clinicians and clinical researchers in the field of non-neoplastic hematology have a uniform, secure, unbiased, and enduring method to collect long-term safety and efficacy data.

ATHN Transcends is a cohort study to determine the safety, effectiveness, and practice of therapies used in the treatment of participants with congenital or acquired non-neoplastic blood disorders and connective tissue disorders with bleeding tendency. The study consists of 7 cohorts with additional study "arms" and "modules" branching off from the cohorts.

The overarching objective of this longitudinal, observational study is to characterize the safety, effectiveness and practice of treatments for all people with congenital and acquired hematologic disorders in the US.

As emphasized in a recently published review, accurate, uniform and quality national data collection is critical in clinical research, particularly for longitudinal cohort studies covering a lifetime of biologic risk.(7)

This phase III trial studies how well response and biology-based risk factor-guided therapy works in treating younger patients with non-high risk neuroblastoma. Sometimes a tumor may not need treatment until it progresses. In this case, observation may be sufficient. Measuring biomarkers in tumor cells may help plan when effective treatment is necessary and what the best treatment is. Response and biology-based risk factor-guided therapy may be effective in treating patients with non-high risk neuroblastoma and may help to avoid some of the risks and side effects related to standard treatment.

Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes has been identified by the CF community as one of the top ten priorities for CF research. In CF clinical decline due to dysglycemia begins early, prior to diagnosis of diabetes and increases mortality from pulmonary disease. There is presently no way to determine who, of those with dysglycemia, will experience clinical compromise. However, the CF Center in Milan has found that measurable age- and sex-dependent variables on oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT) predict β-cell failure-the primary driver of decline in CF. the investigators propose a multi-center trial to develop nomograms of age and sex dependent reference values for OGTT-derived measures including glucose, insulin, c-peptide, and the resultant OGTT-derived estimates of β-cell function, β cell sensitivity to glucose, and oral glucose insulin sensitivity (OGIS) and to determine correlation of these with clinical status (FEV-1, BMI z score, number of pulmonary exacerbations over the past 12 months). In a subset of the cohort the investigators will perform additional studies to determine possible mechanisms driving abnormal β cell function, including the role of lean body mass (as measured by DXA), impact of incretin (GLP-1, GIP) and islet hormones (glucagon, pancreatic polypeptide) on β cell function and the relationship of reactive hypoglycemia and catecholamine responses to β cell function, as well as the relationship of β cell sensitivity to glucose as determined by our model to abnormalities in blood glucose found in a period of free living after the study (determined by continuous glucose monitoring measures (Peak glucose, time spent \>200 mg/dl, standard deviation). the investigators will also develop a biobank of stored samples to allow expansion to the full cohort if warranted and to enable future studies of dysglycemia and diabetes in CF. the investigator's eventual goal is utilization of the nomograms to determine the minimum number of measures to accurately predict risk for clinical decline from dysglycemia in CF.