Active clinical trials for "Ischemia"

Intravenous thrombolysis is considered as the first choice for ischemic stroke. In the recent years, endovascular therapy is demonstrated to be effective to treat ischemic with big vessel occlusion. However, only a minority of patients can get intravenous thrombolysis or endovascular therapy due to the restricted time window and strict indications. Dual antiplatelet has been demonstrated to be effective in the patients with high risk of TIA or minor ischemic stroke (NIHSS<4). But there is still stroke progression although dual antiplatelet. The ischemic stroke patients with NIHSS > 3 has been recommended to give aspirin in most guidelines. Of those patients, mild to moderate stroke patients (3<NIHSS<10) will result in the poor outcomes if the progression occurs. In addition, large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) stroke is prone to progress. So, we argue that the mild to moderate stroke with LAA should be give more intensive antiplatelet. In the present study, argatroban combined with antiplatelet therapy (3-5 days) is used to treat the proposed patients to investigate the safety and effectiveness.

The investigators propose to conduct a multicenter randomized trial to test the primary hypothesis of whether early antihypertensive treatment starting between the first 24-48 hours after the onset of an acute ischemic stroke will reduce the risk of composite case-fatality and major disability (modified Rankin Scale score ≥3) at three months compared to delayed antihypertensive treatment (starting on day 8 after stroke onset). In the proposed China Antihypertensive Trial in Acute Ischemic Stroke II (CATIS-2), the investigators will recruit 4,776 patients from 100 hospitals within the China-US Collaborative Stroke Clinical Trial Network. Eligibility criteria for the trial participants include age ≥40 years, acute ischemic stroke confirmed by CT/MRI, symptom onset between 24-48 hours, and average systolic blood pressure (BP) between 140-200 mmHg at randomization. Patients with extracranial or intracranial artery stenosis (≥70%) in both sides or the affected side, NIH Stroke Scale score of ≥21, Glasgow Coma Scale score <8, preceding moderate or severe dependency (modified Rankin scale score 3-5), revascularization, intravenous thrombolytic therapy or mechanical thrombectomy will be excluded. All eligible patients will discontinue their home antihypertensive medications. Patients admitted within 24 hours of symptom onset will require a reevaluation prior to randomization at 24 hours after stroke onset. After randomization, patients in the early treatment group will immediately receive antihypertensive treatment aimed at lowering average systolic BP by 10-20% within the first 24 hours and achieving an average BP <140/90 mmHg within seven days. Patients in the delayed treatment group will discontinue antihypertensive medications for the first seven days. After seven days, both groups will receive antihypertensive treatment with a BP goal of <140/90 mmHg. The primary study endpoint is a composite outcome of death and major disability at three months. The major secondary endpoint will be the first recurrent stroke (hemorrhagic or ischemic) over three-month follow-up after randomization. Other secondary endpoints include ordered 7-level categorical score of the modified Rankin Scale, all-cause mortality, and major vascular events at three months. The proposed study provides 85% statistical power to detect a 15% reduction in the composite outcome of death and major disability over three months at a significance level of 0.05 for a two-sided test. Based on experience from our previous trials, we assumed a 25% event rate of the primary study endpoint and potential loss to follow-up of 5% over three months. The CATIS-2 trial will provide important information for the development of clinical guidelines in the early management of BP among patients with acute ischemic stroke for reducing mortality and major disability.

Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) has been revealed organ-protective effect in many previous clinical settings including coronary intervention or cardiovascular surgery. However its protective role during free flap reconstructive surgery in head and neck cancer patients has not yet been elucidated. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the effect of RIPC on tissue oxygen saturation and skin temperature of the flap, as well as its organ-protective effect using Langendorff isolated heart ischemia-reperfusion model.

The purpose of this study is to learn about protecting the brain from dangerous low blood flow.

Oxygen treatment is widely used in acutely ill patients. In particular, oxygen treatment is routinely used in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients with suspected acute myocardial infarction and variably recommended in ACS-guidelines, despite very limited data supporting a beneficial effect. Immediate re-opening of the acutely occluded infarct-related bloodvessel via primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the treatment of choice to limit ischemic injury in the setting of ST-elevation ACS (STE-ACS). However, the sudden re-initiation of blood flow achieved with primary PCI can give rise to further damage, so-called reperfusion injury. Ischemia and reperfusion associated myocardial injury (IR-injury) involves a wide range of pathological processes. Vascular leakage, activation of cell death programs, transcriptional reprogramming, no reflow phenomenon and innate and adaptive immune activation all contribute to tissue damage, thereby determining the infarct size. The effect of oxygen treatment on these pathological processes, on the extent of IR-injury and the final infarct size in STE-ACS patients has not previously been studied. ACS is characterized by a systemic inflammation with typical elevations of soluble inflammatory markers as well as changes in white blood cells. The inflammatory reaction might be considered helpful in restoring myocardial tissue structure and function, but on the other hand it might worsen IR-injury by activating various pathological processes. In human experimental studies, Salmonella typhi vaccine has been used to create a standardized model of systemic inflammation and when administered to healthy volunteers the vaccination has not been associated with any adverse events. In an ongoing register randomized multicentre clinical trial, the DETO2X (Determination of role of oxygen in suspected acute myocardial infarction) study, the effect of oxygen on morbidity and mortality in ACS patients is being investigated. In a substudy of the DETO2X-trial, the investigators have planned to evaluate the effect of oxygen treatment on IR-injury in STE-ACS as assessed by biomarkers reflecting various aspects of the pathological processes involved. The presented study is an experimental pilot study performed in healthy volunteers with a Salmonella typhi vaccine-induced inflammation with the purpose of studying effects of oxygen treatment on biological systems involved in the pathogenesis of IR- injury.

The primary objective of the BIODEGRADE study is to evaluate clinical efficacy of the Orsiro drug-eluting stent compared with Biomatrix drug-eluting stent, both of which have biodegradable polymer for the treatment of all-comers' coronary artery diseases.

Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA), also called 'ministroke' is characterised by shortlasting symptoms that generally do not cause permanent damage. 'Minor stroke' is a term used to describe a stroke with mild and nondisabling symptoms. TIA and minor stroke patients account for more than half of all cases of stroke and they are at a higher risk to suffer a major stroke. Currently, management of TIA/minor stroke patients is mainly focused on identifying and reducing risk factors for a later stroke. However, people after a TIA often have limited access for further specialist support from stroke-specific rehabilitation services. Although there is variability in the level of recovery and severity of symptoms after TIA and minor stroke, there is evidence that these patients may experience difficulties that affect their quality of life including anxiety and depression. This study aims to develop, tailor and target the delivery of a time-limited group intervention that offers educational, psychological and social support for people following TIA and minor stroke. A qualitative study (Phase 1) will be conducted with service users and experts working with people with TIA/minor stroke to develop the psychoeducational intervention. Following this, we will conduct a feasibility randomised controlled trial in one centre (Phase 2) to explore whether this group psychoeducational intervention for people after TIA and minor stroke carers is acceptable and to determine the feasibility of the proposed evaluation and the sample size needed in a definite trial.

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) remains a major cause of death and severe disability despite advances in neonatal and perinatal medicine. Therapeutic hypothermia is the single most promising intervention for HIE. Reduction of brain temperature by 2° to 5°C has shown to be neuroprotective in newborn and adult animal models of brain ischemia. Therapeutic hypothermia instituted within 6 hours of birth has been shown to significantly improve survival and neurodevelopmental outcome in term newborns with HIE. Hypothermia is most effective if begun during the latent period, before the secondary energy failure. It is not known whether cooling initiated after 6 hours of age is effective. The goal of this proposal is to test the efficacy of the cooling device in achieving the target temperatures in patients with moderate to severe HIE during transport when compared with current practices.

Phase IIa clinical trial, pilot, single centre, prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, with sequential inclusion of patients

Supine positioning was reported to increase upper airway collapsibility, apnea frequency and duration. Positional therapy, designed to minimize supine sleep, was reported to be beneficial in the general sleep apnea population. As supine sleep is very common in stroke patients, positional therapy might also have therapeutic effects. Given differences between stroke patients with sleep apnea and the general sleep apnea patient, such as rolling ability, body mass index and daytime sleepiness, positional therapy results in the general population may not be applicable to the stroke patient. The effects of positional therapy in ischemic stroke patients with OSA have not been well-investigated. We therefore performed a pilot randomized, controlled, cross-over study to test the following hypotheses: (1) positional therapy reduces the amount of nocturnal supine positioning in patients with subacute ischemic stroke, and (2) severity of sleep apnea improves, as reflected by apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), during positional therapy. The tolerability of positional therapy over a 3-month period in patients with ischemic stroke was also evaluated.