There are about 13446 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Belgium. 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.
Background: Severe brain injury could cause chronic disorders of consciousness (DOC). Treating DOC patients to improve recovery remains very challenging. A few randomized controlled studies have been published in the recent years, focusing on non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) treatments to improve patients' neurobehavioural functioning. Among NIBS, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that can modulate cortical excitability, enhance neural plasticity, and induce strong neuromodulatory effects that outlast the period of stimulation. It is thought to modulate cortical activity and could therefore be effective for treating DOC patients. Currently, there is no unified protocol for rTMS in DOC patients and studies vary in many aspects. In this study, the investigators aim to improve the functional recovery of DOC patients following severe brain injury using rTMS in two multi-center double-blind studies. Methods/design: The investigators will recruit 90 DOC patients. Patients will have three rTMS sessions that will be randomized within patients in a crossover design: (i) one real stimulation on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC); (ii) one real stimulation on the left angular cortex (AG) and (iii) one sham stimulation. Sessions will be separated by at least 5 days washout period. Each stimulation session will last 20 minutes with a frequency of 20Hz (train duration: 4s; inter-train interval: 26s; 3200 pulses at 80% of the resting motor threshold - RMT). The RMT, i.e., the minimum stimulus intensity that generated a motor evoked potential response of at least 50μV at rest for 5 out of 10 trials, will be calculated for the stimulation target using single-pulses on the right abductor pollicis brevis muscle. After an interval of one week, a parallel design study will begin. Ninety patients will be randomly divided in two experimental groups and one sham group (30 patients per group). Stimulation will be performed for 20 working days once a day with the same stimulation parameters as in the crossover study. Primary outcome will be determined as behavioral response to treatment as measured using the Coma Recovery Scale - Revised (CRS-R). Resting-state high-density EEG will be also recorded to investigate the neurophysiological correlates by rTMS. Discussion: This study will contribute to define the role of rTMS for the treatment of DOC patients and characterise the neural correlates of its action. In addition, the investigators will define the responders' profile based on patients' characteristics and functional impairments and develop biomarkers of responsiveness using machine learning to categorize EEG signals according to clinical responsiveness to the treatment.
No systematic research has been done in the last 15 years on the accuracy of prenatal ultrasound of congenital heart diseases in Belgium. Nor are there any population-based studies available on this subject for Belgium. Based on the data of EUROCAT (European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies) the investigators analyse prenatal diagnostic sensitivity of congenital heart diseases in the EUROCAT regions Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium)
UPRIGHT-HTM will compare risk stratification, treatment efficiency and health economic outcomes of a diagnostic approach based on home blood pressure telemonitoring combined with urinary proteomic profiling with home blood pressure telemonitoring alone
For most children, language acquisition might appear like an effortless phenomenon, mostly arising from informal daily interaction with their surrounding people. Despite an adequate learning environment however, some children encounter major difficulties in learning their native tongue and develop a Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Although the existence of a multi-factorial etiology has seemed to reach an agreement, presumably combining genetic and environmental factors to some kind of neural disruption, the underlying mechanisms leading to DLD are, to date, poorly understood. Many studies have attempted to identify risk factors and early predictors associated with the future development of a language impairment. However, despite the constant efforts to identify early markers able to differentiate between transient and persistent language difficulties, early detection of children who will be developing a DLD remains highly difficult, partially due to the lack of direct and ecological measures of early language and communication development. In addition research on the causal neural correlates of DLD is in its infancy, and often compromised by small sample sizes or analyses methods that lack anatomical specificity to determine the neural correlates of language impairment. Hence, In order to improve early detection and, therefore, language intervention, this longitudinal research project aims at investigating the early predictive factors as well as the neurocognitive basis of DLD by means of an integrative, multi-dimensional, and multi-methodological approach. To substantially gain insight, this research ideally integrates risk factors at multiple different levels, including the cognitive, neurobiological, parental and environmental level. From a methodological perspective, we will combine direct and indirect behavioral methods with neuroimaging methods in order to propose an early predictive model of language development.
Transition from paediatric to adult endocrinology is a challenge for adolescents, families and doctors. Up to 25% of young adults with chronic endocrine disorders are lost to follow-up ('drop-out') once the young adult moves out of paediatric care. Non-attendance and sub-optimal medical self-management can lead to serious and expensive medical complications. In a pilot study, adolescents suggested the use of e-technology to become more involved in the transition process. The investigators have designed and developed the YESS! game, a tool to help improve medical self-management in adolescents with chronic endocrine disorders. The hypothesis is that adolescents playing the YESS! game will show a larger increase in self-management score during the first year of transition and will have a lower drop-out rate at the adult endocrine outpatient clinic (OPC), compared to adolescents who do not play the game.
Patients undergoing surgery under opioid free general anesthesia (OFA) are monitored with antinociceptive devices like NOL or ANI that measures sympathetic activity but are invisible for the attending anesthesiologist . Observational study comparing patients with sufficient suppression of sympathetic reactions with patients having insufficient suppression on hemodynamic stability, post operative sedation, pain and inflammatory markers.
Observational study comparing patients with lung protective ventilation (LPV) following the consensus guidelines by Young C with patients getting routine lung ventilation, both during opioid free anesthesia (OFA).
the excluded stomach during sleeve gastrectomy can be investigated post removal outside the patient. During stapling it is common to reduce systolic arterial blood pressure (SAP) below 100 mmHg to reduce peritoneal perfusion and have better compression. Higher intra abdominal pressures reduce also the peritoneal and mucosal perfusion and might help to improve stapling compression. Stapling compression can be evaluated by measuring stapling thickness and compare it with stomach wall thickness or by measuring leaks during leak test or better outside the patient on the excised stomach with a bursting pressure.
Measure anesthetic condition used during laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy stapling. Measure quality of stapling in resected stomach by measuring staple thickness. Find if any relation exists.
Observational study comparing thin pvc with thick silicone gastric calibration tube for bariatric surgery. Most of the times a thin gastric tube is used. Sometimes insertion is difficult due to kinking, resistance, bulging and not advancing in the right spot requiring re introduction, help from a colleague, or change to the thick silicone type. When tube is changed during insertion to the silicone type the method insertion is compared with the previous approach.