There are about 2622 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Portugal. 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 pathophysiology of Major Depression Disorder (MDD) is unclear, with several theories for its neurobiological mechanisms. One possible explanation is the presence of altered neuroplasticity, which can be studied by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). Using TMS to study these mechanisms is performed by applying electromagnetic stimuli to the motor cortex, to obtain measures of temporary cortical excitability modulation. It is known that depressed patients with higher cortical modulation are more responsive to a TMS treatment course. However, it is unknown if there are differences in cortical modulation between depressed patients and healthy subjects. Our goal is to answer this question and contribute towards clarification of the neuroplasticity mechanisms underlying MDD. Accordingly, we will access cortical excitability modulation measures in both depressed patients and healthy volunteers and compare their results. We will also re-assess these measures after 6 weeks of antidepressant treatment. Finally, we will study the association between cortical excitability measures and cognitive processes using an innovative cognitive task.
This multicentre study, with a randomised controlled repeated measures experimental design, will be conducted in several Portuguese institutions, which provide care and supportive services for older adults diagnosed with mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD), with an aim to assess the effect of individual cognitive stimulation (CS) on memory and executive functioning. Participants in the intervention group will attend 24 individual CS sessions, twice weekly for 12 weeks. Participants in the control group will complete their usual routines without any activity restrictions.
The primary endpoint will be evaluated through the following variables: PUCAI score, IFX levels, and steroid treatment. Clinical response to IFX will be evaluated through the PUCAI score. The response will be considered clinically significant if PUCAI points continue maintained below 30 during the study period. The IFX response will also be determined by IFX serum levels. A therapeutic IFX level, i.e. for achieving an adequate clinical response, is established above 6 μg/mL. Finally, the necessity, or not, of a steroid treatment during the study period will also be indicative of successful efficacy with GMA.
Although some studies have focused on the role of exercise on inflammation and cytokine expression in cancer patients undergoing treatment and survivors, to our knowledge none have investigated the effect of exercise during neoadjuvant treatment as a complementary therapy to 1) modulate inflammation which may have a positive influence on chemotherapy response and 2) preserve or improve skeletal muscle, thus preventing cancer cachexia. Furthermore, we believe that the neoadjuvant treatment period could be a window of opportunity to optimize patient's nutritional status before surgery, which until now has been under used. Bearing in mind that nutritional interventions may also influence IL-6, our hypothesis is that a Combined Exercise and Dietary Intervention (CEDI) may induce positive alterations in cytokine profile and increase NK cell infiltration of the tumor in gastric and pancreatic cancer patients submitted to neo-adjuvant therapy.
The investigators propose to create a prospective Crohn Disease cohort, where patients receiving the most up-to-date therapies with a treat-to-target strategy, will be closely followed to characterize the progression of Crohn Disease by measuring the Lémann Index over time. The goal of the CROCO Study - "Crohn's Disease Cohort Study" is to promote a greater understanding of the long-term evolution of Crohn Disease , to describe prospectively the impact of different therapeutic strategies and develop accurate predictors of bowel disease damage and disability.
The main purpose of this randomized-controlled trial is to evaluate the effects of prehabilitation based on exercise training (ET) on functional capacity in HNC patients treated with chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Forty-six participants will be randomized (1:1 ratio) into prehabilitation and usual care groups. The length of intervention will be at least 2 weeks. Data will be collected at diagnosis, immediately before anti-cancer treatment start and 4 weeks following CRT. Primary outcome is functional capacity as assessed by the six-minute walk test. Additional measures include muscle strength, endothelial function, arterial stiffness, inflammatory biomarkers, body composition, quality of life, treatment tolerance, compliance to treatment, progression-free survival, and overall survival.
Informed consent form is a legal document that, ethically, should be obtained before any endoscopic procedure is performed. The main purpose of this research study is to assess the readability, comprehensibility and applicability of the new informed consent proposed by the Portuguese Society of Digestive Endoscopy as a way to standardize the information provided to patients prior to endoscopic exams.
Central venous catheter (CVC) are intravascular devices used in clinical practice, namely to administer fluid therapy, parenteral nutrition, drugs, blood products, hemodynamic monitoring, also being a gateway to the collection of blood samples or laboratory monitoring. The fully implanted central venous catheter (CVCTI) is a type of central venous access surgically placed, which is characterized by containing a subcutaneous reservoir that is accessed by puncturing the camera with a blunt needle, widely used in cancer patients. The fully implanted central venous catheter is recommended when there is a need for intermittent vascular access and of long duration. The maintenance of the CVCTI, as it's the necessity, frequency, and method is subject of some controversy, with discrepancies between the various cancer centers and guidance documents, once they occur several different intervals and maintenance methods. The objective of this study is to assess the necessity of frequent maintenance of fully implanted central venous catheter, still assuring its viability and holding the same or lower number incidence of complications. Participants in this study are cancer patients with a CVC fully implanted for chemotherapy, in follow-up phase. Participants will be randomized in one of two arms: Maintenance with saline solution and no maintenance.
In Portugal, the prevalence of Fabry disease is largely unknown as recently has been stressed by the Portuguese hypertrophic cardiomyopathy registry investigators. On the other hand, few data on Fabry screening protocols in patients with compromised ejection fraction including burned-out hypertrophic cardiomyopathy series have been published. This project intends to perform screening of Fabry disease in patients with distinct cardiomyopathy phenotypes of unknown or dubious etiology and explore the less knew impact of the disease in other cardiac phenotypes.
Systemic transthyretin amyloidosis is an aging-related disorder. It is usually associated with cardiac disease but also extends to other organs. Recent studies found that idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome patients may have amyloid deposition in tenosynovial tissue. The main aims of this project are the characterization of the association between idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome and transthyretin amyloidosis and its evaluation as a predictive factor of cardiac amyloidosis