Clinical Research Directory

Probiotic Research: Open-label Functional Intervention and Longitudinal Evaluation in Healthy Adults

This study is a pre-post, open-label cohort study designed to investigate how a food-grade probiotic supplement affects biological measurements and wellbeing in healthy adults. Participants will take one capsule daily for either 1 month or 6 months. During the study, participants will complete online cognitive tasks and provide blood and stool samples collected during home visits by trained staff. The samples will be analysed to explore changes in gut bacteria and other biological markers. This study aims to understand whether the supplement is well tolerated and whether measurable biological changes occur. The study does not involve any experimental drugs or invasive procedures beyond blood sampling and stool collection, and participants will not be asked to change any current prescribed medications or treatments; with eligibility exclusions applying for recent antibiotics or immunosuppressants. The supplement is being studied for research purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent disease. Participants will be invited to participate in a follow-up visit to assess long-term effects.

Lifestyle Interventions to Prevent Cognitive Deficits in Subjects With Depressive Symptoms: From Mechanisms to Clinical Practice

The goal of this clinical study is to investigate if lifestyle changes can help prevent cognitive decline and reduce depressive symptoms in people between the ages of 50 and 80 with depressive symptoms or a diagnosis of major depression, but without signs of cognitive decline. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does regular physical activity improve mood and memory in people who are depressed or have depressive symptoms? * Does cognitive training help prevent mental difficulties in people at risk of cognitive decline? * Do changes in diet and lifestyle alter the composition of the gut microbiota and immuno-related infiammatory factors? Researchers will compare three different treatment groups to see which intervention is most effective in improving mental and cognitive health. The participants: * Will take part to online sessions on healthy eating based on the Mediterranean diet * Some will do regular exercise, supervised by a personal trainer * Others will do weekly cognitive training in small groups at the hospital * They will provide blood and fecal samples and complete cognitive tests and clinical questionnaires at the beginning, at the end of the treatment (12 weeks), and after 3 months.

How a Single Workout Affects Gut Bugs in Women With Different Fitness Levels and Body Types

This study aims to elucidate the differences in the gut microbiome functional activity and metabolome in adult premenopausal women with distinctive fitness levels and BMIs (with obesity, w/o obesity). The specific aims are as follows: * Aim 1: To examine the effects of acute aerobic exercise at 60-70% heart rate reserve (HRRmax) for 30 minutes bout on changes in the abundance of SCFA-producing bacteria and their functional downstream metabolic activity. * Aim 2: To examine the effects of acute aerobic exercise at 60-70% HRRmax 30-minute bout on changes in GM-released SCFA concentrations in stool and plasmatic metabolome.

The Influence of Probiotics on Metabolome and Heart Rate Variability in Heart Failure of Structure Heart Disease

Poor body weight gain and failure to thrive is a very common condition in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) with advanced HF and/or cyanosis, which are considered a predictor of morbidity and complicate the prognosis of CHD. Studies have been carried out an attempt to discover the mechanisms to improve the therapies and the prognosis of these patients. Some of these studies give the hypothesis that the gastrointestinal tract, more precisely the intestine, can collaborate with metabolome. Extra-intracardiac shunt and HF lead to hypoperfusion and cyanotic heart disease leads to hypoxia. These two conditions make the gastrointestinal tract of these patients to become more mal-absorption to food. Consequently, the poor intestinal microcirculation and resultant dysbiosis may contribute to poor body weight gain and the worsening of prognosis. As known, probiotics can help to maintain or recover the microbiota and maintain a healthy intestinal barrier. In view of the importance of microbiota to the metabolism and the possible beneficial effect in the prognosis of heart-failure patients and the performance of microbiota in maintenance of intestinal barrier, this study has as primary objective to verify the influence of supplementation of the probiotic Lactobacillus Rhamnosus in the patients with CHD. Malabsorption and dysbiosis in patients with CHD Poor body weight gain and failure to thrive is a very common condition in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Dysbiosis occurs in patients with CHD. Such dysbiosis and intestinal barrier dysfunction may become worsen after they underwent cardiopulmonary bypass, and complicate the prognosis of CHD. Probiotics and Metabolome in Heart failure Cumulative evidence shows increasing importance of microbiota and cardiovascular disease and health. Metabolomic changes are found in CHD patients with hypoxia. It is suggested that Lactobacillus strains function to promote cardiovascular-related conditions. However, the effect of probiotic administration on CHD remains controversial. The investigators propose that hypothesis that Lactobacillus Rhamnosus directly improve the body weight gain and indirectly improve the outcome of patients with CHD. Accordingly, the investigators initiate this clinical trial to testify the beneficial effect of Lactobacillus Rhamnosus on CHD.

Impact of SCFA Supplementation on Gut Microbiome Composition of Kidney Transplant Recipients

This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to evaluate the effects of high-dose short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) supplementation on the gut microbiome and host metabolome in stable kidney transplant recipients. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either 1000 mg of sodium butyrate per day or placebo for a duration of 12 weeks. Comprehensive profiling of the serum and urinary metabolome, along with analysis of the gut microbiome composition and diversity, will be conducted at three time points: baseline, after the intervention period (week 12). The biochemical parameters and the level of tacrolimus will be also examined.

Oncometabolome and MALDI-MSI in Upper GI Carcinomas - Chemosensitivity in Esophageal Carcinoma

Locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is a leading cause of death from malignant disease in Germany and has been characterized on a molecular level in recent years. This retrospective observational study deals with patients after esophagectomy with different risk constellations of esophageal carcinoma. An early and individualized therapy of this tumor in an approach of precision oncology significantly improves the prognosis. The metabolomic profile plays a central role in tumor plasticity and oncological outcome. At the same time, these factors affect the efficacy of chemotherapy and need to be investigated in more detail at the molecular level. A central element of this study is the investigation of phospholipid metabolism locally in tumor tissue, in adjacent normal tissue in terms of the tumor microenvironment and systemically in blood plasma. The focus lies on the validation of known oncometabolites that significantly influence tumor sensitivity to chemotherapy. By combining mass spectrometry imaging using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization - mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) with metabolomics using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), the metabolic profile of tumors can be analyzed in detail, allowing conclusions to be drawn about chemo-insensitive and therapeutically challenging tumors. Both mass spectrometric methods are used to understand the heterogeneous metabolism of the tumors and to describe possible constellations that are associated with increasing chemoresistance. For precise investigation, the cohort under investigation is divided into two patient collectives. Patients with a regression grade 1 after four sessions of FLOT chemotherapy are compared with a regression grade 3 according to Becker in the postoperative pathological assessment. This facilitates the development of personalized therapeutic approaches tailored to the individual oncological profiles of the tumors. The study is complemented by conventional HE microscopic examinations of the tumor itself and the tumor microenvironment, which allow to analyze the morphology and its correlation with metabolic alterations in the tissue. We hypothesize that adenocarcinoma of the esophagus with regression grade 1 encompasses a fundamentally distinct metabolic profile than adenocarcinoma of the esophagus with regression grade 3. Consequently, a stratification parameter within the local tumor metabolism and the tumor microenvironment exists, which correlates with the systemic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in blood plasma. The primary aim of the study is to create a comprehensive metabolic profile that clearly identifies tumors with a regression grade 1 versus a regression grade 3 according to Becker. This will be used to improve diagnostics and develop personalized treatment strategies that increase treatment efficiency and patients' chances of survival. This is ultimately carried out with the intention of achieving an improved survival rate and a higher quality of life for patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer. The comprehensive analysis of the tumor microenvironment and the morphological and metabolic profiles should provide new insights into the mechanisms of tumor progression and resistance, which in turn will form the basis for future translational research and treatment approaches. The findings from this study have the potential to change the way esophageal cancer is treated by contributing to the development of stratified therapeutic approaches tailored to the molecular subtype of esophageal cancer.

Impact of the Microbiome on Time to Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes in Fertile Women Attempting to Conceive

This study aims to investigate the microbiome of women with previously proven fertility who plan to become pregnant.