Research Center Borstel

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate if N-acetylcysteine (NAC) works to prevent post-tuberculosis lung disease (PTLD) in patients with severe pulmonary impairment. It also aims to assess the safety of NAC. The main questions the study aims to answer are: Does NAC improve lung function (FEV1%) over 12 months in participants with pulmonary tuberculosis and baseline risk factors for PTLD? What medical issues or adverse events do participants experience while taking NAC? Researchers will compare NAC treatment to a control group to see if it can prevent PTLD when given in addition to standard TB treatment.
Participants will: Take NAC (1800mg twice daily) for 6 months with standard TB treatment or receive standard TB treatment alone; Attend scheduled clinic visits for 12 months, during which they will have respiratory assessments, blood tests, and symptom monitoring; Complete quality-of-life questionnaires and provide sputum and blood samples for analysis at multiple time points.

This study aims at identifying and evaluating novel diagnostic methods for children evaluated for respiratory tuberculosis. The investigators will use alternative samples like stool, urine, and masks to diagnose children with respiratory tuberculosis. Once diagnosed, the investigators will use target next generation sequencing to determine if the bacillus is resistant to any of the drugs used for treatment. Additionally, children initiated under TB treatment will be followed-up during treatment to measure blood biomarkers for outcome prediction. Finally, spirometry will be performed longitudinally until 3 months after the end of treatment to assess the lung capacity of children treated for respiratory TB. All children initiated on TB treatment will fill in a quality of life questionnaire.

The UNITE4TB consortium is a group of universities and pharmaceutical companies funded by the European Union. This consortium are carrying out a trial to find better and faster ways to treat tuberculosis (TB). The standard treatment for TB takes 24 weeks and uses four drugs. The consortium want to find new treatments that are faster but just as safe and effective.
In the trial, two new drugs will be used, BTZ-043 and GSK3036656, along with the drugs that are already used to treat TB in a variety of combinations (11 different combinations initially). These new drugs have worked well in tests with animals and have reduced the amount of TB bacteria in people's sputum/phlegm when used alone for two weeks. These new drugs will be used in combination with other TB drugs for a longer time (up to 16 weeks) in people with TB. The UNITE4TB consortium want to see if they work well and are safe.
This trial will take place at sites across the world and will involve people with TB of the lungs that would usually respond well to the standard treatment. But the new treatments being tested might also work for people with drug resistant TB, that's harder to treat.
The trial has two parts. In the first part, different combinations of drugs will be tried on up to 700 people for 16 weeks. These combinations will be compared to the standard 24-week treatment to see which ones work the best and are safe.
In the second part, the best combinations from the first part will be taken to try to find out what the best length of time is to give the treatment for. These combinations will be tried on up to 1800 people giving them either 8, 10, 12, 14 or 16 weeks treatment. The investigators will follow these people for a total of 72 weeks to make sure the treatment is working.
The UNITE4TB consortium hope that this trial will find new treatments that are fast, safe, and effective for both regular TB and resistant TB. If it works, it can then be tested again in a bigger trial to be sure.