Clinical Research Directory

Nasal Immune Challenge Study

Respiratory viral infections cause significant illness, especially in vulnerable individuals and is a topic of immense significance during the current COVID-19 global pandemic. Respiratory diseases such as asthma involve inflammation of the airways and viruses are a major cause of asthma attacks. The nose is easier to access than the lungs but has similar cells and is therefore useful to study immune responses throughout the respiratory tract. Rather than study the effects of a live virus on the immune system, it is possible to give a component or mimic of a virus to simulate an infection in a similar but more straightforward manner, without causing disease. In this study we will use a nasal spray containing a sterile substance called Resiquimod (also called R848) to mimic a viral infection. Resiquimod does not contain any living organisms and therefore there is no possibility of developing a real infection. Resiquimod works by binding to receptors in cells that line the inside of the nose (epithelial cells) as well as cells that can fight infection (immune cells). These cells respond to Resiquimod and cause mild inflammation in the nose, similar to a mild cold. We can then take samples to measure this response and investigate how it differs between individuals. This will help us better understand how the human immune system responds to viruses, and which cells and molecules the body uses to defend itself against infection.

The Intestinal Innate Immune System in Newborns. Development and Inflammation in Health and Disease

The goal of this observational study is to determine the normal development of the human intestinal immune system in premature and mature neonatal life and to determine the pathophysiology behind life-threatening gastrointestinal diseases that appear during early life. The main questions aim to answer are: * to determine the normal development of the human intestinal immune system in premature and mature neonatal life and to determine the pathophysiology behind life-threatening gastrointestinal diseases that appear during early life. * is to investigate the development of the immune system in relation to enteral nutrition during the neonatal period. Participants will be asked to give faecal samples from day 1 of life and weekly for the following weeks until discharge (preterm infants). Further, surgery faecal samples and intestinal tissue will be collected proximal and distal to the pathology. In cases with a stoma, and when the child will undergo later reversal surgery, tissue samples from the proximal and distal ends of the intestine will be collected together with fecal samples (preterm and children up to 1 year of age who need to undergo intestinal surgery due to atresia).