There are about 28871 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Canada. 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.
The current standard treatment for chronic tympanic membrane perforations (TMP) involves having fat grafted from the patient and inserted into the ear, through the perforation, to promote healing using the fat graft myringoplasty (FGM) technique. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) has also been used to promote TMP healing and involves having the patient provide a blood sample, which is processed to produce PRP and applied to the perforation. This prospective, multi-centre study will evaluate whether combining both these techniques can improve the rate of closure in patients with chronic TMP involving <50% of the membrane. Patients will be randomized to receive either the standard FGM treatment or FGM treatment with the addition of PRP. At 3 months postintervention a blinded observer will rate the degree of TMP closure. Differences in closure rates between the 2 groups will be compared.
There are some adults with skeletal muscle weakness (called "myopathy") and heart muscle weakness (called "cardiomyopathy") who have low blood levels of a compound called carnitine as a cause of their problems. Carnitine is very important to energy production in muscles. In fact, there are reports of some people with carnitine deficiency who have developed myopathy and cardiomyopathy that was completely reversed with carnitine treatment. The main objective of our project is to determine the number of patients who have carnitine deficiency as a cause of their myopathy and cardiomyopathy. The investigators will be measuring carnitine levels in 1000 patients with cardiomyopathy and will describe the specific features in all the study patients to see if there are any trends that may help us predict which patients with muscle weakness are at risk of developing low carnitine levels. The investigators will be treating patients with low carnitine levels with carnitine and observing them to see if their cardiomyopathy and their muscle weakness improve. Knowing the exact percentage of myopathy and cardiomyopathy patients with carnitine deficiency may allow for screening of patients in a cheap and targeted way to treat the serious complication of this condition, including heart failure and sudden death.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major health problem whose prevalence is increasing rapidly. The gradual decrease in exercise tolerance is one of the usual consequences of COPD that affects the functional independence and quality of life of patients. In COPD patients, breathlessness and muscle fatigue are the main symptoms limiting exercise. Recent studies have shown that most of the physiological mechanisms of psychological factors such as emotions, motivation, memory, personality, expectations, or prior experience can greatly influence and modulate the perception of breathlessness. It has been proposed that the attentional distraction (visual or auditory) during exercise may be associated with a decrease in anxiety and shortness of breath and could improve exercise tolerance in COPD. We therefore propose to study the impact of attentional strategies of distraction on the perception of dyspnea and walking tolerance in patients with COPD. The research hypotheses are: i) Compared with exposure to a strategy of negative attentional distraction during exercise, exposure to a strategy of positive attentional distraction will improve walking exercise tolerance in patients with COPD; ii) For a given level of effort, sensory perception and emotional perception will be enhanced by exposure to a strategy of positive attentional distraction. Ten subjects with moderate to severe COPD will be recruited at the Research Center of the Institut Universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec (CRIUCPQ). During an assessment visit, we will measure complete pulmonary function, body composition and maximal functional capacity during a maximal incremental test work performed on a treadmill. During two subsequent experimental visits, and after spirometry control, participants will perform a walking test performed on a treadmill at an intensity corresponding to 75% of maximum effort during maximal incremental test. The test will be carried out in combination with a strategy of either positive attentional distraction, neutral attentional distraction or negative attentional distraction . The order of the condition will be randomized.
It is hypothesized that on-line modified ultrafiltration (MUFF) post-cardiopulmonary bypass will result in improved patient outcomes over the 12-hour post-operative period as compared to control and off-line MUFF.
Soaking meshes in a vancomycin solution just prior to their use in open hernia repairs will decrease rates of mesh infection
The primary outcome for this project will be the development of a small, non-invasive wireless sensor that is linked to a conventional computer that can be used in health care for monitoring of acute and chronic health problems. The advantages of developing this technology are threefold. First, monitoring can be conducted for a fraction of the cost of a bedside nurse. Second, monitoring can be done in real time and stored so that we can diagnose and manage critical events in a more timely manner. Lastly, many patients can be monitored simultaneously. The wireless sensors will be fitted to healthy volunteers of various ages. The data gathered from the sensor with respect to their vital signs will be compared to that of conventional tools such as nursing assessments and pulse oximetry.
The application of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) has provided remarkable opportunities for infertile couple to conceive in the last four decades. Historically IVF was performed for patients with bilateral tubal obstruction, but its use is presently widespread. Although the efficacy of assisted reproductive technology continues to improve, endometrial implantation remains the limiting step towards a successful pregnancy. Reduced endometrial receptivity and embryonic defects are the probable primary causes of implantation failure during IVF(1). Patients with repeated implantation failure despite transferring good-quality embryos continue to be a major dilemma for clinicians and are a topic of great research interest. Barash et al. unintentionally discovered and initially reported that an endometrial biopsy prior to IVF in women who have had one or more implantation failures was associated with an increased clinical pregnancy (66.7% vs 30.3%, p<0.01) and live birth rates 48.9% vs 22.5%, p=0.02) compared to a control group(2). The mechanism by which a local endometrial injury (LEI) may increase the pregnancy rate is still not fully clear. Possible etiologies include its role in promoting a beneficial local inflammatory response, inducing endometrial decidualization, or improving endometrial maturation synchrony (3-6). Following Barash et al's publication, several randomized controlled studies confirmed their findings (7-11). However, there has been extensive heterogeneity among studies, including the number of biopsies, how the biopsy is performed and the selected patient population. On the other hand all the studies have in common that the endometrial biopsy was performed prior to the start of the IVF cycle. The optimal timing of an endometrial biopsy with respect to an IVF cycle is unknown. There is reason to suspect that an endometrial biopsy during the follicular phase of an IVF stimulation cycle may improve pregnancy outcomes, although this has not been directly examined. We therefore propose a randomized controlled study to evaluate the impact of an endometrial biopsy on the implantation and pregnancy rate in both the luteal phase prior to the IVF cycle as well as the follicular phase of the concurrent IVF cycles.
The purpose of this study is to assess temporomandibular joint (TMJ) symptoms and night muscle activity in an objective manner, in addition to daytime bruxism and clenching, as reported by the patient, following the start of orthodontic treatment with Invisalign®. A baseline evaluation of all measures will be used as control data, while different time points will be used to evaluate the evolution of patients' symptoms over the course of six months (the duration of the study).
Women diagnosed with an early stage cancer of the breast usually have the cancer removed by lumpectomy and then have radiation treatments to the entire breast. In 2008 the investigators published the result of a multicentre study showing that breast Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) significantly reduces the occurrence of radiation burns. In this study the investigators will recall all patients at 8 years to assess if this technique also reduces permanent side effects including pain and cosmesis.
Randomized comparison of two surgeries for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence.