There are about 6915 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Austria. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
Due to the development of neonatal intensive care the number of surviving premature infants increased significantly. The immature brain undergoes a fair amount of external stimuli, which have a great impact on later cognitive development. Increasingly data show, that a delayed emergence of sleep-wake-cycling in newborns can be the first sign of brain injury. Studies have shown that clearly defined sleep states can be identified from 31-32 weeks of gestation onwards. But a few studies show, that also extremely premature infants already show cyclical variations of the background pattern within amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG= a time-compressed, simplified EEG) and conventional EEG. This might resemble early sleep-wake-states and their presence correlates to the integrity of the central nervous system, although no clearly defined "sleep states" according to the classical definition can be identified. Complex EEG analysis needs the use of automated methods to exclude personal bias and to ensure gestational age specific data analysis. The newly developed NLEO algorithm was specially designed for EEG analysis of premature infants. Conventional EEG within this study will be analyzed visually and with the automated algorithm. In our research project we will study the emergence of Sleep-wake-cycling in extremely premature infants and its impact on their neurodevelopmental outcome prospectively. The different sleep and wake states will be derived from analysis of the conventional Video-EEG, aEEG and polysomnographic measurements. Visual analysis will include assessment of amplitudes and frequencies as well as the latencies and durations of EEG-Bursts and Interburst intervals. The automated NLEO-algorithm will be firstly used for comparison with above described visual analysis and secondly to find regions of interest involved in the organization of these early sleep states. The aim of this study is first to understand and analyze in detail the emergence of sleep-wake cycling including its disturbances in premature infants and to compare automated NLEO algorithm to conventional visual analysis methods. Secondly to correlate neurodevelopmental outcome to the emergence of sleep-wake-cycling.
A prospective case-control study was performed to investigate the effect of iloprost on the intraoperative flow volume in diabetic and non-diabetic patients as well as the effect of peripheral neuropathy in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) undergoing arterial reconstruction (primary endpoint). 100 patients undergoing femoral artery reconstruction or femorodistal bypass surgery were included. Prior to surgery, peripheral nerve conduction velocity was measured. Blood flow volume at the common femoral artery was assessed using a Doppler flowmeter (Sono TT FlowLab; ) before reconstruction, prior to the intraarterial application of 3000ng of iloprost and 5 and 10 minutes afterwards. Peripheral resistance units (PRU) were calculated as a function of mean systemic arterial pressure (MAP) and flow volume (VF): PRU = MAP (mmHg) / VF (ml/min).
Establishment of a tumor bank, consisting of blood samples of tumor patients and healthy people as controls. The blood samples will be collected systematically together with the corresponding clinical data. The biological samples, the clinical date together with prospective experimental date constitute the entity of the tumor bank.
Background: Failure of graft incorporation and tunnel widening (TW) after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction has been frequently reported in the literature. The etiology of TW is still not fully understood. Patients and Methods: This is a prospective randomized study including 60 patients, conducted in a Level I trauma center in Innsbruck, Austria. The study protocol was approved by the hospital ethics committee. This study is planned and conducted following the Consolidated Standards on Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines. Aperture fixation is performed using BioComposite interference screws (Arthrex, Naples, FL). Extracortical fixation is performed using the ACL Tightrope (Arthrex, Naples, FL). TW is measured on CT scan postoperative, after 6 and 24 months. Clinical outcome is determined at 1, 2 after reconstruction, IKDC with KOOS Knee-related QoL subscale, Lysholm, Tegner Activity scores, hop tests and KT-1000 measurements are performed. Hypothesis: The purpose of this randomized controlled trail is to determine the influence of two different fixation methods on TW and clinical outcome after anatomic ACL reconstruction using hamstring graft in young and active patients.
Recently, a new and sophisticated method for assessment of retinal blood flow and retinal blood flow velocity profiles has become available. This technique is based on the combination of measurement of retinal vessel calibers with bidirectional Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (FDOCT). The valid measurement of retinal blood flow is of significant importance, because it is known that major ophthalmic diseases, such as hypertensive retinopathy, are associated with alterations in blood flow. Hypertensive retinopathy is the most common manifestation of arterial hypertension in the eye. Elevated systemic blood pressure leads to generalized arteriolar narrowing caused by vasospasms and increased vascular tone. Further in the disease process, focal arteriolar narrowing, retinal haemorrhages, hard exudates and cotton wool spots can occur. Previous studies have shown that blood flow in the extraocular vessels and in the choroid is compromised in patients with arterial hypertension. However, data on the impact of arterial hypertension on retinal blood flow and retinal blood flow velocities are lacking. The present study sets out to compare total retinal blood flow and retinal velocity profiles in patients with hypertensive retinopathy and healthy age- and sex-matched controls. Ocular perfusion pressure will be calculated based on measurements of blood pressure and intraocular pressure to allow for calculation of vascular resistance. In addition, velocity profiles at arterio-venous crossings will be measured. It is hypothesized that these velocity profiles are considerably modified in patients with stage 2 and 3 hypertensive retinopathy compared to healthy controls because of pronounced arterio-venous compression.
Amblyopia is a developmental condition that is characterized by reduced vision of the eye due to the presence of a sensory impediment during visual development, such as strabismus (ocular misalignment) or anisometropia (unequal refractive error), occurring early in life. Recent studies in humans and animals point towards a cortical locus for the processing deficit in amblyopia, revealing sensory deficits at the signal cell level. If changes in retinal neuronal function are also present, is unknown. Like in the brain, blood flow in the retina is coupled to neuronal activity. This phenomenon has been measured by different study groups with non invasive techniques in the brain and retina. It has been shown in previous studies that stimulating the retina with diffuse luminant flickering light increases retinal vessel diameter and blood flow. However, it is unknown whether this is also the case in the retina of amblyopic eyes. Additionally, the introduction of blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) fMRI also makes it possible to directly access the vascular response in the brain to visual stimuli. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of luminant flickering light on retinal vessel diameter and retinal blood flow in subjects with amblyopia. Also, oxygen saturation in retinal vessels will be assessed as well as pattern ERG for assessment of retinal function. Additionally, a high resolution image of the visual pathway will be taken with 7 Tesla MRI to investigate whether anatomical or functional alterations are present.
Assessment of retinal vessel calibers combined with bidirectional Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (FDOCT) for measurement of retinal blood velocities is a new and sophisticated method for assessing retinal blood flow in humans. The valid measurement of retinal blood flow is of significant importance, because it is known that major ophthalmic diseases are associated with alterations in blood flow. As such, retinal vascular occlusive diseases represent a major cause of visual impairment and blindness. The prevalence of the disease is between 0.7 and 1.6%. Compression of the retinal veins at arterio-venous (AV) crossings plays an important role in the development of branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). The mechanical narrowing of the vessel lumen is supposed to be the mechanism behind this fact. The present study should elucidate how BRVO influences retinal blood flow at retinal vessel crossings in comparison to healthy control subjects. Retinal blood flow at retinal bifurcations will also be assessed. In addition, a fundus image will be taken to assess retinal oxygen saturation. For the first time we use a combination of a dynamic vessel analyzer (DVA) with bidirectional Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (FDOCT) to assess retinal blood flow. Whereas the DVA provides information concerning retinal vessel caliber, FDOCT provides laser Doppler information in addition to conventional optical coherence tomography, allowing the observation of blood flow dynamics simultaneously. In the present study we hypothesize that the DVA in combination with FDOCT is a suitable new tool for the assessment of blood flow in healthy subjects and in patients with BRVO.
One of the main problems in cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) investigations is the strong dependence of the achieved image quality on optimal settings of sequence parameters and anatomical and physiological situations and it is well known that the diagnostic impact of cardiac MR investigations crucially depends on the adaption of imaging protocols to patients' state and ability to cooperate. The aim of the present study is the evaluation and optimization of various 1.5 Tesla and 3 Tesla cardiac MR investigation protocols without application of contrast agent as well as the acquisition of normal values for new cardiac MR images techniques: - normal myocardial morphology: T1-, T2- and T2*-weighted imaging and acquisition of normal values of magnetic relaxation times (sequence- and protocol dependent), - normal cardiac function: systolic and diastolic function (sequence- and protocol dependent), - cardiac anatomy and coronary artery imaging: feasibility to evaluate length, diameter and blood flow (sequence- and protocol dependent), - normal blood flow topologies in the heart and the surrounding great vessels: 2D- and 3D blood flow imaging and evaluation techniques (sequence- and protocol dependent).
The purpose of the study is to determine the efficacy of a silicone-double-balloon-catheter for cervical ripening and labor induction in women with unfavorable cervix (Bishop Score not greater than 6) compared to medical treatment using a dinoprostone slow-release-vaginal-insert.
Following a recent publication by the authors [1], there is no standardized treatment regime for the treatment of lacerations of the olecranon or prepatellar bursa, although primary bursectomy seems to be the most common treatment regime in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The aim of this study is to prospectively follow patients who suffered from an acute traumatic laceration of the OB or PB treated, according to the local standards, either by bursectomy (Vie, AT) or bursal reconstruction and direct wound closure (Muc, GER). [1] Baumbach et al. Evaluation of the current treatment concepts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for acute traumatic lesions to the prepatellar and olecranon bursa. Injury (2012)