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.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the Western World. The etiology and pathogenesis of this disease remain largely unknown. In Europe about two million people suffer from AMD. According to the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) the disease can be classified into early, intermediate and late. Early age-related macular degeneration is characterized by the presence of small or medium-sized drusen and/or retinal pigmentary abnormalities. Intermediate age-related macular degeneration is characterized by large drusen or numerous medium-size drusen and/or geographic atrophy not extending to the center of the macula. Late age-related macular degeneration can be either atrophic with extension to the macula or neovascular. The late form of the disease is associated with a pronounced loss of visual acuity. In the recent years several studies focused on risk factors for late AMD and a recent systematic review and meta-analysis reported risk factors for AMD based on 16 studies in almost 114000 subjects. Strong and consistent associations with late AMD for found for increasing age, current cigarette smoking, previous cataract surgery, and a family history of AMD. Consistent associations between late AMD and higher body mass index, history of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and higher plasma fibrinogen were also found, but the association was weak. Inconsistent associations were found for gender, ethnicity, diabetes, iris color, history of cerebrovascular disease, serum total and HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Evidence has also accumulated that other factors influence the risk for AMD. Several genetic risk factors have been identified in the last years including genes in the alternative complement pathway and the RMS2/HTRA1 region. In addition, post-hoc analysis of data from the AREDS study has indicated that reduced intake of the omega-3 free fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid and docsahexaenoic acid are associated with the risk of late AMD thereby supporting previous population based studies. The AREDS study also revealed that reduced intake of the macular pigment lutein and zeaxanthin may be associated with late AMD, again supporting previous population-based studies. Finally, 2 small studies indicate that reduced choroidal blood flow is associated with an increased risk of developing late AMD. Less data are available for the progression of early or intermediate AMD and the associated risk factors. This is at least partially related to the problems in quantifying progression of drusen size and volume. In the recent years, however, significant efforts have been achieved in optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based methods for quantifying drusen progression and drusen volume. Polarization-sensitive OCT is the most promising of these approaches and will be used to quantify drusen area and volume in the present study.
The objective of this trial is the global risk-benefit assessment of Cerebrolysin as compared to donepezil in patients with mild to moderate dementia of Alzheimer's Type (DAT). In addition, a traditional approach will be taken based on the evaluation of the separate risk and benefit domains in comparison with donepezil. Global risk-benefit as compared to donepezil will be analyzed by determining whether the Cerebrolysin group shows a statistically significant non-inferiority with regard to the combined primary safety and efficacy endpoints (weighted multivariate ensemble). The endpoints will be combined by a global multivariate non-parametric procedure, weighting the safety and efficacy part 50:50.
Blepharospasm (BEB) is a focal dystonia characterized by forceful, involuntary contractions of the orbicularis oculi muscle. (Jankovic et al 1983) Patients with BEB report task and situation specific modulations of their symptoms. So called "sensory tricks" are actions that minimize symptoms and include concentrating, talking, pulling on the eyelids, blowing air, and applying pressure to the periocular or temple region. (Weiner 1984) Many patients describe that other tasks/situations are exacerbate their symptoms specifically under bright fluorescent lights and stress. (Burke 1984) Earlier studies showed that blink patterns differ between BEB patients and control during rest, reading and talking. In healthy subjects gaze evoked blinks are a physiologic phenomenon: initiation of gaze shifts evoke a blink, blinks facilitate gaze shifts. (Evinger 1994) In healthy subjects emotions and thoughts influence gaze shifts and blink rate. (Leal 2008, de Genaro 1988) However, little is known about various task and emotion specific influences on symptoms of BEB (e.g. expecting a gaze shift might worsen symptoms while driving a car). Differences in emotion and gaze related blink patterns between patients and controls will contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiology of BEB. This might offer new therapeutic options, e.g. symptom modulation. The investigators hypothesize that blink patterns, measured by duration and frequency of pupillary occlusion differ between patients and control, when performing gaze shifts and emotion related blink patterns, measured by duration and frequency of pupillary occlusion differ between patients and controls. The aim of this pilot trial is to assess differences in gaze evoked and emotion related blink patterns between patients and controls. These differences might contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiology of BEB.
Dry eye syndrome (DES) is a highly prevalent ocular condition with severe consequences for the patients reaching from ocular discomfort in its simplest form up to visual impairment and corneal ulceration in severe cases. Data from epidemiological studies indicate that DES is a common disease, especially in the elderly population, affecting up to 20% of adults aged 45 years or older. Topical lubricants are a mainstay of therapy, but data on its effect on tear film thickness and the corneal residence time are lacking. Recently, a new objective method for assessment of tear film thickness by optical coherence tomography has been developed. The present study aims to investigate the corneal residence time of an established topical lubricant compared to placebo in patients with DES and healthy controls.
Portopulmonary hypertension denotes pulmonary hypertension complicating portal hypertension and is present in approximately 5% of cirrhotic patients. Treatment options include prostanoids, sildenafil, and the endothelin-receptor antagonists, bosentan and ambrisentan. This study investigates the safety and efficacy of ambrisentan in portopulmonary hypertension.
The purpose of this study is determine safety and efficiency of mechanical ventilation in children with two different types of single use laryngeal masks (Ambu AuraOnce vs. LMA Supreme). The main interest is leakage pressure of oropharynx and stomach. The null hypothesis is that leakage pressures of Ambu AuraOnce and LMA Supreme are equivalent. The alternative hypothesis is that there is a difference in leakage pressure.
This study compares an endoscopic transforaminal surgical technique for the treatment of a herniated disc to the standard microsurgical procedure. Clinical parameters as well as health economy will be assessed. The study hypothesis is that the endoscopic approach is equivalent or superior to microdiscectomy.
Vitrectomy is the common treatment for patients with macular edema secondary to epiretinal membrane. Recently, in eyes with diabetic macular edema or persistent macular edema following retinal vein occlusion, vitrectomy will be increasingly performed as an additional treatment modality. In eyes with impaired oxygen situation vitrectomy may improve the retinal oxygen saturation. However, little information is available about the oxygenation and the blood flow of the retinal vessels after vitroretinal surgery. Hypoxia is a the major trigger of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is in turn the most important factor for the development of macular edema. It is a major issue to improve the oxygen situation and the blood flow of the retina and there are just a few not satisfactory procedures available to overcome this problem. However, vitrectomy would be an adequate therapy for many of these diseases, and it would be an appreciated side effect of the treatment in almost every case. To investigate the influence of oxygenation and blood flow of the retina on clinical outcomes after a successfully 23 gauge vitrectomy in eyes with epiretinal membrane, persistent macular edema following diabetic retinopathy or retinal vein occlusion.
The study is designed to see if once daily oral dosing of LY2608204 will help control diabetes as measured by the glycosylated fraction of hemoglobin A (HbA1c) level. It will also help to determine the safety of the medication and the most useful doses of the medication.
After cardiac arrest and successful resuscitation it can happen that the brain function of a patient is impaired because the brain was without oxygen for a prolonged period of time. Several strategies have been studied to improve brain function after cardiac arrest. Cooling of the patients is routinely used today. The trace element selenium has several biological functions and is important for defense mechanisms against oxidative stress, which occurs after cardiac arrest and successful resuscitation. critically ill patients have low selenium blood levels. Therefore the investigators hypothesize that giving selenium after cardiac arrest and successful resuscitation might improve brain function.