Clinical trials

Physical activity has been shown to improve asthma control in individuals with asthma. Patients with severe asthma frequently experience exacerbations, which often result in a physically inactive lifestyle. The investigators therefore hypothesize that patients with severe asthma who initiate biological therapy may particularly benefit from increased physical activity, both in terms of exercise capacity and asthma control. The aim of this study is to determine whether an individually tailored exercise program improves exercise capacity and asthma control in patients with severe asthma. Additionally, the study evaluates the effects of the intervention on asthma symptoms, frequency of exacerbations, lung function, quality of life, and body composition. The primary outcome is the change in exercise tolerance, measured as peak oxygen uptake during cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Secondary outcomes include asthma symptoms (proportion of patients reporting improvement based on the Asthma Control Test), frequency of exacerbations, changes in lung function (FVC and FEV1), asthma-related quality of life (AQLQ), and changes in body composition (body mass index and waist circumference). At baseline, all participants undergo fitness assessments, including cardiopulmonary exercise testing and muscle strength tests. Participants are then randomized into two groups. The intervention group receives an individually tailored 6-month exercise program designed by a sports medicine physician and a physiotherapist based on baseline fitness level. The control group receives standard advice to increase physical activity. Asthma medication is managed according to standard clinical practice in both groups. Fitness assessments are repeated at 6 months for all participants, and asthma control is evaluated at 6 and 12 months

Loop ileostomy and loop colostomy are both used as protective stomas after anterior resection. There is a lack of evidence on the superiority of loop ileostomy versus loop colostomy. This is a multicenter, open-label, superiority, individually randomized controlled trial including patients undergoing anterior rectal resection with primary anastomosis and a protective stoma. Patients scheduled for anterior rectal resection are randomized 1:1 to loop ileostomy or loop colostomy intraoperatively. Primary outcome is cumulative stoma-related adverse events within 60 days post-primary surgery (scored using Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI)).

This retrospective study investigates the association between perioperative plasma ionized calcium concentration and perioperative bleeding in open-heart surgery. Excluding patients who meet exclusion criteria, the study will include all applicable adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery at Helsinki University Hospital between January 2021 and March 2026. As clinical routine, during both cardiac surgery and the subsequent intensive care period, multiple blood gas analyses were performed, including measurements of plasma ionized calcium concentration. Time-weighted averages of all measurements will be calculated across different phases of surgery (pre-CPB, on -CPB, post-CPB) and the first 24 hours of ICU stay (0-6 h, 6-12 h, 12-24 h). Perioperative bleeding will be assessed using the Universal Definition of Perioperative Bleeding (UDPB) classification validated for cardiac surgery. In addition to chest drain output, this classification accounts for blood products administered to treat bleeding (red blood cells, platelets, and fresh frozen plasma), pharmacological coagulation factor concentrates (fibrinogen/cryoprecipitate, PCC, aFVIIa) and surgical interventions (open sternum, resternotomy). The association between plasma ionized calcium and UDPB class will be assessed with regression models. The primary analysis will be the association between time-weighted mean plasma ionized calcium level during the post-CPB phase as a continuous variable and dichotomous UDPB (UDPB 3-4 vs. UDPB 0-2) in patients who did not receive blood products during the post-CPB phase. One secondary and two sensitivity analyses will be performed

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common condition caused by pressure from a ligament on a nerve in the wrist, leading to pain, numbness, and weakness in the hand. Surgery to cut the ligament is often recommended when non-surgical treatments do not provide sufficient symptom relief, but it is unclear how much of the improvement is due to the surgery itself versus natural recovery or placebo effects. The FINCATS study will compare standard carpal tunnel surgery with a placebo procedure in which the ligament is not cut. Participants and the healthcare staff caring for them after the procedure will not know which procedure was performed. The study's main question is whether cutting the ligament provides greater symptom relief than a placebo procedure. In addition, eligible patients who are not willing to participate in randomized setting are invited to join a parallel observational group. Participants in this observational group are treated within usual care pathway. Participants in both the randomized and observational group will be followed for five years to assess symptom improvement, hand function, pain, quality of life, and any side effects. The goal is to provide reliable evidence to help patients and doctors make informed decisions about treatment.

The FINDISC trial studies whether common back operation, microdiscectomy, is effective and safe for treating sciatica caused by a lumbar disc herniation. The study includes people whose leg pain has not improved after at least six weeks of non-surgical treatment. The FINDISC trial aims to recruit and randomly allocate 122 participants to receive either the actual operation (discectomy) or a placebo (sham) surgery. The placebo (sham) procedure involves anesthesia and an approach similar to the real operation, but no removal of disc material or bone. Participants and healthcare staff, excluding the surgical team, will not know which treatment was given. The study compares pain relief, recovery, daily functioning, quality of life, and harms between the two groups. The goal of the study is to provide reliable evidence to help patients and clinicians decide whether microdiscectomy offers meaningful benefits compared with placebo surgery.

Double blind RCT study of tretment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection by FMT capsules.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of early initiated automated insulin de-livery (AID) treatment in type diabetes in children aged 7-16 years to glycemic control, diabe-tes distress of patients and caregivers, long-term micro- and macrovascular complications and cost-effectiveness compared to multiple daily injections (MDI) and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The immediate costs of AID therapy are higher than costs of multiple daily injection therapy, and there has been debate whether the more expensive AID therapy is justified. No research on the cost-effectiveness of AID use in children has been conducted so far in Finland, and there is generally very little research data on the long-term treatment of type 1 diabetes with AID systems. AID therapy has been studied from the point of diagno-sis of type 1 diabetes in two centers (USA and the UK) but from the perspective of maintain-ing subject's own insulin secretion. A long-term randomized and controlled study on the out-comes and cost-effectiveness of AID therapy, started from diagnosis of diabetes, is essential to create evidence-based data for optimizing current treatment recommendations. Our hypothesis is that AID treatment keeps the glycemic outcomes in targets in the long term and decreases diabetes distress. During longer time, AID system decreases the amount of micro- and macrovascular complications and is cost-effective treatment for children with type 1 diabetes (CwT1D).

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic developed approximately 60 years ago. Both ketamine and its isomer, esketamine, have been used for over 20 years in the treatment of treatment-resistant depression. Other treatment options for this type of depression include combinations of antidepressants, other medications used in depression treatment (such as lithium), psychotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy, and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. The advantage of ketamine and its stereoisomer, esketamine, over other treatment options is their rapidly emerging antidepressant effect, which becomes apparent within the first few days of treatment. Ketamine is primarily metabolized by the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 enzyme, but also by the CYP2B6 and CYP2C9 enzymes. However, information on the significance of these different enzymes in ketamine metabolism is incomplete. Due to extensive first-pass metabolism, the bioavailability of orally administered ketamine varies significantly and is, on average, only 8-24%. This makes ketamine unsuitable for oral administration. In the treatment of depression, ketamine is administered as a slow intravenous infusion. The concurrent use of medications that inhibit ketamine metabolism can significantly increase the bioavailability of orally administered ketamine. Cobicistat is a potent inhibitor of the CYP3A4 enzyme, which can significantly increase ketamine bioavailability and reduce interindividual variability by inhibiting ketamine's CYP3A4-mediated metabolism. This might enable the oral use of ketamine. Cannabidiol is a cannabinoid that does not have addictive effects, but may have antidepressant and anxiolytic effects. Cannabidiol might reduce the dissociative side effects associated with ketamine treatment. Clinically, cannabidiol appears to moderately inhibit CYP enzymes in the order of potency: CYP2C19 \> CYP2C9 \> CYP3A \> CYP1A2, and based on in vitro data, it also somewhat inhibits the CYP2B6 enzyme, which is involved in ketamine metabolism. However, its effect on ketamine concentrations cannot be assessed based on current knowledge. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential effects of cannabidiol, cobicistat, and their concurrent administration on the pharmacokinetics of orally administered ketamine. A secondary objective is to study the effect of cannabidiol on ketamine-induced side effects. Study Methodology: This is a four-phase, randomized, open-label, crossover study involving 12 healthy volunteers. On study days, participants will receive a 56 mg oral dose of ketamine in the research facility, alternately with water, cannabidiol, cobicistat, or both cannabidiol and cobicistat. There will be at least a two-week washout period between study days. The pharmacokinetics of ketamine and other study drugs will be investigated by taking blood samples according to a separate schedule for 11 hours after administration on the study day and the following morning. Pharmacokinetic parameters will be calculated from plasma concentrations of ketamine, cobicistat, cannabidiol, and their metabolites. The primary outcome measure is the total area under the curve (AUC0-∞) of ketamine. Additionally, the effects of the drugs on blood pressure, heart rate, and subjective adverse feeling of the study participants will be examined.

The purpose of the study is to compare the risk of PEP after pancreatic sphincterotomy performed for difficult cannulation in a group of patients with and in a group of patients without placement of a prophylactic pancreatic stent. The definition of difficult cannulation is defined according to the literature.

The aim of this research is to measure the effectiveness of Dance movement therapy in the treatment of adolescent depression.

The goal of this study is to compare safety and efficacy of laparoscopic cholecystectomy versus wait-and-see policy after endoscopic removal of common bile duct stones in elderly. The primary endpoint is a composite outcome: Death or major postoperative complications or recurrent biliary disease within 1 year after randomization.

The main objective of the study is to compare subjective efficacy of trans vaginal mesh and laparoscopic colposakropexy (CSP) in women with an apical prolapse. The CSP group is further divided into two sub-groups; one where the mesh fixation is only at the apical part of the vagina, and another where the fixation is also extended to the levator plane. The secondary outcomes are safety (peri- and post-surgery complications, pain, erosion), objective efficacy (simplified POP-Q), and re-operation rate. Subjective outcome also includes the assessment of sexual satisfaction. Cost-effectiveness is studied by comparing both direct costs and QALYs.

This trial is a prospective randomized superiority trial comparing sole ropivacaine based local trocar site infiltration to local infiltration combined with laparoscopic ropivacaine TAP block (STALL) in LCC. There are only a few randomized trials comparing sole local anesthesia to additional laparoscopic TAP block in laparoscopic cholecystectomy and they have yet failed to show evidence in favor of TAP block. We hypothesize STALL (Single Transversus Abdominis Laparoscopy-guided plane block combined with Local trocar site ropivacaine infiltration) is superior to local port site infiltration, provided that the sample size is sufficiently big. The aim of this randomized study is to compare the efficacy of sole local anesthesia of trocar sites to STALL in LCC.

The aims of this study are to find out how pain may alter the experience of emotions in the body in pediatric pain patients and how how their parent feel the emotions in their bodies. We are also interested how this possible effect is mediated by the duration and location of pain, mood changes or with the experience of bullying.

The main aim is the gain information of sleep structures in adolescents with persistent pain. Also to study simple interventions to support their sleep and pain management. The main aim of this study is to test the efficacy and feasibility of suggestive presleep relaxation technique in improving sleep quality and sleep-related emotional memory processing.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most treatment resistant malignancies, often diagnosed at a late stage and associated with poor survival. The 5-year overall survival rate remains around 10%. Prognosis is affected by multiple factors including tumor stage, biology, treatment response, and anatomical location. Distal (left-sided) pancreatic cancer, originating from the body or tail of the pancreas, accounts for approximately 20-25% of all pancreatic cancers and has been associated with worse survival than pancreatic head cancer, even when adjusted for stage. This may be due to histological, molecular, and embryological differences, and varied systemic therapy responses. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has become increasingly important in managing pancreatic cancer. It may improve outcomes by reducing tumor size, allowing for more complete (R0) resections, treating micrometastatic disease early, and identifying patients unlikely to benefit from surgery. While neoadjuvant therapy is recommended for borderline resectable and locally advanced tumors, randomized trials have not shown benefit for patients with upfront resectable pancreatic head cancer. Importantly, no randomized controlled trials have investigated the benefit of neoadjuvant treatment specifically in patients with upfront resectable left-sided pancreatic cancer, despite its distinct biology and worse prognosis. Retrospective data suggest neoadjuvant therapy may improve survival in left-sided tumors. A recent multicenter study reported significantly longer overall survival in patients treated with neoadjuvant therapy compared to upfront surgery alone. However, prospective randomized data are lacking. This multicenter randomized trial aims to assess whether patients with resectable left-sided pancreatic cancer benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy compared to upfront surgery. The study will reflect real-world clinical practice by allowing both commonly used regimens-FOLFIRINOX and Gemcitaine-Nab-paclitaxel -as neoadjuvant options. Previous studies have shown these regimens to be similarly effective, and switching between them due to toxicity or progression is feasible and does not seem to impair surgical outcomes or survival. This study aims to evaluate the benefits of neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery in a prospective multicenter randomized setting for resectable left-sided pancreatic cancer patients.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a metformin dose of 1500 mg or 2250 mg per day is better to treat polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in adults. It will also learn about the adverse effects of metformin. The trial aims to evaluate which metformin dose is better for: 1. improving biochemical and clinical outcomes 2. gastrointestinal side-effects 3. mental health and quality of life Participants will: * Be randomized to take metformin at a dose of either 1500mg or 2250mg every day for 6 months * Visit the clinic three times during the trial for checkups and tests * Answer questionnaires on menstrual cyclicity, mental health, quality of life and side-effects

The study includes a pre-study telephone interview with healthy controls to assess their eligibility for participation. During the study visit, a background information form and an asthma questionnaire are completed. At the study visit, a methacholine challenge test measuring airway hyperresponsiveness and an exhaled nitric oxide measurement are performed. The effect of medication intensification in asthma patients is further assessed through a telephone interview 1-2 months after the medication adjustment.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of BEATLE with clinical samples of patients diagnosed with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Dyslexia, and Mixed Specific Developmental Disorder. A randomized controlled trial with a waitlist design will be employed. The objective is to assess potential changes in perceived self-efficacy, self-compassion, executive functioning, and attitudes toward learning as reported by the participants, their guardians (parents), and teachers. Additionally, this study aims to examine the correlation between the usage of the Digital Care Pathway (DCP) and its effectiveness.

PILKE study uses wearables for assessing motor development in infants in order to define functional growth trajectories in the normal infants and infants at risk of neurological compromise. In addition, PILKE studies correlation of early motor development to later neurocognitive development.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if drug daratumumab works to treat kidney diseases other than AL-amyloidosis that fall under the category of monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS). The main questions it aims to answer are: Does daratumumab have an effect on the patients' renal function or the amount of proteinuria? Does daratumumab have an effect on the hematological endpoints evaluated by minimal residual disease (MRD) and the difference between involved and uninvolved free light chain (dFLC)? Also changes in quality of life (according to EORTC QLQ-C30) and mechanism of complement system activation are evaluated. The number of patiets with partial or very good partial hematological remission and the number of patients with adverse events related to daratumumab are also recorded.

The goal of this clinical study is to study sleep and its microstructure in neuropathic pain patients who have or who do not have a clinically significant sleep disturbance, before and during (after 1-month stabile dosage) pregabalin treatment. To find out whether reduced pain by pregabalin associates with improved sleep quality; to study, using resting state fMRI, brain network connectivity and the volume of the choroid plexus before and during pregabalin treatment (after dosage stable for one month) at baseline and during stabile treatment with pregabalin, and to compare the usability and reliability of sleep-related information collected with sleep diaries, actigraphy, iButtons, and ambulatory polysomnography in peripheral painful neuropathy patients. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Is pregabalin more efficacious in neuropathic pain patients who suffer from insomnia compared to those with no clinically meaningful sleep disturbance? * Does sleep disturbance due to pain associate with brain network connectivity and may these changes be reversed by pregabalin treatment? Participants will * Fulfill e-questionnaires and keep sleep diary before and after 1month stabile pregabalin intervention * Before and after 1-month stabile pregabalin medication: 1-week Actiwatch monitoring, iButton (1 day and night), ambulatory polysomnography (1 night), brain fMRI. Researchers will compare patients with high ISI score patients to see if they benefit more from pregabalin treatment than those with low ISI score.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare protocol based selective imaging to routine imaging in adult patients with suspected appendicitis. The main question\[s\] it aims to answer are: * Does protocol based selective imaging using clinical scoring affect clinical outcome? * Does protocol based selective observation combined with score based selective imaging affect clinical outcome? Participants will be randomized into three groups: * Selective imaging based on Adult Appendicitis Score * Selective observation based on Appendicitis Severity Score combined with selective imaging based on Adult Appendicitis Score * Routine imaging using ultrasound and/or computed tomography Researchers will compare selective imaging groups separately with routine imaging to see if number of negative appendectomies or number of complicated appendicitis is not significantly increased.

Thromboprophylaxis for pancreatic surgery can be commenced either preoperatively or postoperatively. Despite a clear trade-off between thrombosis and bleeding in pancreatic surgery patients, there is no international consensus when thrombosis prophylaxis should be commenced in patients undergoing pancreatic surgery. There are no prospective randomized trials in this field, and current guidelines are unfortunately based on very low quality evidence, that is, a few retrospective studies and expert opinion. Both American and European thromboprophylaxis guidelines for abdominal cancer surgery support the preoperative initiation of thromboprophylaxis, but these guidelines do not specifically address the increased bleeding risk associated with pancreatic surgery. On the contrary, Dutch guidelines recommend postoperative thromboprophylaxis only, because of lack of evidence for preoperative thromboprophylaxis. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Society Guidelines recommend preoperative thromboprophylaxis in pancreatic surgery, but the guidelines provide no supporting evidence for this recommendation. Overall, the amount of evidence is scarce and somewhat contradictory in this clinically relevant field of thromboprophylaxis in pancreatic surgery. The aim of this study is to compare pre- and postoperatively initiated thromboprophylaxis regimens in pancreatic surgery in a randomized controlled trial.

Thromboprophylaxis for liver surgery can be commenced either preoperatively or postoperatively. Despite a clear trade-off between thrombosis and bleeding in liver surgery patients, there is no international consensus when thrombosis prophylaxis should be commenced in patients undergoing liver surgery. As far as we know, there are no prospective randomized trials in this field, and current guidelines are unfortunately based on very low quality evidence, that is, a few retrospective studies and expert opinion. Both American and European thromboprophylaxis guidelines for abdominal cancer surgery support the preoperative initiation of thromboprophylaxis, but these guidelines do not specifically address the increased bleeding risk associated with liver surgery. On the contrary, Dutch guidelines recommend postoperative thromboprophylaxis only, because of lack of evidence for preoperative thromboprophylaxis. Traditionally, many liver surgery units have been reluctant in using preoperative thromboprophylaxis due to the potentially increased risk of bleeding complications. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Society Guidelines recommend preoperative thromboprophylaxis in liver surgery, but the guidelines provide no supporting evidence for this recommendation. Overall, the amount of evidence is scarce and somewhat contradictory in this clinically relevant field of thromboprophylaxis in liver surgery. The aim of this study is to compare pre- and postoperatively initiated thromboprophylaxis regimens in liver surgery in a randomized controlled trial.