Active clinical trials for "Stroke"

Due to the importance to use standardized shared protocols in the rehabilitative setting of cerebrovascular diseases, an harmonization and redefinition of the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation rehabilitative model was carried out. Such process was in line with the Evidence Based approach of Cochrane Rehabilitation.

The first week after a stroke is a particularly important time, as improving blood flow may limit secondary ischaemic damage to the brain and help reduce the overall burden neurological injury and future disability. Small studies in patients with stroke have shown that moderate aerobic exercise increases blood flow to the brain, however, no studies have evaluated the safety of aerobic exercise within the first week after stroke, nor whether it results in changes to cerebral blood flow. Remote ischaemic conditioning (RIC) is when ischaemia is induced to a limb for short periods of time by inflating pressure cuffs around arms or legs to above systolic pressures (mmHg). This procedure is performed for periods that avoid physical injury to the limbs, but induce neurohormonal, systemic or vascular changes in the body. These changes often result in improved blood supply to various areas of the body. The use of RIC in the acute period after stroke is currently being investigated in a number of large randomised controlled trials e.g. RECAST, RESIST, however, our understanding of how RIC actually works is incomplete. Importantly, there is scarce data on the acute effects of RIC on cerebral blood flow (CBF), a potentially pivotal mechanism behind its effects. We propose an exploratory study to evaluate whether it is feasible, acceptable and safe to undertake low and moderate intensity aerobic exercise or remote ischaemic conditioning (RIC) in patients during the acute period after stroke, and whether either of these interventions result in changes to cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFv) in the major cerebral arteries. We will compare any changes to those in a cohort of healthy volunteers.

Evaluating the collateral circulation of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) mainly depends on the imaging examination. At present, there is no effective and sensitive biomarker for collateral circulation. Thus, the research objective was to evaluate the predicting role of the CBP/P300-interacting transactivator with Glu/Asp-rich C-terminal domain 2 Ratio (CITED2) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells in the collateral circulation of AIS. We classified the AIS patients into two groups (the good collateral group and the poor collateral group) by DWI-ASPECTS score. The western blot was applied to test the protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and CITED2. Then, we collected other clinical data. Binary logistic regression analysis between collateral circulation and clinical data was performed. Finally, Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to explore the predictive value of the CITED2.

The trunk is the key point of the body. Proximal trunk control is essential for distal extremity movements, balance and functional activities. The aim of the study is to examine the relationship of trunk control with balance, upper extremity and lower extremity functions in stroke patients.

Despite increasingly effective early treatment strategies for ischemic stroke, post-stroke recovery is often incomplete and depend on spontaneous and therapeutic-induced processes related to neuroplasticity, angiogenesis and reperfusion. These processes are regulated by growth factors, neurotrophines, neurotransmitters, hormones and other factors. This study aims to search biomarkers that prognose brain repair ability and consequently estimate an outcome of stroke patients. The prognostic value of proteins VEGF, IGF-1 and MMP-9 and expression of genes VEGF, IGF-1, MMP-9 is evaluated in association with clinical scales including cognitive assessment scales and depression scales. Blood sample collection as well as scales recording are taken at baseline and 3 weeks later after rehabilitation.

Isolated vertebral artery occlusions (VAO) account for approximately one third of posterior circulation occlusions, but have been given the least attention among posterior circulation strokes. If the two recent ATTENTION and BAOCHE randomized clinical trials have proven the superiority of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in basilar artery occlusions, data on the effectiveness and harm of acute revascularization treatment on isolated VAO is scarce. We aim to investigate the impact of acute recanalisation treatments in acute ischemic stroke patients with isolated VAO. In the absence of RCT, observational data with appropriate statistical methods may give indications on benefits and harms of treating neglected stroke situations like acute vertebral occlusion. Results may also lay the basis for prospective studies, such as randomized clinical trials.

Depression is a common psychiatric disorder in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). It may contribute to poor prognosis in a number of ways, including its effect on platelet function. We aimed to investigate the impact and underlying mechanisms of depression on the occurrence of cardio-cerebral vascular events (CCVE) and dysfunction of arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) in MHD patients. In this study, MHD patients were recruited and divided into depression and non-depression groups using the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) in this prospective cohort study. Their clinical and laboratory indicators were collected and the occurrence of CCVE and DAVF were recorded through clinical follow-up, and analyzed, and the differences and possible influencing factors of CCVE and DAVF occurrence were assessed between the two groups of patients.

This study aimed to determine whether interventions that use the Specific Thematic Nursing Care Action Modules (STNC-AM) platform improve patients' psychological health over a two-month period.

The objective is to validate the algorithms for movement analysis that were developed previously in healthy participants, in a small study with stroke patients. Stroke subjects will be measured while performing tasks like walking, sitting and standing while wearing light-weight inertial measurements units (IMUs) incorporating 3D accelerometers, 3D gyroscopes and surface electromyography. During the measurements subjects will be recorded on video that serves as ground truth when validating the implemented algorithms for movement analysis. A face blurring program will be used for all video footage.

The aim of the study is to examine the reliability and validity of the synchronous and asynchronous application of Berg Balance Scale and Tinetti Balance Test in stroke patients.