All Clinical Trials in United Kingdom

Many premature infants require respiratory support in the newborn period. Mechanical ventilation although life-saving is linked to complications for the lungs and other organs and its duration should be kept to a minimum. The use of supplemental oxygen may also increase the risk of comorbidities such as retinopathy of prematurity. Therefore, oxygen saturation levels and the amount of inspired oxygen concentration provided should be continuously monitored. Oxygen control can be performed manually or with the use of a computer software incorporated into the ventilator that is called 'closed loop automated oxygen control'(CLAC). The software uses an algorithm that automatically adjusts the amount of inspired oxygen to maintain oxygen saturation levels in a target range. Evidence suggests that CLAC increases the time spent in the desired oxygen target range but there are no data to determine the effect on important clinical outcomes. A previous study has also demonstrated that CLAC reduces the inspired oxygen concentration more rapidly when compared to manual control. That could help infants come off the ventilator sooner. With this study we want to compare the time preterm infants spend on the ventilator when we use the software to automatically monitor their oxygen levels with those infants whose oxygen is adjusted manually by the clinical team. That could help us understand if the use of automated oxygen control reduces the duration of mechanical ventilation and subsequently the complications related to it. Read Less

The aim of this project is to understand the heterogeneity of both the immune consequences and treatment responses in CS. We will explore this heterogeneity through identification of transcriptomic sub-phenotypes and their association with outcomes, including therapeutic responses. Read Less

Aim: Investigate whether patients undergoing specialist rehabilitation after complex neurological injury show different functional outcomes if music therapy is included in their rehabilitation program compared to usual care. Background: Patients with complex needs following a brain, spinal cord, and/or peripheral nerve injury often require a period of specialist neurorehabilitation. This involves multiple therapy disciplines, led by a Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine, Neurology, or Neuropsychiatry. Although music therapy is suggested to enhance neuroplasticity and recovery in patients with brain injury, it is not routinely commissioned in clinical care due to a lack of supportive evidence. Hypothesis: Patients undergoing music therapy in addition to complex specialist rehabilitation show better functional outcomes compared to usual care. Number of participants: 75, aged 16-80 years. Methods: Patients undergo baseline assessments and are randomised to MUSIC or CONTROL Therapy. Both arms receive 1-3 additional therapy sessions per week, matched for duration and number, total 15 hours. After approximately 10-weeks intervention, assessments are repeated. All participants then have access to music therapy until they are discharged from Neurorehabilitation Unit (NRU), with additional qualitative data collection using semi-structured interviews, field notes, staff reports, staff stress surveys, and broader ecological observations. Duration for Participants: From consent to discharge from NRU. Primary Outcome: Change in Functional Independence Measure+Functional Assessment Measure (FIM+FAM), Northwick Park Dependency Scale (NWPDS), and Barthel Activities of Daily Living pre and post 15 hours intervention. Secondary Outcome: Change in quality of life (Flourishing Scale), psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Depression Intensity Scale Circles), social interaction (Sickness Impact Profile Social Interaction Subscale), well-being (WHO Well-Being Index), and communication (Communication Outcomes After Stroke Scale), pre and post 15 hours intervention. Mean difference in well-being (WHO Well-Being Index) throughout the intervention period between music therapy and control therapy groups. Mean difference in post-intervention pain and mood visual analogue scores between music therapy and control therapy groups. Read Less

Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a malformation of brain development, the most common cause of drug-resistant epilepsy and often caused by mutations in mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway genes. Patients with FCD develop drug-resistant seizures. This study will look at FCD tissue removed during epilepsy surgery and aims to detect mutations in mTOR pathway genes in brain cells. Secondly, the investigators will establish if evidence of mutations found in brain cells can also be detected as circulating free DNA (cfDNA) in blood. By looking at which genes are made into proteins in individual cells found in epilepsy surgical tissue (single cell expression profiling),the investigators will attempt to identify new genetic targets in FCD. The main outcome will be finding new causes of epilepsy with FCD and the development of new diagnostic and screening tools. Read Less

The last 15 years the introduction of primary angioplasty has radically improved outcomes for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the system wide availability of prompt investigation has revealed an important group of patients where progress has stalled, the diagnosis is unclear and therapeutic approaches are uncertain. Myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) is found in 1 - 13% of all patients with a clinical diagnosis of AMI. These patients present a therapeutic predicament since coronary revascularization is not appropriate. Guidelines do not exist for their management - yet the condition is not benign - the 12-month prognosis, although better than obstructive coronary artery disease patients is still guarded with recent data suggesting many questions remain unanswered. Read Less

Background/scope There is growing recognition that family caregiving is a serious public health issue requiring supportive interventions. Family caregivers play an essential role in sustaining a stable environment enabling individuals with motor neurone disease (MND) that are technology dependent to live at home. The family caregivers can experi¬ence exceptional burden and significant decline in psychological wellbeing due to MND's rapid and pro¬gressive nature with profoundly debilitating effects and intensive support needs. Dependence on assistive technology adds an additional level of complexity to family caregiving due to the need to learn how to operate and troubleshoot medical devices, train other caregivers, and negotiate appointments with new specialties within the healthcare system. Despite the recognized impact of caregiving for individuals with MND, data are scarce as to effective interventions that provide direct practical and psychosocial supports. Difficulty accessing support may increase psychological distress. As the burden of caring increases due to disease progression and increasing technology dependence, access to existing informal support networks may diminish. Online peer support using virtual modalities is a flexible and low cost form of support. Peers, people who have experienced the same health problem and have similar characteristics as support recipients, can be a key source of emotional, informational, and affirmational support. Peer support improves psychological well-being of caregivers of people with conditions such as dementia, cancer, and brain injury. Although peer support programmes for family caregivers of people with MND exist, data as to their efficacy are limited. Therefore, we have developed an online peer support programme, completed beta and usability testing and now propose to test the effect on caregiver psychological wellbeing and caregiver burden. Aim/research question(s) Overall aim: to determine the efficacy of a 12-week online peer support programme on family caregiver psychological health and caregiver burden. Primary research question: What is the effect of the online peer support programme on psychological distress measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)? Secondary research questions: 1. What is the effect on positive affect, caregiver burden, caregiving mastery, caregiving personal gain, and coping? 2. How do participants use the programme (fidelity and reach)? 3. What is the perceived usability and acceptability? Methods The investigators will conduct a parallel group randomised controlled trial with participants allocated to 12-week access to the online peer support programme or a usual care control group. The investigators will enrol family caregivers of an individual with MND who is referred for consideration or receiving any of the following 1. assisted ventilation 2. cough assist 3. gastroscopy and enteral feeding i.e., entering King's clinical staging Stage 4A: nutritional support; or Stage 4B: respiratory support \[51\]: The 12-week peer-to-peer support programme entails: 1. audio, video, or text private messaging; 2. synchronous weekly chat; 3. asynchronous discussion forum; and 4. informational resources. The investigators will collect demographic and caregiving data including the Caregiver Assistance Scale and Caregiving Impact Scale, and caregiver measures (HADS, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Zarit Burden Interview, Pearlin Mastery Scale, Personal Gain Scale, Brief COPE) at baseline and programme completion. The investigators will download use of online peer support programme features, assess usability, and conduct semi-structured interviews to explore acceptability using the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability. To test for a medium size effect (d=0.5), at 5% level of significance (2-sided) with power 80%, 64 participants are required in each arm (128 total). Adjusting for 20% attrition requires 154 participants. Proposed findings The proposed study will demonstrate the effect of a online peer support programme on psychological distress, positive affect, caregiving burden, mastery, personal gain and coping. Data on programme fidelity will enable the investigators to objectively assess acceptability and interpret study results. Data on usability and acceptability will inform future scalability of the online peer support programme outside of the trial both nationally and internationally, and to other family caregiver populations. Read Less

What is the purpose of this research? This study includes two parts based in two NHS specialist centres for cardiac sarcoidosis: * Development of the CARD-SARC: Development of the new questionnaire to measure quality of life in cardiac sarcoidosis patients (the CARD-SARC questionnaire) * Validation of the CARD-SARC: Evaluation of how good the CARD-SARC questionnaire is at measuring quality of life changes in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis. Read Less

Phase I open-label trial of 123I-ATT001 monotherapy and in combination with treatment therapies in subjects with relapsed glioblastoma. Read Less

Patients with suspected or proven sigmoid colon adenocarcinoma, eligible for curative treatment whose MRI can be reviewed prior to surgery and has no decision regarding radical treatment are eligible. Patient are randomised to the control arm which the standard care of preoperative CT imaging and subsequent discussion by the Multidisciplinary Team or the interventional arm which has the additional use of MRI imaging and subsequent discussion by the Multidisciplinary Team. Patients are followed up at 1 and 3 years together with QoL questionnaires. Read Less

Eligible patients with high risk colorectal malignancy (T3/4, spread greater than 5mm, EMVI positive) will have additional surveillance of breath hold T1, T2 and DW-MRIs (no IV contrast) post surgery six monthly for three years. Findings of liver MRIs as reported by radiology PI will be shared with their local MDT who make decisions as appropriate, including the management of any identified liver metastases, according to local protocol. Read Less

This study will follow participants who are screened and confirmed with a genetic diagnosis of Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2E (LGMD2E/R4), Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2D (LGMD2D/R3), Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2C (LGMD2C/R5), or Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A (LGMD2A/R1). These enrolled participants will be followed to evaluate mobility and pulmonary function for up to 5 years after enrollment for participants with LGMD2C/R5, LGMD2D/R3, and LGMD2E/R4 with a North Star Assessment for Dysferlinopathy (NSAD) ≥ 25 at Baseline, up to 3 years for participants with LGMD2C/R5, LGMD2D/R3, and LGMD2E/R4 with a NSAD \< 25 at Baseline, and up to 3 years for participants with LGMD2A/R1. Additional participant data will be collected from the time the individual began experiencing LGMD symptoms to the present. Read Less

Patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with stent implantation require treatment with different antithrombotic drugs. Oral anticoagulants are prescribed to reduce the risk of stroke associated with atrial fibrillation. Antiplatelet substances are prescribed after stent implantation to reduce the risk of adverse cardiac events such as myocardial infarction or stent thrombosis. Treatment with antithrombotic medications can cause bleeding complications, particularly when these substances are combined. The currently recommended standard strategy consists of treatment with 3 antithrombotic medications for at least 1 week up to one month, followed by treatment with two of these medications for up to 6-12 months after stent implantation. Thereafter, patients usually receive long-term treatment with only one drug, an anticoagulant. In the monotherapy group of this study, the investigators will investigate a strategy where only one antithrombotic drug will be used at a time. During the first month after stent implantation, the investigators will prescribe an antiplatelet medication, followed by an oral anticoagulant as monotherapy. This strategy might be associated with fewer bleeding complications, while protecting adequately against thrombotic events. In this study the investigators would like to investigate whether treatment with a single antithrombotic drug ("monotherapy strategy") is associated with benefits compared to the currently recommended combination therapy of antithrombotic medications ("standard-of-care strategy"). Read Less