Clinical trials

In this prospective, multi-center cohort study, the tolerability and quality of life during ultrahypofractionated radiotherapy (RT) of early stage prostate cancer is surveyed at several institutions in Germany. Radiotherapy is delivered by an online-adaptive RT device (Varian Ethos), which is able to correct daily variations in anatomy and to adjust the irradiation plan accordingly. A digital patient questionnaire is used to asses quality of life longitudinally. Quality of life (QoL) and toxicity profiles will be correlated with planning parameters and compared to retrospective cohorts of patients who underwent normofractionated RT or moderately hypofractionated RT, respectively.

The goal of this observational study is to learn if analyzing bile acid patterns can help predict dangerous complications in pregnant women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), a liver condition that can affect the baby. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can measuring specific types of bile acids (particularly taurine-conjugated versus glycine-conjugated bile acids) in the mother's and baby's blood help predict the risk of stillbirth and other complications? * Do these bile acid patterns activate specific receptors (TGR5) that might contribute to immune problems or heart rhythm abnormalities in the baby? * How do bile acid patterns in the mother's stool relate to her gut bacteria and the severity of ICP? * Can heart rate monitoring (CTG) combined with bile acid measurements better identify high-risk pregnancies? ICP is a pregnancy-related liver condition that causes bile acids to build up in the mother's bloodstream. This can lead to serious risks for the baby, including an increased chance of stillbirth, premature birth, and heart rhythm problems. Current monitoring methods (such as heart rate monitoring and ultrasound) often don't show warning signs before complications occur. Participants will: * Provide blood samples at each routine bile acid check during pregnancy and at delivery * Provide stool samples for analyzing gut bacteria and bile acids * Have their baby's umbilical cord blood collected at birth for bile acid analysis * Undergo standard heart rate monitoring (CTG) of the baby * Have ultrasound examination of the baby's heart (echocardiography) The study will compare three groups: pregnant women with ICP, healthy pregnant women, and healthy non-pregnant women. The researchers hope this information will help doctors better predict which pregnancies need more intensive monitoring and potentially prevent stillbirths and other complications in women with ICP.

Almost 90 out of 100 people carry herpes simplex viruses (HSV). Once a person has been infected with the herpes viruses, he or she can't get rid of them for the rest of her/his life. For the most part, the viruses are in a dormant state. Only when the immune system is weakened, for example in the case of a serious illness or stress, are the viruses reactivated. They then mainly cause cold sores, which are harmless for healthy people and usually heal without therapy. However, especially in people with a weakened immune system, HSV can also cause serious infections, such as meningitis. In almost every second mechanically ventilated patient in intensive care who has pneumonia, HSV can be detected in the respiratory tract. This is caused by reactivation of the viruses as a result of the severe underlying disease and stress during intensive care therapy. Whether treatment of the herpes viruses (e.g. with acyclovir) is necessary in this situation and helps the patients to cure has not been clarified, especially as acyclovir can also cause side effects such as a deterioration in kidney function. Currently, the physicians decide to treat the herpes viruses in about half of the patients. Several studies have shown that patients for whom the physician decided to treat the viruses survived more often. However, all of these studies looked at the course of the disease only retrospectively and thus are subject to many biases (including physician selection of who receives treatment, missing data). A definitive conclusion as to whether herpesvirus therapy can be recommended cannot be drawn without doubt from these studies. Therefore, the investigators would like to investigate in a randomized controlled trial, i.e. patients are randomly assigned to the experimental (therapy of herpesviruses) or control group (no therapy of herpesviruses), the effect of therapy with acyclovir on survival in ventilated intensive care patients with lower respiratory tract infection (pneumonia) in whom a large amount of HSV was found in the respiratory tract. The goal of the study is to provide clarity on whether therapy will help patients recover.

The aim of the study is to clarify whether the perioperative release of the cardiac biomarkers troponin I, troponin T and CK-MB consistently correlate with visualizable myocardial damage, and to what extent these biomarkers are comparable by means of their kinetics and dynamics. Due to the uncertainty regarding the validity of cardiac biomarkers in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction, the answer to these questions could have a considerable influence on internationally valid guidelines and definitions. International studies, especially in the field of coronary surgery and coronary artery disease treatment refer to these definitions, in particular, the adequate treatment of affected patients is directly dependent on them.

Autoimmune Encephalitis is a disorder of the central nervous system caused by bodily substances, called antibodies. Antibodies normally help the body to prevent infections. However, in this disorder, the antibodies turn against the body itself and especially against cells in the brain and disturb the normal brain function. They are therefore called autoantibodies. There is no specific therapy for patients with autoimmune encephalitis so far. At the moment, the symptoms are treated with approved medications such as cortisone and immunotherapies also used in oncology. These therapies are unspecified and aim to reduce the number of autoantibodies and to contain the autoimmune process. In this trial we aim to test a new therapy option: in this therapy the body cells producing autoantibodies will be specifically targeted by a substance called bortezomib. The trial addresses patients with severe autoimmune encephalitis. The aim of the trial is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bortezomib in patients with severe autoimmune encephalitis.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia. In atrial fibrillation, there is a risk that clots can form in the heart, especially in the left atrium. If these clots come loose, there is a risk of stroke. To prevent strokes, patients with atrial fibrillation and status post ICB can be treated with anticoagulants. This medication therapy prevents blood clots from forming in the heart, but can also cause bleeding. Another therapy option is the occlusion of the left atrium. After closure of the left atrium, only a short anticoagulation therapy is necessary until the occluder has healed. The aim of the study is to compare these two treatment approaches. In this study only already approved drugs and occlusion systems will be used.

The objective of this ITP registry is to collect clinical information, including biosampling, from consenting patients with a variety of ITPs at different points in the course of their disease.

The aim of this observational case-control study is to investigate, whether artificial intelligence can detect ultrasound-derived imaging characteristics typical for intensive care unit-acquired weakness. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Is the evaluation of specific parameters of neuromuscular ultrasound using AI-based image analysis suitable for detecting and monitoring critically ill ICU patients with ICUAW? 2. Do the results of AI-based ultrasound image analysis correlate with: (A) the severity of ICUAW (B) the visual grading of muscle echogenicity (C) the 30- and 90-day-outcome?

Here, the investigators propose to study host responses to reduced microbiome complexity driven by treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics in patients with severe infections or sepsis. The proposal aims to combine holistic approaches with emerging experimental technologies to investigate the complex interactions between the gut microbiota and its host and assess the impact of specific bacterial communities on longevity and stress responses. A strong focus of this study will also be placed on microbiome dysbiosis and secondary impacts on short- and long-term brain dysfunction using clinical, laboratory and imaging procedures.

The study compares the effectiveness and safety of TIPS implantation in patients with HRS-AKI (stage1, 2 and 3) and liver cirrhosis with standard therapy (drug therapy with terlipressin + albumin).

In every 10th pregnancy, the child in the uterus is insufficiently nourished, a so-called growth retardation. This occurs when the child cannot reach its growth potential due to an undersupply in the uterus. This inadequate supply is considered a developmental cause for the later development of physical diseases like cardiovascular diseases, sugar metabolism disorders and obesity as well as mental developmental problems (for example problems in cognitive skills, deficits in language development, concentration and attention). From 2002 to 2008, 111 patients with impaired placental blood flow were included in a small study and treated with Pentalong or placebo. From 2017 to 2022, the positive effects of the study treatment were tested on a larger number of patients. A total of 317 pregnant women were included at 14 participating study centers in Germany. In this follow-up study, the development of the children born in the two studies will be examined. The study consists of two independent parts: firstly, questionnaires are answered by the former participants and secondly, an on-site visit is carried out to check the physical and mental health of the child.

This study is supposed to make liver transplantation available for treatment in well selected patients suffering from non-resectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Donor organ shortage is currently the main problem for organ transplantation world-wide. Thus, the particular indication "non-resectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma" is currently excluded in terms of transplantation. Given those circumstances, transplantation via living donation might be the best option. This procedure does not reduce the deceased donor organ supply because living donation is the primary treatment option in these patients (not subsidiary).

Nearly one third of patients with colorectal cancer develop liver metastases. It is well known that the achievement of a R0-situation is one of the most important factors for a positive long-term outcome. Despite further advantages in multimodal treatment concepts, only 20 - 30 % of the patients with metastases can be resected in curative intention. Recent studies, especially from Norway, have shown that liver transplantation might be a feasible option in well selected patients since the complete hepatectomy with subsequent liver transplantation can be an option for the achievement of a R0 situation. In this study, we pursue the strategy of two-stage hepatectomy combined with a left-lateral living donor liver transplantation. Inclusion criteria are as follows: non-resectable liver metastases of a primary colorectal carcinoma with an assumed portal-venous drainage of the tumor and at least a "stable disease" after a period of eight weeks systemic chemotherapy. Patients are excluded from the study if there is an extrahepatic tumor burden (with the exception of resectable lung metastases) or if the patient is not suitable for liver transplantation due to co-morbidities. The transplantation itself will be undertaken as a living donor liver transplantation where the left lateral liver lobe (liver segments 2 \& 3) from a healthy volunteer donor will serve as graft. Prior transplantation, a left hemihepatectomy in the recipient is performed and the left lateral graft will be transplanted in this position. At the end of the transplantation procedure, the right portal vein will be closed to induce a rapid growth of the graft. The second step, and therefore the completion of the operation is performed after a growth period of the transplanted left-lateral lobe: in this procedure, the right hemi-liver of the recipient will be removed and the patient is supposed to be free of tumor at this point in time.

Intensive Lipid-Lowering Therapy guided by a cloud-based Software System (CLIMEDO GmbH) improves (European Society of Cardiolofgy/European Atherosclerosis Society) ESC/EAS-guideline recommended LDL-cholesterol target attainment and adherence in patients with ST-Elevation Myocardial (STEMI) and Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarctions (NSTEMI).