Active clinical trials for "Constriction, Pathologic"

The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of unilateral versus bilateral stenting in patients with malignant hilar obstruction.

Renal artery stenosis (RAS) usually refers to a disease of the large extra-renal arterial vessels and most frequently is caused by atherosclerotic obstructions. The prevalence of atherosclerotic RAS increases with age, male gender, traditional cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, smoking, hyperlipidemia) and atherosclerotic comorbidities like coronary artery or peripheral artery disease (PAD). A prevalence up to 40% has been reported in patients with PAD. Undoubtedly, atherosclerotic RAS is a progressive disease, as more than half of the patients exhibit an increasing degree of stenosis within five years after diagnosis, and one out of five patients with a critical stenosis (>60%) suffers renal atrophy and renal failure during this period. RAS may be treated conservatively by so called best medical treatment, surgically, or by endovascular interventions using balloon angioplasty and stenting. The purpose of the investigators study is to determine the incidence and the predictors of RAS in patients with PAD, and to compare the effect of renal artery stenting versus best medical treatment in patients with hypertension and ostial renal artery stenosis in a randomized controlled trial.

This study aims to evaluate mitomycin C as an adjunct to endoscopic treatment of esophageal strictures. This is a crossover, controlled, clinical trial in which children with esophageal stricture will be randomized in two groups to receive either topical mitomycin or no additional treatment during standard esophageal dilation session.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of local injected mitomycin C at the time of internal urethrotomy in order to prevent the recurrence of urethral strictures.

The purpose of the study is to determine the safety and performance of the Direct Flow Medical study valve and delivery procedure.

The Archus Total Facet Arthroplasty System® (TFAS®) is a non-fusion spinal implant indicated for treatment of patients with moderate to severe spinal stenosis. TFAS® replaces the diseased facets following surgical removal. TFAS® offers the surgeon new options for treating spinal stenosis patients, enabling a more comprehensive decompression via complete removal of the facets. TFAS® also offers an alternative to rigid spinal fusion fixation enabling intervertebral motion. The clinical trial is intended to demonstrate restoration of stability and sagittal balance to the spine. TFAS® also eliminates the need for painful bone graft harvest from the patient's hip which may be required with fusion procedures.

Among patients admitted with cerebral ischemia (stroke and transitory ischemic attack (TIA)) it is important to reveal the underlying cause of the disease. In special it is important to reveal if carotid artery stenosis is present as such a finding will directly influence on treatment and follow-up. For the diagnosis of carotid artery stenosis due to atherosclerosis ultrasound examinations is the cornerstone, but computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging may be better in some cases. Development of high quality pocket-sized ultrasound scanners has allowed for semi quantitatively bed-side assessment of the carotid arteries and the heart. The investigators aim to study the feasibility and reliability of bed-side assessment of the carotid arteries by pocket-sized ultrasound scanners in inexperienced hands and the clinical influence of this examination when performed by experienced users. The investigators hypothesize that a significant proportion of this patient population can be clarified bed-side by junior doctors with no need of further imaging procedures for the assessment of the carotid arteries and the heart.

This study is part of a research project in which new ultrasound-based techniques will be examined to improve clinical decision making for patients with aortic stenosis. These patients could develop increased amounts of myocardial fibrosis. This fibrosis is associated with the patients' prognosis. Fibrosis can be evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which unfortunately is quite expensive and not easily available. Ultrasound-based parameters will be developed for the assessment of the amounts of myocardial fibrosis, especially in the left ventricle. Then it will be examined whether these parameters can predict the patients magnitude of fibrosis and check for association with the patients prognosis. MRI will serve as a gold standard for quantification of myocardial fibrosis. The new echocardiographic techniques and parameters are expected to provide new insights in the interplay between aortic stenosis and left ventricular function, and to ultimately improve the care for patients with aortic stenosis. The present study's objectives are: Quantify the level of myocardial fibrosis in mild, moderate, and severe aortic stenosis compared with a healthy population. Evaluate the patients outcome after one and three year of follow-up

This is a single-center, randomized, double-blind clinical study to assess the clinical application and outcomes with epidural PDRN versus Normal saline injection in patients with spinal stenosis.

Degenerative spondylolisthesis describes the slip of one spinal segment relative to the adjacent segment. It is usually associated with spinal stenosis (which limits one's ability to walk and stand) and is the most common indication for surgery in adults over age 65 years. A variety of surgical techniques are available; the most common are the Posterolateral Instrumented Fusion (PLF), and Interbody Fusion (IF) including Posterolateral Interbody Fusion (PLIF), and Transforaminal Interbody fusion (TLIF). IF uses a cage that is placed within the cleaned out disc space between the vertebral bodies being fused. Although this approach achieves a good fusion rate and deformity correction it is associated with a higher surgical cost and potential intra-operative complication rate. What is more, no consensus exists as to whether IF provides better patient rated functional outcome and quality of life. If the advantages of IF do not translate into superior patient rated outcomes, then the risk-benefit ratio would be tipped in favor of PLF. The purpose of this study is to determine if IF is equivalent to PLF for the treatment of degenerative spondylolisthesis. The investigators will conduct a prospective randomized control trial comparing these two procedures. Our primary outcome measure will be the Oswestry Disability Index, which evaluates spinal pain and function.