Clinical trials

This study is being done to see if early acupuncture treatment can help men control their urination better right after their urinary catheter is removed following prostate cancer surgery (radical prostatectomy). Leaking urine is a very common problem immediately after this surgery, and current treatments often start after the catheter is already out. The researchers in this study believe that starting acupuncture before the catheter is removed might help "pre-activate" the nerves and muscles that control urination. This is a prospective, multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled study. The study plans to enroll 144 men who have had prostate cancer surgery. Participants will be randomly assigned (like flipping a coin) into two groups: Treatment Group (72 participants): Will receive 3 sessions of real electroacupuncture. Control Group (72 participants): Will receive 3 sessions of sham (placebo/fake) acupuncture. This involves using a special blunt needle that touches the skin but does not go in, and a machine that looks like it is on but provides no electricity. The acupuncture or sham treatment will be given 3 times (on post-operative days 7, 9, and 11). The urinary catheter will be removed for all patients on post-operative day 14. All participants will also receive standard education on pelvic floor muscle exercises. The main thing the researchers will measure (the primary endpoint) is the amount of urine leakage (in grams) during a 1-hour pad test, which will be done within the first week after the catheter is removed. Researchers will also check urinary control using questionnaires and other pad tests at 4, 8, 12, and 24 weeks.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if long-term use of memantine hydrochloride can treat, prevent, or correct castration resistance and drug resistance in advanced prostate cancer. The study will enroll male patients aged 18 and older diagnosed with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who have previously failed first or second-line treatments. The main questions it aims to answer are: What is the progression-free survival (PFS) in patients treated with memantine hydrochloride? What is the disease control rate (DCR) and what is the change in Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) levels after treatment? Researchers will compare outcomes from participants in this single-arm study to an external historical control group of patients who received traditional treatment to see if the addition of memantine hydrochloride improves prognosis. Participants will be asked to do the following: Continue their standard of care treatment, which includes Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) and a novel endocrine therapy. Take the study drug, memantine hydrochloride, with the dose gradually increasing over the first three weeks to a maintenance dose. Attend regular follow-up appointments for blood tests to check PSA levels and undergo imaging scans to monitor the disease status. These follow-ups will occur one month after starting the drug and every three months thereafter.