Active clinical trials for "Ischemia"

The mainstay for treatment for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) focusses on re-establishing and maintaining the patency of vessels following coronary plaque disruption, through the use of anti-platelets and anticoagulants. Despite advances in management ACS still carries a high risk of morbidity and mortality, thus future management is likely to target other pathways. Recent studies indicate that CD4+ T cells, and more specifically Treg cells, are important for the control of post-ischemic immune responses and the promotion of myocardial healing. The investigators therefore hypothesise that expansion of Treg cells in patients with ACS dampens the activation of the immune response and promotes both plaque and myocardial healing. The investigators hypothesise that this can be achieved through subcutaneous administration of low doses of interleukin-2 (IL-2). IL-2 supplementation appears to be an attractive therapeutic option playing a key role in Treg cell development, expansion, survival and suppressive function.

Angina and heart attacks are caused by narrowings in the coronary arteries (blood vessels) supplying the heart. These narrowings can be opened using a balloon and stent (angioplasty). Traditionally, stents are constructed from metal and are permanent. However, newer stents are being constructed from carbohydrate polymers (scaffolds), which allow them to reabsorb over time leaving no permanent implant. New data has suggested that these scaffolds appear to reduce recurrent angina and may alter the blood flow down the artery. However, it is not known whether this is due to the scaffolds themselves or the way the scaffolds are inserted. In this study we hope to measure the blood flow to the heart and assess changes in that flow during stent and scaffold insertion. It is also important to know whether these effects are durable and thus, a cohort of patients will return at 3-months to be restudied. These data are important to help us understand why blood flow is affected by stent/scaffold selection or device implantation technique and whether this results in better long-term outcomes.

This study will have acupuncture intervention in acute ischemic stroke patients and evaluate the effect in neurological function improving by National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Modified Rankin Scale (mRS), Barthel Index, and antiinflammatory actions by biomarkers.

Bone marrow MSCs will be isolated from allogenic donors, expanded under hypoxic conditions using medium containing no serum or animal-derived reagents, and applies for Phase Ⅰ/Ⅱ study in treating 18 recipients with ischemic limb diseases.

The objective of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of the Orsiro Sirolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System in the treatment of subjects with up to three native de novo or restenotic (standard PTCA only) coronary artery lesions compared to the Xience coronary stent system.

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of Solitaire thrombectomy in Chinese patients with acute stroke within 12 hours of symptom onset.

To test the effect of atorvastatin or placebo in combination with ticagrelor on ACh-induced vasodilatation of the forearm resistance vasculature as assessed by forearm blood flow (FBF) measurement before and 10 min after a 20 min forearm ischemia. The area under the dose-effect curve (AUC) of different ACh doses will be calculated and compared between treatment groups (atorvastatin + ticagrelor vs. placebo + ticagrelor) and different time points (pre-ischemia vs. post-ischemia).

Cardiovascular diseases remain the number one cause of death globally, primarily consequence of myocardial infarction. Although widely used in stable coronary artery disease (CAD), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not been shown to reduce the incidence of myocardial infarction or death. In contrast, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) significantly reduces rates of death and myocardial infarction compared to PCI, but at a higher rate of stroke. Similarly, coronary collaterals exert a protective effect by providing an alternative source of blood flow to a myocardial territory potentially affected by an acute coronary occlusion. Coronary collaterals represent pre-existing inter-arterial anastomoses and as such are the natural counter-part of surgically created bypasses. Sufficient coronary collaterals have been shown to confer a significant benefit in terms of overall mortality and cardiovascular events. In this regard, the concept of augmenting coronary collateral function as an alternative treatment strategy to alter the course of CAD, as well as to control symptoms, is attractive. While a multitude of interventions has been shown to be effective in collateral growth promotion, so far, the effect of current interventions is only temporary, and therefore, repeated application is necessary to sustain the level of collaterals. The prevalent in vivo function of natural internal mammary arteries (IMA)-to-coronary artery bypasses and their anti-ischemic effect has been recently demonstrated by the investigators' research group. Levels of collateral function and myocardial ischemia were determined in a prospective, open-label clinical trial of permanent IMA device occlusion. In this study, coronary collateral function, has been shown to be augmented in the presence vs the absence of distal permanent ipsilateral IMA occlusion. These findings have been corroborated by the observed reduction in ischemia in the intracoronary ECG. Coronary functional changes observed in response to permanent distal IMA occlusion have so far, not been related to clinical outcome parameters. Therefore, a controlled, randomized, double-blind comparison of clinical efficacy between a group of patients receiving permanent IMA occlusion vs. a sham-procedure will be consequently performed. Since single antianginal agents have been demonstrated to increase exercise time in comparison to placebo, an improvement of the physical performance due to the increased blood flow by the permanent distal IMA occlusion is expected.

Stroke remains one of the leading causes of death and adult disability worldwide. Yet, currently, the only accepted treatment for acute ischemic stroke(AIS) is recanalization of occluded arteries. Thrombolysis with tissue plasminogen activator, limited by its narrow therapeutic time window and the concern of hemorrhagic complication, is still uncommon in use. The other approach is to try to impede the ischemic cascade by targeting various components of the cascade that are deemed to be of importance, namely, a neuroprotection strategy. Nerve growth factor (NGF) plays extensive roles in preventing ischemic injury. Besides that, it is also involved in neurogenesis of the central nervous system (CNS). In addition, the levels of NGF protein and messenger RNA significantly decreased in the CNS at the first few hours and returned to normal levels several days later after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in animal models. These observed results suggested that NGF was demanded in ischemic brain injury, but endogenous NGF is insufficient for the requirement and delivering exogenous ones will be blocked in entering into the CNS by the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Intracerebroventricular or intracerebral injection of NGF or grafting of NGF-producing cells may be less practicable due to invasiveness and safety concerns. Intranasal (IN) administration is a noninvasive and acceptable delivery strategy for drugs bypassing BBB and can deliver NGF to the CNS, which has been proved to show neuroprotective effects on brain injury. The effects of intranasal NGF in human ischemic stroke is still controversial that need further evaluation.

Study Population: Subjects with Mild Acute Ischemic Stroke in the anterior circulation within 24 hours from onset. Study objectives: Identify the personal stimulation level for each patient based on physiological biomarkers Identify improvement in stroke symptoms during ISS treatment at the personal stimulation level