Clinical Research Directory

Applicability of Tissue Flossing for Blood Flow Restriction in the Upper Limb: Reliability and Performance Analysis

Blood flow restriction (BFR) is a widely studied technique that combines low-intensity exercise with vascular occlusion, resulting in muscular benefits. However, its application is challenging due to methodological variations and equipment costs. Tissue Flossing (TF) appears as an affordable alternative, but lacks solid scientific evidence.

Effect of Cross-Education in Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Training on Lower Limbs in Older Women

Unilateral resistance training has been shown to promote strength adaptations in the directly trained limb and also improve strength in the contralateral limb, a phenomenon known as cross-education (CE), with more pronounced effects observed in high-load training. However, high-load resistance training may be unfeasible for older adults. Blood flow restriction (BFR) training emerges as a low-load alternative that reduces joint stress, is easy to apply, and has low cost. Although there is already evidence showing significant effects of CE during resistance training with BFR, gaps remain regarding its applicability in older adults. This study aims to evaluate the effects of CE in resistance training with BFR on the lower limbs of older women.

Metabolic Imaging of the Heart Using Hyperpolarized (13C) Pyruvate Injection

The prevalence of congestive heart failure (CHF) in Canada is high, representing one of the health care system's most expensive diagnoses. Despite major advances in medicine, the mortality and morbidity from CHF remains great. Currently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used for non-invasive imaging of the cardiovascular system to enable the structure and anatomy of the organ to be visualized. However, current MRI methods have limitations when assessing and aiding in the management of CHF. A new imaging method has recently been developed that is showing great promise as a tool in the management of patients with CHF. Rapid imaging of biochemical reactions within myocytes using MRI has recently become possible through the use of the Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) and dissolution method. DNP-dissolution results in an intravenous contrast agent that is "hyperpolarized", producing a magnetic signal that is enhanced by up to 100,000 fold. The particular agent is carbon-13 labelled pyruvate. In this study, we demonstrate the first 13C-metabolic images of the human heart, along with the required hardware and data acquisition methods.

Reliability and Performance Analysis of the Use of Tissue Flossing for Blood Flow Restriction.

Blood flow restriction (RFS) is a widely studied technique that combines low-intensity exercise with vascular occlusion, resulting in muscular benefits. However, its application is challenging due to methodological variations and equipment costs. Tissue Flossing (TF) appears as an affordable alternative, but lacks solid scientific evidence.

Resistance Training, Detraining, and Retraining Study 2024 (TraDeRe2024)

The goals of our research project are to identify factors explaining inter-individual variation in responses to resistance training (RT) and the baseline determinants underlying an individual's sensitivity to respond to RT. Moreover, investigators aim to assess whether a responsiveness to RT predicts responsiveness to endurance training (ET). Thus, investigators aim to gain a deeper understanding of exercise adaptation processes. The main questions investigators aim to answer are: * Can the physiological responses of one RT intervention be extrapolated to a subsequent RT intervention? * If so, what are the mechanisms underlying differing skeletal muscle growth responses in low, and high responders of skeletal muscle hypertrophy? * If so, do the low responders of skeletal muscle growth respond more favourably when the amount of RT is increased? * Are the high, moderate, and low responders of RT also the highest, moderate, and lowest responders to ET? To examine these main research questions, high (n=30), low (n=30), and moderate (n=30) responders of skeletal muscle growth in response to RT (intervention I, NCT05874986) are reallocated into a subsequent 12-week RT intervention (intervention II) after a detraining period. A subgroup of these participants (n=10) will engage in a 6-week control period before starting the second RT period. Additionally, after intervention II, participants will participate in an ET intervention, lasting 6 weeks. In this intervention II, reallocated participants will be: * Resistance training with supervision for 12 weeks * Consuming deuterium oxide for the assessment of muscle protein synthesis * Consuming D3-3-methylhistidine for the assessment of acute muscle protein breakdown * Consuming D3-creatine for the examination of whole-body skeletal muscle mass * Providing a spot urine sample six (6) times, and urine collection for 24 hours performed twice * Providing saliva samples (30-32 in total) for the assessment of body water enrichment of deuterium * Providing a muscle biopsy four or five (4-5) times during the study * Providing a blood sample fourteen (14) times during the study * Assessed for body composition and body volume four or five times (4-5) during the study * Participating in muscle size, maximal dynamic strength and TMS measurements four or five (4-5) times during the study * Asked to answer questionnaires related to e.g. stress, physical activity, sleep, perceived exertion, and diet * Participating in recovery measurements before and after the second-to-last and the last RT bout, and once in the days between these RT bouts, consisting of six (6) body volume measurements and six (6) maximal voluntary isometric contraction (kg) tests using horizontal leg press for the assessment of neuromuscular recovery * Participating in an acute resistance exercise (RE) after the 12-week RT intervention. Furthermore, in the ET intervention, participants will be: * Participating in a familiarization session and resting electrocardiograph measurements before the intervention * Participating in endurance testing consisting of body composition, movement economy, and incremental RAMP testing before and after ET intervention * Endurance training with supervision for 6 weeks, three times a week.

Effect of Low-load Resistance Training vs. High-intensity Interval Training on Local Muscle Endurance

Local muscle endurance (LME) is the ability of a muscle(s) to resist fatigue and is needed for daily activities of life such as climbing stairs, lifting/moving objects, and in sport contexts like rock climbing, mixed martial arts, cross-fit, kayaking and canoeing. Therefore, the investigators want learn how to improve LME and understand what in human bodies changes during exercise training to cause these changes. The investigators know that lifting weights improves muscle strength which is believed to improve LME. Specifically lifting less heavy weights (LLRET) for more repetitions leads to greater gains in LME opposed to heavier weights for fewer repetitions. Therefore, lifting less heavy weights likely causes greater changes in our muscles than lifting heavier weights that cause improvements in LME. Aerobic exercise preformed at high intensities in an interval format (HIIT) may also help improve LME by increasing our muscle's ability to produce energy during exercise. Therefore, the investigators want to see which of LLRET or HIIT leads to greater improvements in LME.

Investigating the Effects of Krill Oil and Krill Protein on Post-exercise Muscle Protein Metabolism

The aim of the current study is to find out if krill oil can increase muscle building processes in response to resistance (weightlifting) type exercise. Others aim are to determine the effects of krill protein, and the interaction of krill oil and protein, on muscle building processes in response to resistance (weightlifting) type exercise.

COR-INSIGHT: Optimizing Cardiovascular and Cardiopulmonary Outcomes with AI-Driven Multiplexed Indications Using COR ECG Wearable

The COR-INSIGHT trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Peerbridge COR advanced ambulatory ECG wearables (COR 1.0 and COR 2.0) in accurately and non-invasively detecting cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary conditions using AI-based software (CardioMIND and CardioQSync). The study devices offer non-invasive, multiplexed, AI-enabled direct-from-ECG detection as a novel alternative to traditional diagnostic methods, including imaging, hemodynamic monitoring systems, catheter-based devices, and biochemical assays. Continuous COR ECG data collected in hospital, outpatient clinic, or home settings will be analyzed to evaluate the predictive accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and performance of these devices in differentiating between screen-positive and screen-negative subjects. The panel of screened indications encompasses a broad spectrum of clinically relevant cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, and sleep-related diagnostic parameters, which are critical for advanced patient assessment and management. In the cardiovascular domain, the protocol emphasizes the detection and classification of heart failure, assessment of ejection fraction severity, and identification of myocardial infarction, including pathological Q-waves and STEMI. It further addresses diagnostic markers for arrhythmogenic conditions such as QT interval prolongation, T-wave alternans, and ventricular tachycardia, as well as insights into ischemia, atrial enlargement, ventricular activation time, and heart rate turbulence. Additional parameters, such as heart rate variability, pacing efficacy, electrolyte imbalances, and structural abnormalities, including left ventricular hypertrophy, contribute to comprehensive cardiovascular risk stratification. In the non-invasive cardiopulmonary context, the protocol incorporates metrics like respiratory sinus arrhythmia, cardiac output, stroke volume, and stroke volume variability, providing critical insights into hemodynamic and autonomic function. The inclusion of direct-from-ECG metrics for sleep-related disorders, such as the apnea-hypopnea index, respiratory disturbance index, and oxygen saturation variability, underscores the protocol's utility in addressing the intersection of cardiopulmonary and sleep medicine. This multifaceted approach establishes a robust framework for precision diagnostics and holistic patient management. The COR 1.0 and COR 2.0 wearables provide multi-lead ECG recordings, with COR 2.0 offering extended capabilities for cardiopulmonary metrics and longer battery life (up to 14 days). COR 2.0 supports tri-modal operations: (i) Extended Holter Mode: Outputs Leads II and III, mirroring the functionality of COR 1.0 for broader ECG monitoring applications. (ii) Cardiopulmonary Mode: Adds real-time recording of Lead I, V2, respiratory impedance, and triaxial accelerometer outputs, providing advanced cardiopulmonary insights. (iii) Real-Time Streaming Mode: Streams data directly to mobile devices or computers via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), enabling real-time waveform rendering and analysis. The COR 2.0 units are experimental and not yet FDA-cleared. Primary endpoints include sensitivity (true positive rate) \> 80%, specificity (true negative rate) \> 90%, and statistical agreement with reference devices for cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, and sleep metrics. Secondary endpoints focus on predictive values (PPV and NPV) and overall diagnostic performance. The study employs eight distinct sub-protocols (A through H) to address a variety of cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, and sleep-related diagnostic goals. These sub-protocols are tailored to specific clinical endpoints, varying in duration (30 minutes to 14 days) and type of data collection. Up to 15,000 participants will be enrolled across multiple sub-protocols. Screening ensures eligibility, and subjects must provide informed consent before participation. Dropouts and non-compliant subjects will be excluded from final analyses.

Dynamic Proteomics and Integrated Rates of Muscle Protein Synthesis During an Acute Period of Loading and Unloading

Skeletal muscle plays several different roles in the promotion and maintenance of health and well-being. The loss of muscle mass that occurs with aging, chronic muscle wasting diseases, and physical inactivity puts people at an increased risk of frailty and becoming insulin resistant, and therefore imposes a significant burden on health care spending. Resistance exercise participation has proven particularly effective for increasing muscle mass and strength. This effectiveness can be used by health care practitioners in a rehabilitation setting to promote the recovery of individuals who have undergone involuntary periods of muscular unloading (i.e. limb immobilization caused by a sports injury or reconstructive surgery). However, there is large variability in the amount of muscle mass and strength that people gain following participation in resistance exercise. Some individuals fail to increase the size of their muscle (low responders) whereas others show vary large increases in muscle size (high responders) in response to the same resistance training program. People also show differences in the amount of muscle tissue they lose when they have a limb immobilized. To circumvent variability across individuals, the investigators utilized a within-person paired Hypertrophy and Atrophy ('HYPAT') strategy that reduced response heterogeneity by \~40% (Available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3445673). Specifically, one leg performed resistance training for 10 weeks to induce hypertrophy, whereas the other leg underwent single-leg immobilization for 2 weeks to induce atrophy. The primary goal of the study will be to gain insight into the molecular responses to an acute period of single-leg immobilization and resistance exercise (8 days). The investigators will use an integrated systems biology approach to monitor the individual rates of over one hundred different muscle proteins.