Clinical Research Directory

Fetal Cystoscopy for Severe Lower Urinary Tract Obstruction

The purpose of the study is to study the outcomes of maternal and fetal patients who are undergoing fetal intervention for severe isolated lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO).

Renal Anhydramnios Fetal Therapy

Early pregnancy renal anhydramnios (EPRA) is a condition where a pregnant woman does not have any amniotic fluid around her fetus because of a problem with the fetus's kidneys. This condition is thought to be fatal once the fetus is born because of inadequate lung growth. The Renal Anhydramnios Fetal Therapy (RAFT) Trial offers eligible pregnant women with a diagnosis of EPRA an experimental therapy of repeated or serial "amnioinfusions" of fluid into the womb. An amnioinfusion involves placing a small needle through the pregnant woman's skin into the womb next to the fetus. Warm sterile fluid with balanced electrolytes and antibiotics is then slowly infused into amniotic space inside the womb. The aim is to help the fetus's lungs grow enough so he or she can survive after birth. These amnioinfusions will be carried out by an expert in fetal interventions at a RAFT center. There is a significant risk of early rupture of membranes and early delivery in subjects who receive amnioinfusions, and any potential trial participants will be counseled about these risks before they decide whether to join the trial. Any eligible patients who, after counseling, elect to terminate the pregnancy will not be eligible to participate in the trial. All eligible patients who choose to join the RAFT trial will be able to choose their assignment into one of two arms of the study: (1) to receive serial amnioinfusions (2) to not receive amnioinfusions but receive monitoring for the remainder of the pregnancy at the RAFT center. Thus, assignment of patients to study arm will not be random, but will be decided by the participant. Fetuses who do survive after birth will require intensive medical management for kidney failure including placement of a dialysis catheter and dialysis therapy with the eventual need for a kidney transplant. Treatment for lung disease secondary to abnormal lung development may also be required. The study will follow babies and their families until non-survival or transplant. Update: Due to recommendations from the RAFT trial Data and Safety Monitoring Board, the trial is no longer open to enrollment for pregnancies complicated by bilateral renal agenesis as of July 19, 2022. Enrollment for patients with pregnancies complicated by other causes of fetal renal failure remains open.

Serial Amnioinfusions as Regenerative Therapy for Pulmonary Hypoplasia

Congenital lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO) is a heterogeneous group of congenital anomalies that lead bladder outlet obstruction. If a complete obstruction is present, the perinatal mortality is estimated to be as high as 90% because of severe pulmonary hypoplasia due to the lack of amniotic fluid. Survivors have significant risk of renal impairment (90%) requiring dialysis or renal transplantation if no fetal intervention is performed. Renal agenesis is the congenital absence of one or both kidneys due to complete failure of the kidney to form. As many as 33% of fetuses with bilateral renal agenesis are stillborn, and the rest of them die immediately after birth due to severe pulmonary hypoplasia. The objective of the serial amnioinfusions for fetuses with these conditions will be to reduce the severity of pulmonary hypoplasia (regenerating the lung functionality) and therefore increase the chance that the newborn survives to begin peritoneal dialysis. Although there is initial evidence that serial amnioinfusions are feasible for the pregnant women and the fetuses, there is still a need to have a prospective clinical trial to confirm the hypothesis that serial amnioinfusions could prevent severe pulmonary hypoplasia allowing the newborns with bilateral renal agenesis or severe LUTO to survive to begin peritoneal dialysis. Therefore, the investigators aim to study the hypothesis that serial amnioinfusions for fetuses with severe LUTO and renal failure and those with bilateral renal agenesis will reduce the severity of pulmonary hypoplasia and therefore increase the chance that the newborn survives to begin peritoneal dialysis.

Association of Urine BDNF and NGF With Lower Urinary System Parameters

Histologically, BPH is a benign proliferative process involving both epithelial and stromal elements and is characterised by progressive enlargement of the prostate. Symptom complex including increased frequency of urination, sudden feeling of urge to urinate, nocturia, difficulty in urinating, feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder, decreased flow rate and intermittent urination are called lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). The most important cause of LUTS in men is BPH. Many structural and physiological changes occur in the lower urinary system with bladder outlet obstruction. Detrusor hypertrophy and bladder hyperactivity may occur due to bladder outlet obstruction. Although the density of afferent and efferent nerves in the bladder decreases after urethral obstruction, enlargement of their trunks indicates that changes occur in these nerves. In addition, changes also occur in the neural pathways of the central nervous system following lower urinary tract obstruction. Nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain derived neurotropin factor (BDNF) are trophic proteins that act as retrograde messengers between peripheral effector tissue and the nerves that innervate it. In peripheral tissues, the source of NGF and BDNF is presumed to be the target tissues innervated by nerves. Smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts, astrocytes and other cells synthesise NGF and BDNF in culture medium. Many potential stimuli that increase NGF in the lower urinary system have been identified. These are denervation, inflammation and mechanical tension. This information has led to the idea that autonomic innervation changes in the bladder may be related with changing NGF levels. Altered afferent and adrenergic innervation in the obstructed bladder increases the possibility that NGF plays an important role in this neural growth because this type of nerves are highly sensitive to this neurotrophin. In this study, we investigated NGF ve BDNF levels in urine samples obtained before surgery (Transurethral Prostate Resection, Prostate Enucleation with Holmium Laser and Prostate Enucleation with Thulium Fibre Laser) and after removal of obstruction in patients with bladder outlet obstruction secondary to benign prostatic enlargement using ELISA method, We aimed to determine the role of NGF and BDNF in bladder outlet obstruction and bladder changes secondary to obstruction by comparing with control patients without obstruction.

Amnioinfusion for Fetal Renal Failure

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if serial amnioinfusions can improve the chances of survival for fetuses with severe kidney problems that cause low amniotic fluid (anhydramnios). Low amniotic fluid can affect lung development and may lead to serious health issues for the fetus. The main questions this study aims to answer are: * Can serial amnioinfusion increase the chances of survival for these fetuses? * Does this procedure improve chances of survival until dialysis and/or kidney transplant? Participants will: * Receive regular amnioinfusions, which is a procedure that adds fluid to the amniotic cavity. * Undergo monitoring to check the effects on the fetus and mother. This study will help researchers understand if amnioinfusion is a useful treatment for fetal kidney problems and may provide valuable information for similar cases in the future.

EEP in Patients With Urodynamically Proven DU/DA

The aim of this project is to create und evaluate a multicentral, retro-/prospective database for patients with urodynamically proven detrusor underactivity (DU) or acontractility (DA) secondary to a non-neurogenic aetiology, who undergo endoscopic, anatomic enucleation of the prostate (EEP).