Active clinical trials for "Constriction, Pathologic"

Obesity is one of the most important determinants of quality of life and function. People with lumbar spinal stenosis may be at increased risk of obesity given walking limitations. Spinal stenosis is a very common degenerative condition in people over 45. People with this condition have pain and numbness in the legs during walking, and therefore avoid physical activity. Lack of physical activity is related to weight gain and increased risk of chronic disease. Objective: The objective of this project is test a new e-health (online) pedometer and nutrition intervention aimed at promoting weight loss and increasing physical activity in overweight and obese individuals with spinal stenosis. Methods: The investigators will recruit 88 people with lumbar spinal stenosis who are overweight or obese. Half of these people will receive the 12-week intervention, and the other half will receive usual care (no intervention). In Weeks 1 and 6, people in the intervention group will meet with a Registered Dietitian and an Exercise Physiologist for personalized sessions. They will receive a pedometer and instructions on how to log in to the e-health site (https://sspanli.mtroyal.ca). They will wear the pedometer daily and log in to the website each week for a nutrition education session, a weekly step goal, and tips. The investigators will look to see whether people in the intervention group show greater change in physical activity, body composition and quality of life compared to the individuals who received usual care. Relevance: The increasing number of people with spinal stenosis represents a huge health care burden in Canada. This intervention could provide a new treatment option that would increase mobility, quality of life, and potentially alleviate the need for expensive treatments like surgery. E-health interventions provide an opportunity for patients to take an active role in their own health, and promote behaviour changes that will result in healthier Canadians less likely to access care in the future.

Objective: To monitor and evaluate the change of intracranial hemodynamics and MCA stenosis after 24-week atorvastatin treatment using CEUS, CTA and DSA. Study design: Total 30 patients (60 arteries) will be enrolled in this study, who had MCA infarction within 6 months prior to screening, and has not received any statins treatment before stroke. Eligible patient will receive atorvastatin 40mg treatment for 24 weeks. Hemodynamics changes and MCA stenosis will be evaluated using CEUS at baseline, 3-month,and 6-month. MCA stenosis, bloodstream velocity, as well as clinical symptoms will be assessed at each visit and compared to baseline.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether laser internal urethrotomy (IU) is as efficient as cold knife internal urethrotomy for treatment of anterior urethral strictures regarding post operative urination outflow, stricture recurrence rate and possible post- operative complications

This study will test two different methods for processing biopsy specimens taken from the bile duct. Patient;s who are asked to participate int his study have a stricture in the bile duct that needs a single operator cholangioscopy-guided biopsies during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) so that a diagnosis can be made. Standard of care includes performing single operator cholangioscopy-guided biopsies in the bile duct and sending the tissue to the lab for testing to make a diagnosis. Using this method the investigators can establish a diagnosis only about 50% of the time. The investigators believe that if a cytopathologist is available in the endoscopy suite during the procedure to evaluate the biopsy specimens onsite, the investigators can improve the diagnostic accuracy. The purpose of this study is to compare two methods for processing biopsies obtained from the bile duct (Onsite vs. Offsite).

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with plastic stent placement for resolution of biliary obstruction has been the method of choice for many years. However, stent clogging/obstruction is a major limitation in the management of biliary obstruction. Studies have shown that the conventional tubular type polyethylene stents (CS) with side holes accumulate significant sludge and their mean patency is approximately 90 days. Thus patients requiring longer term stenting need to undergo stent exchanges every 2-3 months. Recently, a stent with a star-shaped cross-section has been developed for biliary applications. This FDA approved biliary Wing stent (WS) (ViaDuct™) is a novel plastic biliary stent that lacks a lumen, and is designed to allow bile to flow on the outside of the stent. The stent which is star shaped in cross section, channels fluid along its winged perimeter. It has been proposed that the winged stent design with a lack of central lumen obviates the risk of luminal occlusion and that the risk of occlusion, given the presence of multiple external drainage channels, is smaller. Longer term biliary drainage without the need for stent exchange should therefore be possible with these stents. The primary aim of this study is to prospectively evaluate the patency rate of the WS up to 90 days in 50 patients with biliary obstruction due to stones or benign strictures.

To observe the clinical outcomes of the different valve sizing strategies treating type-0 Bicuspid Aortic Stenosis (BAS) with self-expandable transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) valve, compared with those of a standard sizing strategy of normal Tricuspid Aortic Stenosis(TAS).

To evaluate the role of DCB angioplasty for venous anastomotic stenosis of hemodialysis graft, investigators would like to perform randomized study comparing the results of drug- coated balloon angioplasty with conventional balloon angioplasty in the treatment in venous anastomotic stenosis of AVG in terms of patency.

Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) is the most common condition for surgical treatment in infant. Traditionally, laparoscopic or open pyloromyotomy are the standard treatments. However, because of severe dehydration, electrolyte disturbance, and malnutrition, these patients have lower tolerance about surgery and recover more slowly than usual. We are going to study the per-oral pyloromyotomy (POP), also named as gastric per-oral endoscopic myotomy (G-POEM), which showed promising results for adult gastroparesis, for a novel application of treating IHPS.

Bilateral transverse sinus stenosis (BTSS) is associated with intracranial hypertension (IH). However, not every BTSS patients presented with IH. The risk factors of IH in BTSS patients remained obscure. Vertebral venous collaterals (VVC) were often found in patients with bilateral transverse sinus stenosis (BTSS). The purpose of this study was to investigate the physiological role of VVC in BTSS patients.

Anastomotic stricture is a common complication following foregut surgery. The standard of care for these benign foregut anastomotic strictures is balloon dilatation. However, re-stenosis of strictures is also common, requiring frequent repetition of balloon dilatation. Cryotherapy is a novel therapy that may improve clinical outcomes following dilatation. The purpose of the present study is to conduct a randomized controlled trial to characterize the impact of cryotherapy on clinical outcomes and complications for benign anastomotic strictures following esophagectomy, gastrectomy, and bariatric surgery.