View clinical trials related to Death.
Filter by:To determine the efficacy and Security of Thymoglobuline in cadaveric donor Efficacy: To demonstrate that in cadaveric donor, Thymoglobuline diminished graft alloreactivity by decreasing expression of inflammatory markers in graft biopsies Security:To demonstrate that the administration of Thymoglobulin does not have side effects in renal recipients.
Despite pharmacologic advances for the treatment of congestive heart failure (HF), sudden cardiac death (SCD) and pump failure remain the leading causes of mortality in patients with HF. Although, SCD is poorly understood, implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD) have been shown to be an effective, but costly therapy in preventing SCD. At present, left ventricular systolic dysfunction is our best independent predictor of SCD, but only moderately predicts those patients who will eventually benefit from the placement of an ICD and, in most cases, left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction is a non-modifiable risk factor once acquired. As a result, there exists an intensive search for biomarkers that could improve the prediction of SCD and have the potential for risk factor modification. Experimental and clinical evidence has established that inflammation plays a critical role in stable coronary disease, plaque rupture, acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and SCD. Studies at our institution have demonstrated that elevated levels of hsCRP and Interleukin-6 are predictive of arrhythmic SCD; however, the mechanism of causing this increased risk is unclear. Another well-known risk factor for SCD is abnormal sympathetic innervation. The most robust clinical test of sympathetic innervation to date is Iodine-123 Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) imaging with gamma scintigraphy. MIBG imaging has emerged as one of our strongest predictors of SCD by detecting sympathetic nervous system abnormalities in patients with HF. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests that myocardial inflammation adversely affects myocardial innervation. Based on these findings, the investigators hypothesize that elevated levels of inflammatory biomarkers are associated with abnormal sympathetic innervation as measured by MIBG imaging. The investigators aim to establish the strength of this association. This proposal will leverage unique access to the largest, most extensively phenotyped cohort of patients who have undergone ICD implantation for primary prevention of SCD, the PRospective Observational Study of the ICD in SCD, (PROSE-ICD).
The aim of the present study is to investigate changes in inflammatory status and incidence of infection after extreme aerobic physical stress (participation in a marathon). In addition, the impact of marathon running on the hemostasis and muscular state will be evaluated. Changes at the inflammatory, muscular, and rheological level will be related to ingestion of oral hydrolytic enzymes and bioflavonoids.
The purpose of this observational study is to assess the risk of out-of-hospital Sudden Cardiac (heart) Death (SCD) associated with current use of domperidone compared to current use of a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI), current use of metoclopramide, or non-use of any of these medications.
In light of declining autopsy rates around the world, post-mortem MR imaging is a promising alternative to conventional autopsy in the investigation of infant death. A major drawback of this non-invasive autopsy approach is the fact that histopathological and microbiological examination of the tissue is not possible. The objective of this prospective study is to compare the performance of minimally invasive, virtual autopsy, including CT-guided biopsy, with conventional autopsy procedures in a paediatric population. Foetuses, newborns, infants and children that are referred for autopsy at three different institutions associated with the University of Zurich will be eligible for recruitment. All bodies will be examined with a commercial CT and a 3 Tesla MRI scanner, and investigators will be blinded to the results of conventional autopsy. After cross-sectional imaging, CT-guided tissue sampling will be performed by a multifunctional robotic system (Virtobot) allowing for automated post-mortem biopsies. Virtual autopsy results will be classified with regards to the likely final diagnosis and major pathological findings and compared to the results of conventional autopsy, which remains the diagnostic gold standard. This interdisciplinary study will determine whether virtual autopsy will narrow the gap in information between non-invasive and traditional autopsy procedures.
Compared to chronic dialysis, kidney transplantation provides recipients with longer survival and better quality of life at a lower cost. In order to meet increasing demands for kidney allografts, kidneys from older and sicker donors are being procured. This has led to greater discard rates of donated kidneys as well as more complications for recipients, including shorter allograft survival. Available clinical models to predict kidney allograft quality have poor prognostic ability and do not asses the degree of kidney allograft injury. However, allograft injury near the time of procurement can lead to major consequences for the transplant recipient: greater risks of delayed graft function, poor allograft function and premature loss of the transplant. Our proposal is based on the hypotheses that novel biomarkers measured in donor urine and transport media at the time of procurement can assess acute and chronic kidney injury and that distinct biomarker patterns will predict allograft survival. In collaboration with five organ procurement organizations, we will collect urine samples from consecutive deceased donors and samples of transport solution for every pumped kidney. We will measure markers of injury, repair, inflammation and fibrosis. We will determine mortality and allograft survival in all patients by linkage to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database (Overall Cohort). Additionally, we will perform a detailed chart review of a subset of recipients (detailed cohort) and will also examine associations between biomarkers and longitudinal graft function over five years after transplant. Early, non-invasive and rapid assessment of donor kidney injury could drive better allocation decisions and potentially reduce the rates of post-transplant complications. Further, these new tools could provide a platform for clinical trials of therapies for allografts and kidney transplant recipients aimed at ameliorating allograft injury.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether a blunted heart rate response to regadenoson is an independent predictor of sudden cardiac death.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an important public health problem that affects millions of people worldwide. Associations between risk factors, such as smoking, dyslipidaemia or hypertension, and prevalent CVD are well documented. However, few studies have investigated associations with onset of disease. The initial manifestation of CVD, for example an episode of unstable angina, is important because it influences the prognosis, the quality of life and the management of disease. Furthermore, the extent to which social deprivation, alcohol consumption or atrial fibrillation affects presentation of CVD is poorly understood and deserves further consideration. Most previous studies have considered CVD as a single entity. However, differences in aetiology between coronary phenotypes suggest that risk factors may not be shared across specific coronary phenotypes and their relative importance is likely to differ for each phenotype. Gaining knowledge of these differences could provide insights into the pathophysiology of specific forms of CVD and could eventually lead to modification of recommendations for patient management and disease prevention. We propose to use the linkage of the national registry of coronary events to general practice records in the Clinical Practice Research Database (CPRD), to investigate whether demographic, behavioral, and clinico-metabolic risk factors differentially influence the onset of specific types of CVD.
Despite advances in treatment of conventional cardiovascular risk factors, patients with kidney disease remain at high risk for fatal cardiac events. To date, kidney disease affects approximately 2 million Canadians; however, this patient population remains grossly understudied due to the complex nature of the disease. The inadequacy of the literature to address the cardiovascular-related mortality rates in those with kidney disease reflects the urgent need for investigation of novel risk factors. One cardiovascular risk factor which has recently been validated is the clinical measurement of cardiac autonomic tone (CAT). CAT refers to the amount of activity contributed by the stimulatory and inhibitory limbs of the cardiac autonomic nervous system, which work in concert with one another to control heart rate. CAT can be quantified computer analysis of heart rate over time, captured by a simple Holter electrocardiogram (ECG) recording. Abnormal CAT, which occurs when the autonomic system does not control heart rate properly in response to physical demands or stress, is associated with risk of adverse cardiovascular events in both healthy and high risk populations. It has recently been shown that patients with severe kidney disease demonstrate significant CAT abnormalities, thus exaggerated susceptibility to cardiac death. Vitamin D (VD) deficiency is also common in this patient population due to the fact that the kidney plays a crucial role in VD metabolism. Given that VD deficiency is an established cardiovascular risk factor on its own, it is possible that kidney disease patients experienced compounded risk due to the combination of VD deficiency and abnormal CAT. However, no study has ever investigated whether VD deficiency influences CAT in healthy or diseased populations. To our knowledge, this will be the first trial to ever examine the effect, if any, of different VD supplementation treatments (standard of care vs. combination) on CAT in a population burdened with overwhelming risk and incidence of cardiovascular and sudden cardiac death risk.
The purpose of this study is to use the BIS monitor to assess the degree of consciousness in pre-terminal palliative patients admitted to our palliative care unit and to ascertain if this tool provides a more accurate assessment of consciousness in this specific group of patients than clinical observation of consciousness and the use of sedation scales. We hypothesize that the measured BIS results provide a more accurate assessment of the patient's level of consciousness than routine clinical observation or the use of sedation scales.