End Stage Renal Disease Clinical Trials

Fatigue is the most common symptom reported by end-stage kidney disease patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Unfortunately, there currently is no medical management for this overwhelming feeling of tiredness. As a result, patients continue to suffer with poor quality of life and impaired daily activities. The purpose of this pilot trial is to find out if bupropion (a medicine commonly prescribed for stopping smoking, seasonal mood disorder, and depression) may help lessen fatigue in hemodialysis patients. In this study, hemodialysis participants will receive bupropion tablet orally three times a week during routine dialysis procedure for consecutive 8 weeks. Study participants will complete a battery of questionnaires to self-report fatigue, cognition, and quality of life. The study team will collect biological specimens. All these procedures will be performed at the dialysis clinic during routine dialysis procedure. Read Less

This study utilizes a web-based application to help patients on the organ transplant waitlist communicate patient's need for a living donor via social media and provide interested potential donors the opportunity to engage with the evaluation process. Read Less

The study will test and compare the efficacy of a single essential amino acid valine with a combination of essential amino acids (EAA) supplement on fatigue, frailty, and cognitive function in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) treatment. Read Less

Calciphylaxis, a vascular calcification disorder, is a rare and serious disorder characterized by calcification of dermal arterioles. There are significant gaps in the understanding of the pathophysiology and risk factors for calciphylaxis. At present, there is no effective treatment. Uncertain pathobiology, rare incidence and lack of collaborative approach have been some of the major limiting factors towards treating calciphylaxis. The Partners Calciphylaxis Biorepository (PCB) aims to address these gaps within calciphylaxis research by utilizing existing and, when necessary, developing new infrastructure to support the consent of patients and the collection of dedicated samples for a calciphylaxis repository. Read Less

The goal of this pilot randomized trial is to learn about shared decision making in kidney transplant candidates. The aim of this proposal is to evaluate the Donor Plan Donor Choice tool to promote high-quality Shared Decision Making for providers and kidney transplant candidates at two transplant centers. Participants will: * Review an online education tool, Donor Plan Donor Choice. * Discuss a Kidney Offer Plan with a transplant provider. * Answer questions about willingness to consider different donor types. Researchers will compare the Shared Decision Making group to usual care to generate pilot data and implementation outcomes for a larger trial. Read Less

Frailty and sarcopenia are modifiable risk factors for morbidity and mortality in patients with ESRD. Exercise is the recommended intervention to prevent frailty and sarcopenia, however, many clinical trials have shown limited clinical improvement in muscle mass and physical function. We propose that mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the deterrents to the effectiveness of the exercise. We plan to evaluate the additive effect of HIIT and CoQ10, a mitochondrial-targeted therapy, on mitochondrial function and physical performance. Understanding the interplay among CoQ10, exercise, and mitochondrial function will identify novel mechanisms to improve the efficiency of exercise. This will also serve to prevent frailty, sarcopenia, and muscle dysfunction in patients with ESRD. Read Less

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), published Final Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act Safeguards and Research Criteria for Transplantation of Organs Infected With HIV. All such transplants must occur under an institutional review board (IRB) approved research protocol that is compliant with federal regulations governing human subjects research. This is an investigator-initiated, observational prospective study of solid organ transplantation utilizing HIV-positive donors in HIV positive recipients. Stable HIV-infected adults in need of a solid organ transplant (kidney) who meet standard and study specified HIV criteria for organ transplantation will be offered enrollment in the study. Deceased donors (kidney) and living donors (kidney) will be utilized in this protocol. The goal of this research is to increase knowledge about the safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of solid organ transplantation (SOT) utilizing HIV-positive donors in HIV-positive recipients. Read Less

Researchers are evaluating the safety of allogeneic Adipose Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (AMSC) use during hemodialysis arteriovenous fistula and arterial bypass creation and its efficacy on improving access maturation and primary anastomotic patency. Read Less

The Canadian Australasian Randomized Trial of Screening Kidney Transplant Candidates for Coronary Artery Disease (CARSK) will test the hypothesis that eliminating the regular use of non-invasive screening tests for CAD AFTER waitlist activation is not inferior to regular (i.e., annual) screening for CAD during wait-listing for the prevention of Major Adverse Cardiac Events. Secondary analyses will assess the impact of screening on the rate of transplantation, and the relative cost-effectiveness of screening. Read Less

This study aims to determine if the CloudCath device can detect infections related to peritoneal dialysis (peritonitis) as fast or faster than the current standard methods used by patients and doctors to detect such infections. Read Less