Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

This is a Randomized, Single-blind, Multi-center, Placebo-controlled, Phase 2a clinical trial of BX-001N to prevent patients from Cardiac Surgery Associated Acute Kidney Injury (CSA-AKI) and subsequent Major Adverse Kidney Events (MAKE) in approximately 50 participants.

Liver transplantation is a life-saving treatment for patients with severe liver disease. Because of the shortage of donor organs, transplant centers increasingly use donor livers that may be more vulnerable to injury and dysfunction. To improve the quality of these organs before transplantation, many centers use hypothermic oxygenated machine perfusion (HOPE or D-HOPE), a technique that preserves the liver under cold, oxygenated conditions. However, there are currently no widely accepted methods to determine whether a liver is functioning well enough during this preservation process. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether changes observed in liver tissue during hypothermic machine perfusion can help predict how well the transplanted liver will function after surgery. The study will compare liver biopsy samples collected before and after one hour of perfusion and will analyze biological markers released into the perfusion fluid, including markers of mitochondrial injury and inflammation. The main question this study aims to answer is whether histological changes occurring during hypothermic perfusion, alone or in combination with biochemical biomarkers, can accurately predict liver graft viability and post-transplant outcomes. Researchers will also evaluate whether these data can be used to develop an artificial intelligence-based model to support clinical decision-making during organ preservation. A total of 150 adult liver transplant recipients receiving donor livers treated with HOPE or D-HOPE will be enrolled at three Italian liver transplant centers. Participants will be followed for 90 days after transplantation to assess liver graft function, graft survival, patient survival, and post-transplant complications. The results of this study may improve the assessment of donor liver quality before transplantation and help clinicians make more informed decisions about organ use, ultimately increasing the safety and effectiveness of liver transplantation.

Ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury during abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair is inevitable and may lead to postoperative multi-organ failure. Remote ischemic preconditioning (short periods of ischemia in anticipation of longer period of ischemia) may act protectively against ischemia. Studies of ischemic preconditioning in patients with AAA are conflicting. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disordered breathing syndrome which may have a protective effect against ischemia. The investigators hypothesize that I/R injury will be less pronounced in patients who have OSA and that the extent of I/R injury will inversely correlate with OSA severity. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to compare postoperative complications and markers of I/R in patients undergoing elective AAA repair who do and do not have OSA.

The objectives of this study are to test the preliminary safety and efficacy of a two-day peri-operative course of treprostinil in reducing ischemia-reperfusion injury in adult patients receiving a deceased donor kidney transplantation. Treprostinil, a prostacyclin analog, is expected to facilitate the restoration of blood supply to the revascularized kidney graft via its vasodilatory actions, well characterized protective effects, and longer elimination half-life. These properties and actions of treprostinil make it a strong drug candidate to reduce kidney graft dysfunction during kidney transplantation. An anticipated 20 participants undergoing deceased donor kidney transplant will be hospitalized and intensively monitored during an entire two-day Treatment Phase. An IV infusion using a dedicated central venous line will be used to administer treprostinil commencing approximately 2-3 hours before transplantation of the kidney graft and will continue for approximately 48 hours after completion of the transplant surgery. The primary endpoints include the safety and efficacy of treprostinil, with secondary endpoints including the evaluation of both biochemical and clinical endpoints post-transplantation.

Brief Summary This observational study will follow patients who undergo DIEP flap breast reconstruction to better understand a common surgical challenge called ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. I/R injury can happen when a flap has a period without blood flow (ischemia) and then blood flow returns (reperfusion). This process may trigger inflammation and oxidative stress and is associated with fat necrosis or partial flap loss. 1\. What is being studied 1. The investigators will measure inflammation and oxidative stress markers in blood (for example, interleukin-6 \[IL-6\]) from before surgery through the first 72 hours after surgery. 2. These data will help map the normal and abnormal patterns of recovery after surgery and may inform future approaches to monitoring and protecting flap tissue. 3. No experimental drug or device is given to participants in this study. Separate animal studies are developing a near-infrared imaging and antioxidant nanomaterial (Mn/QD-SAC); this is not used in participants here. 2\. Who can take part 1. Women aged 18-70 scheduled for immediate DIEP flap breast reconstruction after breast cancer surgery. 2. Key exclusions include severe heart, liver, or kidney disease; significant clotting problems; active infection or autoimmune disease; long-term use of immunosuppressants/anti-inflammatory drugs; pregnancy or breastfeeding; or other reasons judged by the research team. 3\. What will happen if you join 1. After providing informed consent, participants will have blood drawn at five time points: pre-operative baseline (within 24 hours before surgery) and at 0, 6, 24, and 72 hours after surgery (about 10 mL each time; total \~50 mL). 2. Blood will be processed and stored under secure conditions and tested for inflammation and oxidative stress markers. 3. The investigators will also record routine clinical information from the medical record (such as age, BMI, surgery duration, ischemia time, and clinical assessments of flap outcomes and complications). 4. Participation does not change the participant's clinical care before, during, or after surgery. 4\. Risks and benefits 1. Risks are those of standard blood draws: brief pain, bruising, bleeding, dizziness, and rare infection. 2. There is no direct medical benefit to participants. Results may help improve understanding and future care for patients undergoing flap reconstruction. 5\. Privacy and data protection 1. Samples and data will be coded without names. Identifying information is stored separately with restricted access. 2. Research results are not routinely added to the medical record or returned to participants unless a finding has clear, actionable clinical significance and is approved by the ethics committee. 6\. Time commitment and costs 1. All blood draws occur during the routine hospital stay. There is no additional follow-up required after discharge. 2. There is no cost to participate. 7\. Voluntary participation Joining the study is voluntary. Participants may withdraw at any time without affecting their medical care.

In this study, we are trying to see if vitamin B6 can minimize the amplified blood pressure response to exercise following ischemia-reperfusion injury. We are interested in a protein called P2X3, of which function can be blocked by vitamin B6, in the neurons of our nervous system. It is very important for blood pressure regulation. We would like to see if the P2X3 plays a role in patients' rising blood pressure during exercise. The results of the proposed studies will provide a base for those two potential economic and non-invasive inventions to improve the overall health and well-being of PAD patients.

At the moment, the invasive strategy for the infarct-associated coronary artery in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) necessary to save the myocardium and reduce the size of the necrosis zone remains the leading one. However, despite the high efficiency of providing medical care to patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), there remains a high mortality and disability of this group of patients. In this regard, the search for new drug and non-drug strategies for the treatment of patients with ACS is actively continuing. Over the past decade, it has been shown that transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (TENS) has a cardioprotective effect both in chronic heart failure and in coronary heart disease, improves cardiac function, prevents reperfusion injury, weakens myocardial remodeling, increases the effectiveness of defibrillation and reduces the size of a heart attack. One of the methods of noninvasive stimulation of the afferent fibers of the vagus nerve is percutaneous electrical stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve. However, further studies are needed to determine whether stimulation of the tragus can improve the long-term clinical outcome in this cohort of patients.

Randomized (1:1), placebo controlled, double blind efficacy trial. 200 patients will be followed up for 12 months post transplantation. The primary endpoint will be Delayed Graft Function (DGF) defined as the requirement for dialysis within 7 days post transplantation.

A Randomized, Double-blind, placebo-controlled Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of Oral Nam for the Prevention of Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Undergoing On-Pump Cardiac Surgery

The study is intended to test the hypothesis that sodium lactate infusion after resuscitation from a cardiac arrest will decrease the magnitude of brain damage, as measured by the serum biomarker concentration of NSE.

Reconstructive microsurgery allows autologous transplantation of flaps. The procedure causes temporary ischemia. The absence of perfusion and the post-anastomosis reperfusion causes ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) damage and an increased percentage of flap complications associated with the longer duration of the ischemia time. In reconstructive surgery the utilization of preservation solution is very limited. The research hypothesis is that cold storage of free flaps might offer benefits. The present study is a RCT to evaluate the feasibility and safety of a cold preservation (using the UW solution) of the free flaps from I/R damage in oncological microsurgical reconstructions. Blood perfusion will be intraoperatively evaluated through indocyanine green and SPY-DHI. Moreover, patients' outcomes will be evaluated postoperatively through clinical and radiological examinations, particularly focusing on somatosensory recovery and dental rehabilitation after mandibular reconstruction.

Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is the process of repeated ischemia and reperfusion in the peripheral vessels, which is proved in reducing IRI in vital organs. This IMPROVE trial plans to enroll 648 patients who are diagnosed with coronary artery disease and are going to take off-pump CABG in five centers in China, to access whether RIC can and improve short-term prognosis.

The main purpose of this study is to increase the pool of organs available for donation by performing ARP to recondition donation after cardiac death (DCD) organs prior to transplantation. We will compare the outcomes of our ARP DCD liver transplants with historical data to determine the efficacy of this treatment compared to transplantation with standard DCD and donation after brain death (DBD) organs. We will also analyze biological samples from donors and recipients and compare them with outcome data in an effort to determine if any biological markers are able to predict the quality/success of the grafts.