All clinical trials

Intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) is an important cause of ischemic stroke. The occurrence of stroke caused by symptomatic ICAD is significantly different compared with asymptomatic ICAD (19% vs 3.5%), suggesting that plaque vulnerability may be responsible for the difference. Based on the previous high-resolution magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging (HR-MRI) results, the investigators hypothesis that the feature of intracranial plaque enhancement is an important imaging biomarker of plaque instability, which is closely related to stroke. The investigators will establish the ICAD cohort and use HR-MRI to investigate the composition, morphology and the enhancement pattern of symptomatic ICAD plaques. These findings will correlate with biochemical markers, and stroke recurrence, in order to explore: plaque characteristics and the enhancement features between symptomatic ICAD and asymptomatic ICAD the relationship between plaque enhancement and the composition of plaques; relationship among enhancement features of symptomatic ICAD plaques, biomarkers with different clinical significance, evolution of enhancement features of symptomatic ICAD plaques under intensive medical therapy. The investigators aim to explore the correlation between vulnerable plaque stratification and clinical outcomes, to explore the value of vascular responses in the pathogenicity of ICAD vulnerable plaques, as well as to provide objective basis for the establishment of the evaluation criteria of intracranial atherosclerotic vulnerable plaques.

Rationale: Online-grocery shopping is predicted to be one of the "hottest" food trends of 2014, as national retailers such as Amazon, as well as start-up companies, venture into the e- commerce grocery sector. Importantly, the online-grocery environment could be uniquely manipulated to promote healthier food purchasing and help with weight control. Since consumers tend to choose items listed first on menus and buffet lines, the order of food products displayed on the grocer's website may impact purchasing. Furthermore, it's possible that in an online-grocery environment, nutrition information could be made more salient to consumers. For example, previous research has demonstrated that label color influences perceptions of the healthfulness of foods. The FDA also recently proposed a redesign of foods' nutrition facts panels, which would highlight calorie content in a larger font. Although implementing this label change on all food labels could take years, e-commerce sites could change the format of the nutritional information they display much more quickly. Objectives: The proposed study intends to nudge consumers to make healthier grocery purchases through three distinct interventions: 1.) Manipulating the order of food items within grocery categories; 2.) Displaying product nutrition information in red or green; and 3.) Presenting calorie information in a larger font size. We propose to examine these concepts in adult consumers using a grocery e-commerce platform servicing socioeconomically and racially diverse communities in the northeastern U.S.

According to 2011 ACCF/AHA guideline and 2014 ESC/EACTS guideline, CABG surgery was recommended for three-vessel coronary artery disease and left main coronary artery disease in the patients with stable ischemic heart disease as class I. 2-VD with proximal left anterior descending artery stenosis was also indicated for CABG surgery as class I recommendation. However, many patients have been recommended for PCI by catheterization laboratory cardiologist; 46% and 93% in the only-CABG candidates and both CABG and PCI candidates, retrospectively, defined by previous ACC/AHA guideline. Although the discordance between real practice in catheterization laboratory and guideline would be adjusted by recently updated guideline. The revascularization strategy for patients with 3-VD/LMD in real practice have been getting toward more PCI and less CABG surgery. In this study, we will identify the rate of CABG candidates who were treated with PCI or medical treatment instead of CABG surgery in different from current guideline. We are also going to compare two treatment strategies CABG surgery vs. PCI with 2nd generation DES regarding clinical outcomes.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease where lymphocytes inflict damage to the axons and myelin sheaths of the central nervous system. Persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) were long advised to avoid physical activity but the benefits of exercise to improve cardiovascular and cognitive functions in pwMS have become important aspects of standardized rehabilitation programs. Recent findings show that the achieved adaptations through exercise are associated with the intensity dependent lactate increases during exercise. This dose-response relationship between the mode and the exercise intensity implicates the relevance of the exercise protocol as higher exercise intensities seem to facilitate greater benefits, also in pwMS. This pilot study evaluates the influences of acute bout of moderate physical exercise (cycling) and relaxation on cognitive functions at three time points. Primary outcomes are the differences (at timepoint t2) of cognitive functions assessed via the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) and the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test Revised (BVMT-R) T1-3 of the BICAMS battery. Results should into a randomised controlled Trial that investigates the specific influences of a three-week training intervention on Brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF), Insulin Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) as central neurobiological parameters of neuroplasticity, cardiorespiratory Fitness and cognitive functions.

Evaluation of the subchondral mineralization plate after excess weight loss in patientes undergoing bariatric operation by means of CT-osteoabsorptiometry.

This is a cohort study where families with infants are followed closely for three years. It aims to assess if parental weight status (normal weight vs. overweight/obesity), their physical activity and eating habit will influence their young children's growth and be helpful in childhood obesity reducing.

Objective: Computerized sleep staging has been verified in a normal population. This study attempts to investigate and verify the interpretation of this computerized sleep staging program in patients with sleep disorders, and improve the accuracy of actigraphy algorithm for sleep duration and postures. Compare the accuracy of computerized sleep-wake analysis with current sleep quality indicators: through actigraphy and heart rate sensors, compare the computerized sleep-wake analysis program with polysomnography, and verify its clinical reliability and validity in sleep disorder patients. Establish the sleep posture detection system: through three-axis accelerometer, develop algorithms for position recording and monitoring during sleep, and upgrade its accuracy according to photography. Methods: Patients ranged from age 20-50 with primary insomnia, periodic limb movement in sleep, simple snores, and obstructive sleep apnea will be enrolled in our study. Routine polysomnography will be applied in sleep center at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, as well as sleep-related questionnaires. At the same time, actigraphy and heart rate sensor patch will be used for sleep posture detection and further computerized sleep-wake analysis. Results will be verified the consistency by comparison with sleep-wake analysis from polysomnographic data and sleep-related questionnaires.

Records of women who had trophectoderm biopsy for sex selection over the last 3 years will be reviewed and its outcome will be compared to other records of women who had IVF/ICSI without embryo biopsy.

This study is to investigate the relationship between staging of retinal artery lesions and the prognosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in a Chinese population. All the patients were divided into four groups according retinal artery lesions.The endpoints were main adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), including all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke after 3 to 6 years of follow-up.

In the United States, the highest incidence of cervical cancer occurs in inner city urban centers, rural areas, the deep South, Appalachia and the U.S.-Mexico border. The goal of this study is to study predictors of adherence among patients seeking care at an inner city medical center in New York City and the U.S. Mexico border for cervical cancer prevention, namely, Pap smears and colposcopy exams.