Clinical Research Directory

Greater Occipital Nerve Block for Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension

Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension (SIH) is a debilitating neurological disorder caused by a cerebrospinal fluid leak (CSF), with an estimated incidence of 5 per 100,000 persons per year, of which mostly women between the ages of 35 years and 55 years. The typical presentation is moderate-to-severe orthostatic headache and several other possible neurological symptoms, that significantly impact patients' quality of life. Treatment of SIH usually starts with conservative measures, consisting of strict supine bed rest, hydration, caffeine, and simple analgesics. The vast majority of patients will require invasive treatments for their CSF leak, such as epidural blood patches, fibrin glue patches, endovascular coiling, and/or surgical repair. These specialized treatments are only offered in tertiary care centers and require specialized personnel and resources, which implicates a certain waiting time for the patients before permanent treatment is offered. In the meantime, due to the lack of an effective and accessible alternative, patients continue to suffer. The greater occipital nerve block (GONB) has been reported as a simple, safe, and effective treatment to provide short-to-intermediate term relief of migraine, cervicogenic headache, cluster headache, occipital neuralgia, and more recently, post-dural puncture headaches (PDPH). As the pathophysiology of intracranial hypotension caused by SIH or PDPH is very similar, it is stipulated that the effect of GONB will be similar for SIH patients. However, to date, no studies exploring the efficacy of GONB for SIH have been performed. The investigators propose to do a prospective observational study to explore the outcome of GONB for SIH. GONB can serve as a bridge therapy to control the debilitating headache of SIH while patients are awaiting permanent SIH treatment. Moreover, GONB can be performed by physicians of different specialties including neurology, which makes it an accessible treatment for all patients. Lastly, by offering better symptom control, this intervention could potentially restore patients' ability to work and reduce healthcare costs.

Blind Versus Targeted Epidural Patch With Autologous Platelet-rich Plasma for Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a condition characterized by refractory orthostatic headache, mostly due to loss of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Epidural patch with autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP), which contains numerous growth factors and cytokines, has been reported as a successful alternative for whole blood in dura repair. However, there is no report regarding the best approach to use: targeted epidural PRP patch (TEPP) versus blind epidural PRP patch (BEPP). Preliminary work has suggested that both targeted and blind approaches are effective when using whole blood for epidural patch. Furthermore, two-site blind approach could be considered as a viable initial treatment regardless of the identification of the leak for conventional targeted approach. In this study, the investigators aimed to investigate the non-inferiority of two-site BEPP compared with TEPP for the treatment of refractory SIH cases failing in conservative therapy.

A Clinical Registry of Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension

The purpose of this research is to determine the efficacy of paraspinal vein embolization for treatment of digital subtraction myelography (DSM) or CT myelography (CTM) confirmed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-venous fistulas so that researchers can inform the development and design of future clinical trials of this technique.

ONSD Changes and Treatment Response After Epidural Blood Patch in Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension

"This is a prospective observational study investigating changes in optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) and its association with clinical improvement following epidural blood patch (EBP) in patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH). SIH is a secondary headache disorder caused by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage or low CSF pressure and is often underdiagnosed due to its diverse and nonspecific presentation. ONSD, measured via ocular ultrasonography, has emerged as a non-invasive surrogate marker for intracranial pressure (ICP), with its diameter decreasing in states of intracranial hypotension. Prior studies suggest that posture-related ONSD differences (e.g., between supine and upright positions) may be more sensitive in SIH than static values alone, and that ONSD may increase following dural repair, correlating with symptom improvement. However, no studies to date have systematically examined the time-series evolution of ONSD around EBP in SIH patients. In this study, adult patients diagnosed with SIH and scheduled for their first EBP at our hospital will be enrolled. ONSD will be measured using standardized ultrasound protocols at three timepoints: immediately before EBP (T0), immediately after EBP (T1), and at follow-up admission two weeks later (T2). Measurements will be taken in both supine and upright positions at each timepoint to calculate posture-related changes (ΔONSD = supine - upright). Concurrently, clinical symptom assessments will be conducted using standardized instruments: Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for headache intensity, HIT-6 for headache impact, PHQ-9 and GAD-7 for emotional distress, and EQ-5D-5L for quality of life. These will be administered at T0 and T2. Primary outcomes include the change in ΔONSD over time. Secondary outcomes involve the correlation between ΔONSD and clinical improvement metrics (e.g., reduction in NRS or HIT-6 scores). Descriptive and inferential statistics will be performed, including repeated measures ANOVA or Friedman test for time-series data, and Pearson or Spearman correlation for association analysis. All ONSD measurements and EBP procedures will be performed by the same experienced anesthesiologist following a standardized institutional protocol. This study aims to evaluate whether ONSD can serve as a quantitative imaging biomarker reflecting treatment responsiveness in SIH.

Pathophysiology and Treatment of Cerebrospinal Hypotension Exploration Study

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the effects of a low-pressure environment on the brain in patients with intracranial hypotension and to potentially improve diagnostics and treatment of this condition. The primary objective will be: To investigate the change in clinical biomarkers measured before and after successful treatment. The secondary objectives will be: To investigate if clinical biomarkers can predict the outcome of treatment. Participants undergoing standard treatment for intracranial hypotension will undergo additional examinations and surveys and will be followed up for a year for the study.