There are about 4372 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Greece. 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.
In the last 10 years, severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) was responsible of multiple outbreaks putting a strain on the public health worldwide. Indeed, SARI had a relevant role in the development of pandemic and epidemic with terrible consequences such as the 2009 H1N1 pandemic which led to more than 200.000 respiratory deaths globally. In late December 2019, in Wuhan, Hubei, China, a new respiratory syndrome emerged with clinical signs of viral pneumonia and person-to-person transmission. Tests showed the appearance of a novel coronavirus, namely the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Two other strains, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have caused severe respiratory illnesses, sometimes fatal. In particular, the mortality rate associated with SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, was of 10% and 37% respectively. Even though COVID-19 appeared from the first time in China, quickly it spread worldwide and cases have been described in other countries such as Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, France, Iran, USA and many other countries. An early paper reported 41 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in Wuhan. The median age of the patients was 49 years and mostly men (73%). Among those, 32% were admitted to the ICU because of the severe hypoxemia. The most associated comorbidities were diabetes (20%), hypertension (15%), and cardiovascular diseases (15%). On admission, 98% of the patients had bilateral multiple lobular and sub-segmental areas of consolidation. Importantly, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) developed in 29% of the patients, while acute cardiac injury in 12%, and secondary infection in 10%. Invasive mechanical ventilation was required in 10% of those patients, and two of these patients (5%) had refractory hypoxemia and received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). In a later retrospective report by Wang and collaborators, clinical characteristics of 138 patients with COVID-19 infection were described. ICU admission was required in 26.1% of the patients for acute respiratory distress syndrome (61.1%), arrhythmia (44.4%), and shock (30.6%). ECMO support was needed in 11% of the patients admitted to the ICU. During the period of follow-up, overall mortality was 4.3%. The use of ECMO in COVID-19 infection is increasing due to the high transmission rate of the infection and the respiratory-related mortality. Therefore, the investigators believe that ECMO in case of severe interstitial pneumonia caused by COVID could represent a valid solution in order to avoid lung injuries related to prolonged treatment with non-invasive and invasive mechanical ventilation. In addition, ECMO could have a role for the systemic complications such as septic and cardiogenic shock as well myocarditis scenarios. Potential clinical effects and outcomes of the ECMO support in the novel coronavirus pandemic will be recorded and analyzed in our project. The researchers hypothesize that a significant percentage of patients with COVID-19 infection will require the utilize of ECMO for refactory hypoxemia, cardiogenic shock or septic shock. This study seeks to prove this hypothesis by conducting an observational retrospective/prospective study of patients in the ICU who underwent ECMO support and describe clinical features, severity of pulmonary dysfunction and risk factors of COVID-patients who need ECMO support, the incidence of ECMO use, ECMO technical characteristics, duration of ECMO, complications and outcomes of COVID-patients requiring ECMO support.
The goal of this project is to develop the international validation of two new rating scales, the Neuropsychiatric Fluctuations Scale (NFS) and the Shame in PARKinson's disease (SPARK) Scale, in order to improve the understanding of the extent and severity of non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD).
A randomised prospective control trial comparing the efficiency of a more individualized approach in ACL reconstruction with the help of neuromuscular computer models with traditional ACL reconstruction practices.
Haematological malignancies constitute the most common neoplastic disease in child population, with acute leukemia occupying the number one spot with a percentage of 32.8%. In children, leukaemia is primarily encountered in its acute form (97%) and in the majority of the cases it is presented as Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia - ALL (80%). Acute Non-Lymphoblastic Leukemia - ANLL is encountered less frequently (17%) and it includes Acute Myelogenous Leukaemia - AML (15%) and some other rare forms (2%), while the remainder 3% corresponds to chronic leukaemia. L-Asparaginase (L-ASP) is a fundamental component during the loading phase with regards to achieving remission of the disease and, likewise, during the maintenance phase with the intention of establishing that remission in both children and adults suffering from ALL. The cytotoxic effect of the exogenous administration of Asparaginase is caused by the depletion of the reserve of asparagine in the blood. Asparaginase (ASP) acts as a catalyst for the hydrolysis of asparagine to aspartic acid and ammonia. Asparagine is vital for protein and cell synthesis and, therefore, for their survival. The normal cells of the human body have the ability to produce asparagine from aspartic acid, with the assistance of the enzyme asparagine synthetase. However, the neoplastic cells either lack the enzyme completely or contain minute amounts of it resulting in their inability to synthesize asparagine de novo. The survival of these cells and their ability to synthesize proteins depends entirely on receiving asparagine from the blood. Thus, the administration of ASP leads to the inhibition of DNA, RNA and protein synthesis which, in turn, results in the apoptosis of these cells. Despite L-ASP's paramount importance in the chemotherapy treatment of leukaemia, it is responsible for a plethora of toxic adverse effects that sometimes even require the termination of its administration. A critical adverse event of ASP is a disorder in the metabolism of lipids. Specifically, it appears that the activation of the endogenous pathway that produces triglycerides through hepatic synthesis leads to hypertriglyceridaemia. The liver is capable of synthesizing VLDL (Very Low Density Lipoproteins) that are rich in triglycerides. Utilising the effect of the enzyme Lipoprotein Lipase (LpL), located on the vascular endothelium, the triglycerides detach from the VLDL causing the latter to transform into IDL (Intermediate Density Lipoproteins) and afterwards into LDL (Low Density Lipoproteins). The triglycerides are later extracted from the blood circulatory system and stored in the adipose tissue, while the LDL particles connect with tissue receptors or macrophage receptors. The final products of the breakdown (coming from the peripheral hydrolysis of triglycerides with the help of LpL) of chylomicrons, VLDL, the remnants of lipoproteins, will eventually be removed by hepatic receptors. Apolipoprotein E (Apo-E) plays an important role in this procedure, it binds these remnants in the presence of LpL and hepatic lipase. Along the duration of the treatment with ASP, reduced LpL functionality is recorded, resulting in impaired plasma clearance of triglycerides and an increase in their levels, while L-ASP appears to cause disorders in other lipid factors, such as cholesterol, HDL and apolipoprotein A. Disorders of lipid metabolism have been found to be associated with polymorphisms of the LpL and Apo-E genes, sometimes with positive and sometimes with negative effects on the lipid profile and more likely participation in cardiovascular complications. The current study will evaluate, the lipid profile of children with ALL, the effect of L-ASP on the lipid profile of the aforementioned patients, as well as the correlation between the polymorphisms of Lipoprotein Lipase (LpL) and Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) with the values of the lipids during chemotherapy. Both the universal and national bibliography that pertain to the effect of ASP on the potency of LpL and App E and to the values of the lipids in children that suffer from ALL during chemotherapy with L-ASP is limited, while there exists no bibliographic reference correlating the genetic background to LpL and Apo E and the relation of the lipid profile. The current study will examine for the first time gene polymorphisms of LpL and Apo E in children with ALL during treatment with ASP.
The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of autofluorescence in the intraoperative preservation of parathyroids during total thyroidectomy with central lymph node compartment dissection.
Pulsed radiofrequency of the occipital nerves (greater and lesser) for primary headache management.
AthenaValve aims to develop and initial validate a novel serum diagnostic kit, for the assessment of severity and prognosis of progression of aortic valve stenosis (AS, a devastating disease without early diagnosis and medical treatment). Two independent clinical cohorts of patients will provide serum samples, along with tissue and serum of a validated animal model of the disease for evaluation of the early stages, in order to develop and validate a multiplexed Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay kit (multiplex ELISA). Advanced bioinformatics analysis will facilitate the selection of the most promising molecules from integrated proteomics-transcriptomics-metabolomics data. The novel biomarkers will help clinicians to early diagnose patients at high risk and will pave the way for the experimental implementation of promising pharmaceutical therapies. Moreover, AthenaValve aims to shed light on the systemic cellular interplay of the same patients, by analyzing the circulating immune cell phenotypes of the subgroups of rapid and slow progression patients
Total hip arthroplasty is a method of choice for treating advanced osteoarthritis of the hip and one of the most frequent orthopedic procedures. Of all hip surgical approaches described, the tendency for minimally invasive techniques has been dominated over the last few years due to faster patient mobilization, reduced postoperative pain and need for blood transfusion. Two of the most common approaches used for minimally invasive total hip arthroplasty are: AMIS anterior approach and mini-posterior approach, which is a modification of the standard posterior approach. The purpose of this study is the biochemical, imaging and clinical evaluation of the tissue damage caused by the above-mentioned techniques of minimally invasive total hip arthroplasty.
The aim of the current project is the development and implementation of an e-health database of drug interactions (drug-drug, drug-food, drug-alcohol and drug-herbal products interaction) to CKD patients in order to achieve a holistic approach to patient care and personalized medicine. The study will be conducted in the University of Ioannina (cooperation between the Department of Nephrology and the Laboratory of Physiology). Data will be collected form 150 CKD patients (Stages 1-5 pre-dialysis, undergoing dialysis, kidney transplantation). Sixty patients will be selected for the pilot study which will include blood and urine tests and specific polymorphism analysis (pharmacogenetic tests). Pilot implementation of the e-health database will be undertaken by health professionals of the Department of Nephrology (University Hospital of Ioannina) to test the system in realistic setting (usability, efficiency and efficacy) in order to make the necessary changes prior to full scale deployment.
Background: Hospitalized patients usually have significant comorbidities and receive multiple medications which leads to a high frequency of contraindications to standard treatment options for acute gout (NSAIDs, colchicine, steroids). Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) has long been used in acute gout, exhibiting significant clinical efficacy and an excellent safety profile. Aim: To assess 1) the clinical efficacy of ACTH in gout compared to betamethasone in hospitalized patients 2) the safety profile of ACTH vs betamethasone and 3) the effect of ACTH on immune responses and metabolic parameters. Methods: This is a randomized, open label comparative study directly comparing ACTH vs betamethasone for acute gout. The investigators plan to recruit 60 hospitalized patients who will be randomly assigned to either the ACTH or the betamethasone group on a 1:1 basis. Participants will be clinically assessed at baseline and at 24, 48, 72h and 5 days time points. (Intensity of pain, physician and patient global assessment, tenderness, swelling and redness). Serum and plasma samples will be collected at baseline and at the 24, 48, 72h time points from all study paticipants. The investigators will assess the effect of ACTH vs betamethasone on several metabolic parameters concentrating on glucose homeostasis. Results: The study is currently recruiting patients. Conclusions: If the efficacy and safety profile of ACTH is verified in this randomized controlled trial, the use of ACTH for the treatment of gout in the hospital setting will be strongly supported.