Clinical trials

The goal of this study is to systematically determine whether the cannabis response in human females is related to SH fluctuations throughout the menstrual cycle.

This study aims to investigate the potential of supplementing psychotherapy with breathing techniques as a new online therapeutic approach to reduce social anxiety (SA). Clinically significant SA affects a substantial portion of the population (about 13%) and is associated with strong negative feelings of shame and anxiety in social settings. Such emotional distress leads to impairment in personal, relational, and professional functioning and may result in increasing degrees of social isolation. In response to the demand for improved treatments for SA, this project aims to explore the efficacy of a novel treatment approach integrating online psychotherapy with online breathwork sessions designed to induce ASC. We will recruit 96 individuals with SA, who will be randomly divided into two groups: one group will receive the new combined breathwork-assisted psychotherapy, and the other an active control intervention that does not induce ASC. Over the treatment duration, the effectiveness of these treatments will be closely monitored using established psychological scales and by observing patients in live interactions before and after therapy. This project is expected to open the way to a more accessible and effective treatment option for a large group of people struggling with SA. More broadly, the findings will also contribute to our understanding of how ASC, induced through breathing techniques, can be used therapeutically. This could change the way a variety of mental health conditions (e.g., other anxiety-related conditions and depression) are treated, making a substantial impact on public health and the way mental health disorders are approached and managed.

Rationale: Recent evidence shows that Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), even when administered in low, non-hallucinogenic doses, can produce analgesic effects and improve pain tolerance in a sample of healthy volunteers. Such results complement what was already observed with other serotonergic psychedelics such as psilocybin: survey studies and case series indicate that its use may lead to improvements in chronic pain conditions such as migraines, cluster headaches and phantom limb pain even at low, non-psychedelic doses. These effects have however not yet been investigated and confirmed in clinical populations under controlled experimental conditions. Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic condition characterised by widespread pain, hyperalgesia, anxiety, disturbed sleep patterns, impaired cognitive functioning and comorbid mood disorders. Most suggested therapies are only associated with small improvements in pain ratings and quality of life. Currently, there is no data concerning the effectiveness of serotonergic psychedelics in improving pain ratings in fibromyalgia patients. Objective: The present study will explore the effects that the administration of a placebo and 2 low psilocybin doses (5 mg or 10 mg) will have on pain perception in a group of fibromyalgia patients. Study design: The present study uses a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled design. All participants will receive a placebo and 2 doses of psilocybin (5 mg or 10 mg) and will undergo the Cold Pressor Test (CPT) and the Pain Pressure Threshold Task (PPT) o test its analgesic effects.

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether voice or capnometry, alone or in combination with other (non invasive) biomarkers can be used to detect emphysema on chest CT-scan in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The main question it aims to answer is: • Can a machine-learning based algorithm be developed that can classify the extent of emphysema on chest CT scan from patients with COPD, based on voice and/or capnometry. Participants will: * perform different voice-related tasks * perform capnometry twice (before/after exercise) * perform a light exercise task between tasks ( 5-sit-to-stand test) * undergo one venipuncture

The goal of the DRAGON PLC clinical trial is to determine whether portal vein embolization (PVE) combined with hepatic vein embolization (HVE) improves resectability and overall survival in patients with initially unresectable primary liver cancer compared to standard PVE alone. This trial specifically focuses on patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. The main questions this trial aims to answer are whether combined PVE and HVE increases the proportion of patients who become resectable within 3 weeks and improves 5-year overall survival compared to PVE alone by enhancing liver hypertrophy. Participants will: * Undergo either standard PVE or combined PVE and HVE. * Have regular imaging to assess liver resectability. * Be monitored for survival outcomes up to 5 years after intervention.

In the randomized controlled DRAGON 2 trial study subjects will be randomized between two arms, PVE alone (control group) and PVE/HVE (interventional group).

Mitochondrial diseases caused by defects in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) due to heteroplasmic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations are rare (frequency 1/5,000), but severe multi-system disorders. Clinical manifestations are highly variable, but predominantly affect energy demanding tissues, like brain and muscle. Myopathy is a common feature of mtDNA disorders, being present in more than 50% of the mtDNA mutation carriers, and seriously affects patients' general well-being and quality of life. Currently, no treatment is available for these patients, although the induction of muscle regeneration by exercise treatment has been shown to alleviate their myopathy. This implies that these patients can produce muscle fibres that perform better, most likely because the mutation load is lower. Mesoangioblasts (MABs) are myogenic precursors that have been recognized as a source for development of a systemic myogenic stem-cell therapy. Autologous MABs may be feasible for half of the mtDNA mutation carriers of 6 different mtDNA mutations, as their mtDNA mutation load in mesoangioblasts was (nearly) absent (\<10%). However, there are many more mtDNA mutations in the 16.5kb mtDNA and the aim of this study is to determine the mtDNA mutation load in mesoangioblasts of other mtDNA mutation carriers and identify the patients or mutations for which this is a feasible approach.

Amongst psychiatric illnesses, eating disorders (EDs) are notoriously difficult to treat and have a high mortality rate. The average duration of an ED is 6 years and for a majority of ED patients, the disorder will become chronic. Comorbid personality pathology such as negative core beliefs and early maladaptive schemas (EMS) are strongly related to ED severity and chronicity. Enhanced cognitive-behavioural therapy for eating disorders (CBT-E) is used as the first line transdiagnostic treatment for EDs. However, CBT-E is mainly symptom-focused and does not tap into these underlying core beliefs and EMS. Given the limited treatment effects of existing ED treatments, and the importance of comorbid personality pathology, there is an urgent need to examine more effective treatments for EDs. Group-schematherapy (GST) overcomes the limitations of CBT-E and preliminary results for treatment-resistant EDs are promising. However, robust evidence regarding the clinical and cost-effectiveness of GST for patients that do not benefit from CBT-E is not yet available. The central aim of this project is to investigate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of GST for EDs in patients with comorbid personality pathology, who do not show a clinically significant response in the first phase of CBT-E. This is relevant and important as studies examining the effectiveness of GST for EDs are scarce. This project is a joint research initiative of three academic centers (Dutch Universities), four large nation-wide mental health organizations, and two foundations for client empowerment and participation. Eligible patients will be randomized to either GST or continuation of their CBT-E treatment after failing to show a significant treatment response in the first phase of CBT-E. Based on encouraging findings from previous studies and our own pilot data, a statistically and clinically significant better outcome in terms of ED symptoms, negative core beliefs, EMS, schema modes, and quality of life is expected in the GST group compared to the CBT-E group. GST is also expected to be more cost-effective compared to CBT-E as GST may in the long run prevent chronicity in terms of long treatment trajectories and delayed recovery. Finally, with the proviso of good results for GST, we will disseminate and implement GST in the standard of care for EDs. This project thereby has great potential to improve clinical and cost-effectiveness of treatment for chronic EDs.