
The Renal Transplant Outcome Prediction and Validation Study
Ischemia Reperfusion InjuryThe number of patients with end stage renal disease is increasing continuously and kidney transplantation is the preferred treatment modality. Modern immunosuppressive therapy has reduced the number of acute rejection episodes and increased one year allograft survival dramatically. Nonetheless, 4% of allografts are lost beyond the first year annually due to a multifactorial process and the latter number has not changed for decades. One of the most important factors to determine long-term success after kidney transplantation is the quality of the donor organ. For example, transplantation of organs from elderly or extended criteria donors results in reduced allograft and patient survival. In previous work, the investigators specifically focused on age-associated molecular signatures including telomere length and mRNA expression levels of the cell cycle inhibitors CDKN2A (p16INK4a) and CDKN1A (p21WAF1) and assessed these parameters in pre-implantation biopsies of 54 patients. In a linear regression analysis CDKN2A turned out to be the best single predictor for serum creatinine after 1 year followed by donor age and telomere length. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the combination of CDKN2A values and donor age yielded even higher predictive values. In another study the investigators were able to show an interaction between donor age and use of calcineurin inhibitors with regard to outcome after renal transplantation. During these past activities an extensive set of whole genome transcriptomics profile information from zero hour biopsies and clinical follow-up data has been collected. In the TOPVAS study, existing data derived from 72 of the above mentioned set of biopsies (exclusion of live donor grafts) will be analysed with state of the art bioinformatical/system biology tools to derive a general (not purely age associated) prognostic biomarker panel for functional transplant outcome two years after transplantation. This marker panel will also be used to define organs preferentially suitable for MMF/tacrolimus based immunosuppression. Both panels will then be validated for their prognostic and predictive information on the long-term outcome after transplantation in a new independent patient population treated with tacrolimus and MMF. In addition to biomarker assessment and in pursue of identifying alternative and/or complementary parameters with predictive value , an advanced morphological investigation of tissue biopsy life stains will be performed employing an innovative cell viability staining technology ("BIOPSYCHRONOLOGY").

Effect of a Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) Programme on Molecular Mechanisms
Coronary Artery DiseaseCoronary Arteriosclerosis2 moreThis study will evaluate the effect of a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programme on blood protein molecules that may improve the function of arteries in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients who have suffered a heart attack. CAD patients who have either agreed or disagreed to take part in a CR programme will be recruited. This will allow a comparison of the study measurements between a group of patients who complete a CR programme and a group of patients who do not. The other objective of this study is to perform interviews with the study participants and their significant others (i.e. spouse, family member, or a close friend) to listen to the reasons why patients agreed or disagreed to take part in a CR programme.

Impact of Cold Ischemia on Pulmonary Endothelial Dysfunction in Ex-vivo Pulmonary Reconditioning...
Lung TransplantThe study population will be patients with planned double-lung transplant, with preoperative ex-vivo reconditioning procedure. The ex-vivo procedure will be performed for lungs considered as limit to be directly implanted according to the national classification or in case of Maastrich 3 decision. They required a rehabilitation procedure like ex-vivo to determine their quality. Once the procedure initiated, the unused remaining liquid will be retrieved for the first gasometry usually performed. This will be the time T1 of sampling. The unused remaining liquid will be retrieved for the gasometry of end of procedure usually performed, before the graft cooling. This will be the time T2. The purge liquid of first lung at the declamping of the pulmonary artery will be retrieved at the time of unclamping (time T3 of sampling). The purge liquid of the second lung at the declamping of the pulmonary artery will be retrieved with the same procedure (time T4 of sampling). The samples will be analysed with ELISA technique. The endothelial dysfunction will be evaluated with plasma concentration of heparan sulphate, syndecan-1, endothelin-1 and i-NOS.

Comparison of Fingerstick Versus Venous Sample for Troponin I.
Chest PainMyocardial Infarction2 moreThis study is a prospective, observational, cohort study aiming to compare point-of-care high-sensitive troponin I testing from different sample types with central laboratory (CL) HS cTnI plasma samples. A registry of all included patients and their troponin results (POC, CL and HS cTnT) will be made to compare these testing methods.

Retinal Neuro-vascular Coupling in Patients With Non-arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy...
Anterior Ischemic Optic NeuropathyIschemic optic neuropathy is among the most common causes of serious impaired vision in the middle-aged and elderly population in the western world. The current study focuses on a subgroup of ischemic optic neuropathy, the so-called non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). Although the exact pathogenesis of NAION has not been fully clarified it is known that patients with cardio-vascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia have also an increased risk to develop NAION. Along this line of thought it has been shown that patients with a history of NAION in one eye have an increased risk to develop NAION also on the contralateral eye. However, clinical studies investigating ocular perfusion abnormalities in patients with NAION are sparse and even contradicting. Thus, the current study seeks to measure ocular blood flow parameters in patients with a history of NAION and compare it to healthy age-matched subjects.

The Role of Ischaemia-reperfusion Injury in the Pathogenesis of Muscle Wasting After Thoracic Aortic...
Muscular DiseasesSingle-centre observational study over one year investigating the mechanisms of muscle homeostasis in patients with acute skeletal muscle atrophy following major aortic surgery

Cytoflavin in the Rehabilitation of Post-intensive Care Syndrome in Stroke Survivors
Ischemic StrokePost Intensive Care Unit SyndromeObjective - to assess the effect of Cytoflavin® and its tolerability within the integrated program of rehabilitation of patients who underwent ischemic stroke

Continuous Sciatic Block Nerve in the Management of Vascular Pain in Critical Ischemia of Lower...
Critical Limb IschemiaCritical limb ischemia (CLI) is associated with severe pain that is a therapeutic challenge whit therapeutic limits for the use of conventional analgesics medications. ultrasound-guided continuous sciatic block (CCBN) is strategy effective and safe to consider in this patients. This prospective descriptive exploratory cohort study evaluates CCBN as a effective therapeutic tools for patients whit (CLI)

Perioperative Myocardial Ischemia: Troponin Monitoring,Cost-effectiveness, Insights Into Pathophysiology...
Myocardial IschemiaMyocardial Injury1 moreBackground: Despite preoperative screening, technical improvements and increased patient monitoring, perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI) remains the first cause of morbidity and mortality within 30 days after surgery. Moreover, the available evidence indicates worrying rise of risk in postoperative patients with only elevated troponins reflecting cardiac injury, but without a conventional clinical diagnosis of myocardial infarction according to current definition. Worldwide, annually approximately 300 million adults undergo major non cardiac surgery and 10 million of them are estimated to suffer a myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS), defined as a prognostically relevant increase of a troponin T peak of 0.03 ng/ml or greater. Many of the patients with MINS does not fulfill the universal definition of myocardial infarction, rarely experience ischemic symptoms and their prognosis is very poor (1 out of 10 die at 30 days).Troponin levels needed to be monitored in order to MINS diagnose and high sensitive cardiac troponin T assays are currently the most frequently used. Methods: Patients with high cardiovascular risk undergoing major non-cardiac surgery will be selected from the daily surgical program during a two years period Three determinations of hs-cTnT for each patient will be obtained. The proportion of patients with MINS and pre- and post-operative thresholds of hs-cTnT that would be prognostically relevant will be determined. The cost-effectiveness analysis of hs-cTnT monitoring compared with usual care will be undertaken. Finally using computed tomography angiography (CTA) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pathophysiology of MINS will be determined, whether is due to plaque rupture, supply-demand mismatch, non-ischemic cardiac cause or non-cardiac cause. Discussion: The study will evaluate the feasibility and impact of implementing the hs-cTnT monitoring program in the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau of Barcelona, as well as its cost-effectiveness. Moreover, this is the first study which will determine pre and postoperative thresholds of hs-cTnT and with minimally invasive diagnostic tools will evaluate potential mechanisms involved in perioperative ischemic events.

COMPLETE: International Acute Ischemic Stroke Registry With the Penumbra System Aspiration Including...
StrokeIschemicThe purpose of this registry is to collect performance and safety data on the Penumbra System including the 3D Revascularization Device in a real world patient population with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) secondary to intracranial large vessel occlusion (LVO).