Clinical Research Directory

Comparison of Blended Care Outpatient Neurorehabilitation With Traditional Outpatient Neurorehabilitation

What is this study about? Outpatient neurorehabilitation (therapy after leaving the hospital) is an important follow-up treatment for people who have had a stroke, brain bleeding, or serious head injury. It helps improve problems with movement, speech, memory, or daily activities. At the same time, there are not enough healthcare professionals, and healthcare costs are rising. Because of this, we need new and more efficient ways to provide therapy. One possible solution is telerehabilitation. This means patients do part of their therapy at home using video calls and apps. Early studies show that this can work well. However, in Switzerland it is still rarely used. One reason is that digital therapies are often not paid for, and there is still limited scientific proof of how effective they are. In this study, we want to find out how well a combination of traditional in-person therapy and digital therapy at home works. The goal is to make treatment more modern, effective, and affordable - benefiting patients, therapists, and the healthcare system. How is the study organized? Participants in the study are randomly divided into two groups. Group 1: First, they do three weeks of combined therapy: 1. therapy day per week at the hospital. 2. therapy days per week at home via Microsoft Teams video calls. On home days, they also complete exercises using apps provided by their therapists. After that, they do three weeks of therapy fully at the hospital (3 days per week). Group 2: First, they do three weeks of therapy at the hospital (3 days per week). After that, they do three weeks of combined therapy (hospital + home video therapy). Both groups receive the same types of therapy, just in a different order. This is called a crossover design. Because this is one of the first studies of its kind, we are starting with a small number of participants. This is called a pilot study.

Testing the Effectiveness of a Novel Intervention to Improve Medication Adherence in Stroke Survivors

The goal of this study is to test if Savvy, a multimodal intervention (consisting of psychological exercises, a weekly pill organizer, and a text message reminder system) can improve medication adherence in stroke survivors. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can the Savvy tool improve medication adherence in stroke survivors compared to usual care? * Does the use of the Savvy tool lead to better blood pressure control after a stroke? The investigators will compare the use of the Savvy intervention to a control group that receives usual care, including a package of educational materials. The study consists of the following components: * Participants will receive the Savvy intervention or usual care. The intervention package consists of short psychological exercises over the phone, a weekly medication organizer to support daily medication intake, and text message reminders to take medication and refill the medication box. Participants in the control group will receive usual care, including educational materials about the importance of blood pressure and medication. * All participants will receive a free home blood pressure monitor and will be requested to measure their blood pressure at certain time points during the study. * Participants will be enrolled in the study for 6 months and will have virtual follow-up calls at 3 and 6 months.

Psychedelic Healing: Adjunct Therapy Harnessing Opened Malleability

The main purpose of the current studies is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of psilocybin in patients with chronic stroke.

International Care Bundle Evaluation in Cerebral Hemorrhage Research

Spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) accounts for approximately 10-15% of all strokes but stands for 50% of stroke-related morbidity and mortality. Approximately half of all patients with ICH have a decreased level of consciousness at hospital admission. Despite this, intensive care and neurosurgical interventions are uncommon. A study conducted in low- and middle-income countries has demonstrated a beneficial effect of a treatment package consisting of early intensive blood pressure lowering, as well as the treatment of pyrexia and elevated blood glucose levels. The I-CATCHER team is now planning to conduct a similar study in Sweden and Australia, as well as in other high-income countries. The study has a clear focus on implementation, aiming to improve treatment and prognosis for patients with ICH within a few years. The purpose of I-CATCHER is to investigate whether a structured treatment package (Care Bundle) improves 3-month prognosis in patients with spontaneous ICH compared to standard care.

Reducing the Burden of Cardiovascular Events With Antiplatelet Therapy in Patients With IntraCerebral Haemorrhage

BEAT ICH will be a pragmatic, randomised, placebo-controlled, blinded, superiority clinical trial aiming to recruit 5676 patients aged ≥18 years who survive ICH and assign them 1:1 to starting antiplatelet monotherapy (Aspirin 75 mg od) versus placebo for the entire duration of the trial for preventing MACE. Recruitment duration is for 2.5 years. The duration of the medication and follow-up will vary based on recruitment timeline. If recruited during the first year of the trial, the patient will take the medication for three years or until the trial ends or an event occurs, with a matching follow-up period. If recruited towards the end of the trial, he/she will take the medication for six months and be followed up for the same duration. The trial's follow-up duration is three years. The patients will be recruited for 2.5 years, and the last recruit will have a minimum follow-up of six months. No new patients will be recruited within the last six months of the trial, but all the patients will be followed up until the end of the trial.

AI-assisted Transcranial Duplex Sonography for Early Detection of Intracerebral Haemorrhage: HYPER-AI-SCAN

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate whether transcranial Doppler ultrasound, combined with artificial intelligence (AI), can help identify intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) in people with acute stroke (both men and women, adults of all ages) within 48 hours of symptom onset. The main questions it aims to answer are: Is it feasible to perform standardized protocol transcranial ultrasound in acute stroke patients? Can AI models trained on ultrasound images accurately distinguish haemorrhagic stroke ("ICH suspected") from non-haemorrhagic stroke? There is no comparison group, because all participants will undergo both CT (as standard care) and ultrasound (research imaging), and the AI models will compare their ultrasound-based predictions against CT-confirmed diagnoses. Participants will: undergo a non-invasive transcranial ultrasound scan after CT confirms the type of stroke allow researchers to collect coded ultrasound images for AI model training provide clinical and imaging information (already collected as part of routine care) to help evaluate factors related to diagnostic accuracy No treatments or changes to clinical care will be introduced as part of the study.

Stereotactic Thrombolysis With Tenecteplase for Supratentorial Intracerebral Hemorrhage

This is an phase III prospective, multi-center, open-label, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with blinded endpoint assessment. It plans to enroll 768 subjects with spontaneous supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage, who will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the investigational arm (stereotactic minimally invasive puncture for intracerebral hemorrhage combined with TNK liquefaction drainage, single TNK dose of 0.5mg per time or the standard medical treatment group.

Minimally Invasive Surgery For Patients With Spontaneous Deep Intracerebral Hemorrhage

This observational cohort study evaluates the safety and effectiveness of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) compared with standard medical management in adults with spontaneous deep intracerebral hemorrhage. Consecutive patients admitted to People's Hospital 115 and Tam Anh General Hospital will be enrolled within 72 hours of onset. Clinical and imaging data will be collected prospectively, and outcomes including survival and functional status will be assessed through 180 days.

Timing and Outcomes of Recovery After intraCerebral Hemorrhage

The TORCH registry is a prospective, observational cohort study, which will collect detailed, longitudinal data on the clinical characteristics, treatment modalities, and outcomes of patients with ICH. By leveraging a wide array of surgical interventions - including endoscopic surgery, minimally invasive surgery combined with urokinase, and craniotomy - the TORCH registry intends to provide a granular view of early hematoma evacuation surgical interventions and their impact on patient recovery and quality of life.

The EBC Recovery Study

The purpose of this research study to find out if clinically unconscious acute brain injury patients that show brain activation to music and language on electroencephalogram (EEG) (bedside test) have better outcomes and wake up in the future.

Statins for Treatment of Primary Intracerebral Hemorrhage

The STOP ICH trial is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded end-point (PROBE) study designed to assess the efficacy and safety of atorvastatin in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) presenting within 3 to 24 hours of symptom onset.

NICardipine for Fast Achievement of Systolic BP Targets in ICH

Quality improvement study with a quasi-randomized design. The study monitors the effect of a gradually implemented treatment algorithm prioritizing intravenous antihypertensives (e.g., nicardipine) over long-acting nitrate patches. It aims to increase the proportion of patients reaching target systolic BP \<140 mmHg within 1 hour of hospital admission while monitoring safety, clinical outcomes, and healthcare resource utilization.

Efficacy and Safety of Mirabegron in Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) accounts for 10-15% of all strokes without effective pharmacological treatment. Inflammation following ICH contributes to barrier disruption and peri-hematoma edema, leading to deterioration of neurological function. Preclinical evidence suggests that bone marrow hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) are swiftly activated after ICH. Thereafter, these HSPCs produce an increased output of anti-inflammatory monocytes as an endogenous protective mechanism. Stimulation of β3 adrenergic receptor using selective agonists promotes the production of anti-inflammatory monocytes in bone marrow, and thereby reduces neuroinflammation, brain edema and neurological deficits. This study is to assess the safety and efficacy of a β3 adrenergic receptor agonist Mirabegron as a potential treatment option in ICH patients.

Efficacy and Safety of NeuroEndoscopic Surgery for Large IntraCerebral Hemorrhage

This is a multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial comparing neuroendoscopic hematoma removal to craniotomy in the treatment of large intracerebral hemorrhage.

The Planetary Outcomes After Intracranial Haemorrhage Study

Over twelve million strokes occur worldwide every year, and stroke is the second most common cause of death globally. Strokes happen because blood supply to the brain is damaged. This can be due to a blockage (ischaemic stroke) or a bleed (haemorrhagic stroke - or intracranial haemorrhage). Intracranial haemorrhage can be life-threatening and patients with this type of stroke can be very sick, requiring urgent medical care including medications, close monitoring, and sometimes surgery. Strokes happen worldwide, but over 80% of stroke cases and associated death and disability occur in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), where resources to manage them can be limited. However, the differences in how patients present, the hospital care they receive, and their overall outcomes when compared to high-income countries (HICs) patients are not fully understood. There are many stroke-related deaths occurring each year around the world, especially among those who have presented with an intracranial haemorrhage, and if survival rates are to be improved, high-quality data is needed to help us better understand where the improvements in care are required in different health settings. Run and funded by the University of Cambridge, this study will collect data on all patients across all ages during a one-month period who undergo treatment for spontaneous intracranial haemorrhage, both medical and surgical. We will include patients from any hospital across the world that treats patients with this condition, collecting data from their admission to hospital until their discharge, death or up to 30 days from their presentation. This is an observational study, so we are only observing patients care and management, not making any direct changes to their treatment. We will also be asking each centre to complete a written survey, to better understand some of the more complex areas which are important for the care of intracranial haemorrhage patients such as hospital resources available, and the potential barriers they face in accessing appropriate healthcare.

Ischaemic Lesions in Acute Intracerebral Haemorrhage

The aim of this observational study is to determine how and why inadequate brain blood flow occurs after bleeding in patients with intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). Treatment for strokes caused by burst blood vessels involves reducing blood pressure (BP) to stop the bleeding. However, this reduction in BP may affect blood flow, causing blockages in blood vessels within the brain. Fast breathing also affects brain blood flow. Therefore, participants will be asked to undergo a simple brain blood flow assessment using transcranial Doppler (TCD) within 48 hours upon admission to hospital. Patients will then have a follow-up TCD assessment at 4-7 days post-ICH onset, in addition to an MRI scan at \>7 days. This research will help to confirm if blockages after bleeding are caused by reduced blood flow within the brain.

Early Minimally Invasive Image Guided Endoscopic Evacuation of Intracerebral Haemorrhage (EMINENT-ICH)

This is an open-labelled, single centre randomised controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of early minimally invasive image-guided hematoma evacuation in combination with the current best medical treatment compared to best medical treatment alone in improving functional outcome rates at 6 months after initial treatment in patients with spontaneous supratentorial intracerebral haemorrhage.