Clinical Research Directory

Long Term Follow-up Study of AAVAnc80-antiVEGF Gene Therapy

This multi-center, observational, post-intervention LTFU study will monitor for safety and efficacy of AAVAnc80- antiVEGF in individuals with vestibular schwannoma who have previously received an intracochlear administration of AAVAnc80-antiVEGF in an interventional clinical trial

Anti-VEGF Gene Therapy Trial for Vestibular Schwannoma

This trial will evaluate the safety and tolerability of a single unilateral administration of one of three dose levels of AAVAnc80-antiVEGF and will evaluate the Akouos delivery device to safely achieve the intended product performance.

Evaluating Pre-Treatment Vestibular Physical Therapy Rehab for Patients With Vestibular Schwannomas

The study is a pilot efficacy study. The investigators aim to estimate mean baseline and post-treatment balance scores among Vestibular Schwannomas (VS) patients undergoing pretreatment rehab (PREHAB) or no PREHAB when managed with either surgery or radiosurgery.

Vestibular Rehabilitation Protocol in Unilateral Vestibular Schwannoma

Brief Summary The purpose of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether different strategies of vestibular rehabilitation, performed before and after surgery, can improve recovery in adults diagnosed with unilateral vestibular schwannoma. The main questions the study aims to answer are: Does preoperative vestibular telerehabilitation improve postoperative vestibular compensation compared with no intervention? Does adding preoperative rotatory chair stimulation to telerehabilitation lead to greater improvements in balance, dizziness, or hospital length of stay? The study includes three comparison groups: No-intervention group: Participants do not receive pre- or postoperative rehabilitation, but complete all study assessments (vHIT, DHI, posturography, and hospital length of stay). Telerehabilitation group: Participants complete a structured home-based vestibular telerehabilitation program (ReHub) for 3 weeks before surgery and again for 3 weeks after surgery. Rotatory Chair + Telerehabilitation group: Participants receive the same telerehabilitation program as the telerehabilitation group, plus six supervised sessions of preoperative rotatory chair stimulation (two sessions per week for three weeks), following a progressive protocol in the ENT department using a CE-marked clinical rotatory chair. Participants will: Attend routine preoperative and postoperative assessments (vHIT, posturography, and DHI). Complete home-based vestibular exercises through a digital telerehabilitation platform (Groups 2 and 3). If assigned to the Rotatory Chair + Telerehabilitation group, attend six in-hospital sessions of controlled rotatory chair stimulation during the three weeks before surgery. Undergo follow-up evaluations at 4 and 12 weeks after surgery. This study aims to determine whether structured vestibular training conducted before and after surgery can enhance postoperative compensation and reduce symptom burden in patients undergoing vestibular schwannoma surgery.

Innovative Trial for Understanding the Impact of Targeted Therapies in NF2-Related Schwannomatosis (INTUITT-NF2)

This is a multi-arm phase II platform-basket screening study designed to test multiple experimental therapies simultaneously in patients with NF2-related schwannomatosis (NF2-SWN, formerly known as neurofibromatosis type 2) with associated progressive tumors of vestibular schwannomas (VS), non-vestibular schwannomas (non-VS), meningiomas, and ependymomas. This Master Study is being conducted as a "basket" study that may allow people with multiple tumor types associated with NF2-SWN to receive new drugs throughout this study. Embedded within the Master Study are individual drug substudies. * Investigational Drug Sub-study A: Brigatinib * Investigational Drug Sub-study B: Neratinib

Study of Aspirin in Patients With Vestibular Schwannoma

This is a phase II prospective, randomized, double-blind, longitudinal study evaluating whether the administration of aspirin can delay or slow tumor growth and maintain or improve hearing in VS patients.

Measuring Vestibular Organ Function With Weak Alternating Current Stimulation

The goal of this clinical trial is to preliminarily evaluate the use of electrical stimulation in diagnosing disorders with the vestibular system. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can electrical vestibular stimulation combined with movement measurement be used to diagnose disorders of the vestibular system? * Can electrical stimulation provide treatment or rehabilitation opportunities for patients suffering from disorders of the vestibular system?

StableEyes With Active Neurofeedback

The investigators have developed a self-administered rehabilitation tool that incrementally guides the user to increase head motion to mitigate motion sickness and enhance postural recovery following centrifugation or unilateral vestibular nerve deafferentation surgery.

Hearing Outcomes Using Fractionated Proton Radiation Therapy for Vestibular Schwannoma

In this research study we are looking at another type of radiation called proton radiation which is known to spare surrounding normal tissues from radiation. The proton radiation will be delivered using fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) to improve localization of the small tumor target. Proton radiation delivers minimal radiation beyond the area of the tumor. This may reduce side effects that patients would normally experience with conventional radiation therapy. In this research study, we are looking to determine the effects of fractionated proton radiotherapy on long-term hearing preservation and controlling tumor growth.

Mapping of Vestibular Centers Activation Using fMRI in Patients With Vestibular Schwannoma

The goal of this clinical trial is to visualize the possible activation of vestibular centers in the brain using in patiens with unilateral vestibular damage, specifically in patients after vestibular schwannoma surgery. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Is there a difference in the proces sof activation of vestibular centers in patients with unilateral vestibular disorder and healthy subjects. 2. Are we able to effect this activation with our postoperative treatment? Researchers will compare the obtained results between patients with unilateral vestibular disorder and healthy controls. Participants will be asked to fill out the set of questionaires, to undergo clinical objective vestibular examnation and examination in magnetic resonance.

Steroids for Facial Nerve Function Protection in Post-surgical Vestibular Schwannoma Patients

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of steroids treatment compared with placebo in preserving facial nerve function after craniotomy in patients with vestibular schwannoma who have not received preoperative treatment and have good intraoperative facial nerve function.

Early Rehabilitation Using Head Impulse Test for Acute Vestibular Deficit

The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) induces a compensatory movement in the eye when the head is rotated, to maintain stable vision when we move. It originates in the peripheral vestibular system, which detects head movements. It is particularly effective for rapid head movements, as tested in the Head Impulse Test (HIT). In acute unilateral vestibular deficit (AUVD), the VOR deficit is compensated for by a substitution saccade, more commonly known as catch up saccade, that contribute to refocus the gaze and maintain vision during head rotations. Recent technological advances have made it possible to make high-quality recordings during HIT (video Head Impulse Test, vHIT), leading to the identification of substitution saccades of variable latency. Our team has shown that saccades of shorter latency lead to better visual function (Hermann et al., 2017) and that the cerebellum is involved in the development of these saccades (Hermann et al., 2023), suggesting a learning effect rather than the de novo appearance of particular saccades. The main hypothesis of this study is that the mechanisms underlying short-latency substitution saccades, which seems to guarantee good functional recovery, depend on learning occurring from the first days after an acute unilateral vestibular deficit. We also hypothesise that early physiotherapeutic rehabilitation of the VOR under Head Impulse Test conditions would promote this learning process and the development of early catch-up saccades. One of the causes of AVD is the resection of cochleovestibular schwannomas. This procedure involves a neurotomy, i.e. complete vestibular deafferentation, which is precisely known due to the scheduled nature of the surgery. The exact moment of onset of vestibular damage is therefore known, unlike other vestibular pathologies. Hospitalisation is necessary in the immediate aftermath of surgery, with the presence of physiotherapists on the wards. In addition, there is no spontaneous recovery of the vestibular deficit. These patients therefore represent the ideal acute unilateral vestibular deficit model for testing our hypothesis. Two studies using vHIT in the aftermath of vestibular schwannoma resection surgery (Pogson et al. 2022; Mantokoudis et al. 2014) also allow us to confirm the safety and feasibility of our protocol in this patient population.

CI Following VS Removal or Labyrinthectomy

This study is a prospective, clinical study to determine if it is safe and effective to use a cochlear implant over time in individuals undergoing removal of a vestibular schwannoma (VS), benign tumor of the hearing and balance nerve or undergoing a labyrinthectomy for treatment of Meniere's disease. Individuals undergoing these surgeries will be deaf on the surgical side after the procedure. Currently, cochlear implants are approved for use and not considered investigational in individuals with hearing loss on both sides. However, use of a cochlear implant for these patient populations (single-sided hearing loss) will be considered a new use of an approved device. Participants undergoing surgery to remove a VS or having a labyrinthectomy will have a cochlear implant inserted after the surgical procedure for clinical care. Approximately 4 weeks after surgery, participants will be fitted with an external speech processor on the surgical side that will stimulate the internal cochlear implant. Participants will return at the following intervals after the initial processor fitting: 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months. At each interval, participants will complete questionnaires on how they are hearing with the implant and their quality of life with the implant and be tested on their ability to hear sounds and understand speech. Potential risks are those associated with all cochlear implant surgeries, and include device failure resulting in removal of device, irritation or redness in surgical area and/or area where processor is attached, increased ringing in the ear, facial nerve stimulation and a change in the way speech and other sounds sound through the implant. Potential benefits to individual participants in this study include improvement in detection and speech understanding of the surgical ear. Participants may also experience improved abilities to locate sound and understand speech in noise as the result of having hearing on both sides.

Radiosurgery Induced Ototoxicity in Patients Treated for a Vestibular Schwannoma

The investigators aim to study the impact of stereotactic radiosurgery, for the treatment of vestibular Schwannoma, on the cochlear, vestibular, gustatory, and facial nerve functions and compare it with a conservatively treated group. The predictive value of radiological tumor characteristics on hearing preservation and vestibular function will be also evaluated. Additionally, the investigators will invite patients with vestibular Schwannoma to fill out questionnaires to assess their quality of life.

Intraoperative EABR for Decision Making

In this study patients undergoing simultaneous translabyrinthine vestibular schwannoma resection and cochlear implantation are included. The goal of the study is to correlate the eABR results with postoperative hearing results.

Cochlear Implantation After Gamma Knife Radiosurgery with EABR and Correlation to Postoperative Hearing Results - a Pilot Study

Patients undergoing cochlear implantation after radio surgery for vestibular schwannoma will be included in the study. Patients will undergo preoperative and intraoperative eABR measurement. Correlations to postoperative hearing results will be drawn.

Vestibular Outcomes in Vestibular Schwannoma

Previous studies have shown that vertigo is the symptoms that mostly affect quality of life in patients with vestibular schwannoma. There is still limited knowledge as to why some patients with this disorder develop vertigo, while others with the same diagnosis do not. The purpose of this study is to measure symptom-related quality of life and to relate this to objective disease characteristics at baseline.

Evolution of Vestibular Function After Treatment of a Vestibular Schwannoma by Gamma-knife Radio-surgery

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the vestibular effects of gamma-knife radiosurgery, as part of the treatment of vestibular schwannoma.

USPIO Enhanced MR Imaging in CNS Tumours (UMIC)

The immune response or inflammation is known to be a key driver of progression and growth in many solid tumours. Inflammatory cells called macrophages are present in high numbers in many brain tumours and these tumour associated macrophages or TAM are thought to have prognosis and treatment implications in these tumours. A key question, however, is how this inflammation or TAM abundance can be detected, measured and monitored in the clinic. A clinically applicable imaging test that can directly and accurately measure tumour macrophage content would be of considerable value and one technique that may provide this is USPIO enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Following intravenous injection, USPIO or ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, circulate in the bloodstream before being taken up by inflammatory cells/macrophages in tumour tissue, wherein they can be detected by MRI. This pilot study is to evaluate if a commercially available USPIO preparation called ferumoxytol (Feraheme ©) can accurately quantify macrophage abundance in brain tumours, with an exploratory focus on vestibular schwannoma (VS) and suspected transforming low-grade glioma (LGG). Patients with both non-growing (static) and growing VS, and patients with suspected transforming LGG will undergo dedicated MRI sequences before, immediately after (\< 2 hours) and at both 24 and 48hrs after ferumoxytol administration. In patients undergoing surgery, acquired imaging will be compared with resected tumour tissue so that markers of inflammation can be compared with USPIO uptake. Through advanced laboratory methods this study will seek to establish within resected VS and LGG specimens: the cellular destination/s of USPIO uptake; the nature of the inflammatory and/or tumour cells containing the USPIO; and the relationship between USPIO uptake and tumour blood vessel permeability or leakiness.

Evolution of Balance and Vestibular Function in Patients Treated With Gammaknife Radiosurgery for Vestibular Schwannoma

Vestibular schwannomas are benign lesions of the ponto-cerebellar angle that are potentially dangerous because of their growth in a cramped space and the compressive phenomena they can cause. Stereotactic Gammaknife radiosurgery is a treatment option that can be offered for evolutive schwannomas smaller than 2.5-3 cm in size. It allows tumor stabilisation in 85% of cases with less than 1% facial nerve damage risk. There are controversial results regarding hearing preservation : percentages vary between 25 and 80% in the literature, depending on the criteria used and the post-treatment delay. Few studies have investigated changes in vestibular function and the impact on balance of radiosurgery, and their results are variable. These controversial results lead us to comprehensively assess the vestibular function and balance of these patients using a balance-specific quality of life questionnaire, in addition to objective overall vestibular assessments of vestibular function.