Clinical Research Directory

Anesthesia Maintenance With Target-controlled Infusion of Propofol and Remifentanil at Fixed Ratio

The impact of anesthesia depths on early postoperative neurocognitive complications after total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) remains controversial. In some studies investigating TIVA, anesthesiologists mainly achieve the target depth of anesthesia by adjusting the dose of propofol, whereas the doses of opioids remains comparable between different anesthetic depth groups, possibly resulting inadequate analgesia. This study is aimed to investigate the impact of different anesthesia depths maintained by target-controlled infusion of propofol and remifentanil at a fixed ratio on the incidence of early postoperative neurocognitive complications in older patients undergoing noncardiac surgery.

Digital Sleep Optimization for Brain Health Outcomes in Older Surgical Patients

The Sleep Optimization for Brain Health Outcomes in Older Surgical Patients (SLEEP-BOOST) is a pilot randomized, controlled, singled-blinded (participant) trial in major orthopedic joint surgery patients that will build on a previously clinically tested cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) mobile application paired with a wearable device (wrist actigraphy).

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Postoperative Neurocognitive Recovery

Patients with preoperative cognitive impairment are at increased risks of delayed neurocognitive recovery (DNR) and postoperative neurocognitive disorder (POCD). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been used to improve cognitive function in patients with cognitive impairement. This trial is designed to compare the effects of rTMS versus sham intervention on postoperative neurocognitive function in patients with preoperative cognitive impairment.

Study on the Characteristics of Non-targeted Metabolomics and EEG of Delayed Neurocognitive Recovery in Elderly Patients

Perioperative neurocognitive disorder (PND) refers to a broad range of postoperative cognitive complications, including preoperatively diagnosed cognitive decline, postoperative delirium (POD), delayed neurocognitive recovery (dNCR), and neurocognitive disorders . Among them, dNCR refers to a decline in cognitive function that occurs approximately 1-4 weeks after anesthesia/surgery in elderly patients. It is associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications and an increased length of hospital stay. The identification of potential predictive biomarkers would be beneficial for determining the individual risk of developing dNCR and for postoperative management of elderly patients. Although some predictive markers for PNDs, such as inflammatory factors, tau protein, S100B protein, neuron-specific enolase, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, are widely known, most of them are postoperative predictive markers. The markers that can be used to predict PNDs before anesthesia/surgery are still largely unknown. Preoperative markers allow us to identify individuals who are susceptible to dNCR and intervene early. It is unclear whether the metabolic status of preoperative patients is related to the occurrence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). In the framework of systems biology based on genome, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome, metabolomics is the closest to biological phenotypes because it reflects biological events that have occurred in living organisms. Considering that metabolome reflects the metabolites of all biochemical reactions that have already taken place in an organism and contains a huge amount of information about an organism's health, preoperative patient metabolites may be a useful predictive biomarker. In this study, we used serum metabolomics to develop non-invasive, easily detectable, and inexpensive preoperative biomarkers from patient blood to determine the individual risk of dNCR and the relationship between metabolic system abnormalities and the pathogenesis of dNCR.