Clinical trials

This study is a single-center, prospective, split-face self-controlled pilot trial designed to evaluate the anti-aging and whitening efficacy of the "Deep Microspicule Cream" (containing patented crystal microspicules encapsulating Penghu seaweed extract) on mature skin.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a major global public health concern characterized by impaired cardiac function, high mortality, frequent hospital readmissions, and substantial healthcare burden. Autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of HF, typically presenting as increased sympathetic activity and reduced parasympathetic activity. Heart rate variability (HRV), a non-invasive marker of cardiac autonomic regulation, has been widely used to evaluate autonomic function and predict clinical outcomes in patients with HF. Reduced HRV is associated with increased risks of sudden cardiac death, cardiovascular events, and hospital readmission. Although cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been demonstrated to improve exercise capacity, quality of life, and clinical outcomes in HF patients, its effects on autonomic modulation, particularly during Phase I cardiac rehabilitation, remain insufficiently investigated. Slow-paced breathing (SPB) has emerged as a potential non-pharmacological intervention for enhancing autonomic regulation. By synchronizing respiratory rhythm with cardiovascular oscillations, SPB may enhance baroreflex sensitivity, increase vagal activity, and improve HRV. Previous studies have suggested beneficial effects of SPB on autonomic function; however, the findings remain inconsistent, and evidence regarding its short-term effects on HRV among hospitalized HF patients undergoing early cardiac rehabilitation is limited. Therefore, further investigation is warranted to determine whether SPB can provide additional autonomic benefits when incorporated into Phase I cardiac rehabilitation. Objective: This study aims to investigate the effects of slow-paced breathing combined with Phase I cardiac rehabilitation on autonomic nervous system function in patients with heart failure, using HRV as the primary outcome measure. Methods: This study will employ a parallel randomized controlled trial design. Hospitalized patients diagnosed with heart failure will be randomly allocated into either the SPB intervention group or the control group. Both groups will receive standard Phase I cardiac rehabilitation, while the intervention group will additionally receive slow-paced breathing training. The primary outcomes will include changes in HRV parameters, including time-domain indices (standard deviation of NN intervals \[SDNN\] and root mean square of successive differences \[RMSSD\]) and frequency-domain indices (low-frequency power \[LF\], high-frequency power \[HF\], and LF/HF ratio), to evaluate changes in cardiac autonomic regulation before and after intervention.

This retrospective observational target-trial emulation uses electronic health record data from the TriNetX US Collaborative Network to compare preadmission glucose-lowering treatment strategies in adults with type 2 diabetes hospitalized with pneumonia. Time zero is the date of the index pneumonia admission. The study compares patients with evidence of prescriptions for both a GLP-1 receptor agonist and an SGLT2 inhibitor in the year before admission with patients prescribed a GLP-1 receptor agonist alone, an SGLT2 inhibitor alone, or usual care. Usual care includes metformin, sulfonylureas, or DPP-4 inhibitors without either study class. The primary outcome is a composite of all-cause death, invasive mechanical ventilation, or renal replacement therapy within 30 days of admission, with the individual components and 12-month mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events, and major adverse kidney events also evaluated. Propensity-score methods are used to reduce bias from nonrandom treatment selection.

This study aims to examine the relationships among life balance, parenting stress, and mental health in parents of preschool children, and to develop an individualized life balance promotion program for this population. Parents of preschool children will be recruited to support program development and to evaluate its feasibility and effectiveness.

This study aims to investigate the effects of repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with modified otago exercise program balance training intervention on motor cortex excitability, balance, and gait performance in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Prediabetes is a metabolic condition characterized by elevated blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but below the diagnostic threshold for diabetes. Early intervention to improve glycemic control may help delay the progression to type 2 diabetes. Momordica charantia (bitter melon) peptides have been reported to possess potential glucose-regulating effects. This study aims to evaluate the effects of BmpP® bitter melon peptide supplementation on glycemic control in adults with prediabetes. This study is designed as a 12-week single-arm, open-label clinical trial. Approximately 12 adults aged 30-65 years with prediabetes will be recruited. Participants will consume bitter melon peptide capsules three times daily before meals for 12 weeks. Primary outcomes include fasting blood glucose, postprandial glucose response, and HbA1c levels. The findings of this study may provide preliminary evidence regarding the potential role of bitter melon peptides in blood glucose regulation.

Background and Purpose: Lung resection surgery is the standard treatment for early-stage lung adenocarcinoma, but it often leads to reduced lung volume and postoperative pain, which can hinder pulmonary recovery. While standard rehabilitation includes breathing exercises (incentive spirometry) and pain management, additional strategies are needed to enhance recovery. Acupuncture has shown benefits in managing respiratory diseases like COPD and reducing surgical pain, but its specific effectiveness in rehabilitation after lung resection has not yet been established. This study aims to evaluate whether adding acupuncture to standard postoperative care can further improve lung function and recovery. Study Design and Methods: This is a randomized controlled clinical trial. Participants who have undergone lung resection will be assigned to one of two groups: Control Group: Receives standard rehabilitation (lung volume training with incentive spirometry). Intervention Group: Receives standard rehabilitation plus acupuncture therapy. Evaluation: One week after surgery, researchers will perform pulmonary function tests on all participants. The study will compare the two groups primarily based on improvements in lung function. Secondary outcomes, including pain levels and quality of life, will also be assessed to determine the overall benefit and safety of integrating acupuncture into postoperative recovery.

Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Taiwan and worldwide and the incidence is also increasing. The payment for lung cancer which occupies the largest part of National Health Insurance expense is over 15 billion in 2018. Because about 80% lung cancer patients are smokers in western countries the low-dose computed tomography screening focuses on the smoking population It is quite different in South-East Asia particularly in Taiwan that 53% of Taiwan lung cancer are never-smokers and the etiology and the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. The preliminary results of prospective TALENT study indicated that family history plays a key role in tumorigenesis of Taiwan lung cancers but several important variables such as air pollution, biomarkers, radiomics analysis are not available limits the accuracy of lung cancer identification. Hence, it is critical to integrate most of factors involved in lung cancer formation into a multidimensional lung cancer prediction model which could benefit never-smoker lung cancers in Taiwan and East Asia even in the western countries. The investigators initiate a clinical study to validate the multidimensional lung cancer prediction model for never-smoking population by multicenter prospective study.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide in spite of the advanced progresses in medication and low-dose CT screening. The early-stage lung cancer accounts for less than 50% of newly diagnosed lung cancer in Taiwan, even in stage IB patients proximately 30% still suffer from recurrence and metastasis. The International Cancer Moonshot Project recently established the first comprehensive proteogenomics profiling of early-stage lung cancer patients in East Asia, revealing a proteomics-informed classification to identify a new "late like" subtype, which can identify a subgroup of early-stage patients with worse clinicopathological features (Cell, Cover story, 2020). This study has been featured in prestigious journals (Nat Rev Clin Oncol; Cancer Discov, 2020) and led to two provisional US patents. In this proposal, taking the discovery from the Cancer Moonshot multiomics database, the investigators aim to translate these findings into clinical utilities. Two subprojects are proposed. (1) Validation of "late-like" protein markers for identifying high-risk early-stage lung cancer: Two IVD kits will be developed, including high-risk early-stage lung cancer IHC prediction kit for tumor staining and high-risk early lung cancer ELISA prediction kit for noninvasive diagnosis. (2) Conducting a prospective clinical trial to evaluate the accuracy of high-risk early-stage lung cancer IHC prediction kit and high-risk early-stage lung cancer ELISA prediction kit.

Study design: prospective, single arm. Objectives: survey lung cancer detection rate of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening in individuals who had never smoked. Participants will undergo questionnaires, and collecting specimens including blood, urine, and medical informations including results of pulmonary function tests, and LDCT screening upon inclusion. The participants will be followed up according to current standards of clinical practice.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of 1 capsules of ABKefir per day on symptoms of constipation in subjects with functional constipation by clinical trial.

This study aims to investigate the effects of RT-90 resistant cassava starch on glycemic control using a human dietary trial and to evaluate its potential as a prebiotic fiber supplement. This study will assess the efficacy of RT-90 resistant cassava starch in improving glycemic control, body composition, and gut microbiome in healthy individuals.

This single-center randomized controlled trial evaluates the effects of cold (15-20°C) versus room-temperature (30-35°C) water gargling on oral mucositis severity, pain, and comfort in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing radiotherapy. Participants will rinse their mouth four times daily for 30-60 seconds over a 6-week radiotherapy course, with follow-up for two additional weeks. The study hypothesizes that cold-water rinsing can reduce the severity of radiation-induced oral mucositis (RTOM) and pain, improve oral comfort, and minimize treatment interruptions.

A clinical human dietary intervention trial was conducted to investigate the effects of GLP-1 FORMUL liquid supplementation in individuals with prediabetes or obesity, with a focus on improvements in glycemic and lipid parameters, body composition, and gut microbiota profiles.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in Taiwan and globally, with increasing incidence and the highest healthcare cost burden among cancers in Taiwan. Despite the widespread use of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for screening smokers, over half of lung cancer cases in Taiwan occur in never-smokers, highlighting the need for improved risk stratification. Current national LDCT screening programs do not collect comprehensive risk-related data, limiting their predictive accuracy. This project proposes a five-year, multi-center initiative to establish an integrated biospecimen and clinical data collection system. In its first year, a feasibility pilot will be conducted, followed by recruitment of 12,000 participants. Data collection will include biospecimens (blood, urine, tissue), genomic and proteomic analyses, imaging, and detailed questionnaires covering lifestyle, environmental, and occupational exposures. The project will also develop and validate lung cancer prediction models incorporating epidemiologic, biomarker, air pollution, and imaging data. A Common Data Model (CDM) will be implemented to ensure cross-institutional data standardization and support future international collaboration.

The goal of this clinical trial is to explore the effect of Lactobacillus johnsonii and white pomegranate extract on female bacterial status, it aims to answer are: * Evaluate Lactobacillus johnsonii TCI250 probiotics or white pomegranate extract in regulating female vaginal bacteria and improving vaginal health. * Evaluate Lactobacillus johnsonii TCI250 probiotics or white pomegranate extract in regulating inflammation. Participants will be randomly assigned to placebo (n = 50), probiotic heat-killed Lactobacillus johnsonii TCI250 group (n = 50) and white pomegranate extract group (n = 50) for 8 weeks. Researchers will compare the vaginal flora and inflammation.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a novel sperm-wash device designed to improve outcomes in intrauterine insemination (IUI) for couples with infertility. Traditional sperm preparation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation (DGC), are associated with elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and increased sperm DNA fragmentation, potentially compromising pregnancy rates. The new device aims to reduce these adverse effects by minimizing oxidative stress and preserving sperm DNA integrity. In this prospective, randomized controlled trial, 120 couples will be allocated to either the intervention group using the new device or the control group using DGC. The primary outcome is the clinical pregnancy rate, while secondary outcomes include sperm DNA fragmentation. The study hypothesizes that the novel device will result in higher pregnancy rates and reduced DNA fragmentation compared to DGC. These findings may support its use as a more physiological approach to sperm preparation in fertility treatment.

Application of tear ferning test for clinical dry eye diagnosis and menopause

This study aims to evaluate the impact of an intelligent care system on radiation therapy patients, focusing on real-time blood data monitoring, optimized patient education, and internal alert systems. The goal is to enhance patient safety, improve treatment adherence, and reduce anxiety by integrating an alert function into the hospital's existing system. Key interventions include: Real-time blood monitoring alerts: Healthcare providers will receive automatic notifications of abnormal blood test results to ensure timely intervention. Optimized patient education materials: Clearer guidance will help patients proactively communicate blood test needs and manage their health during radiation therapy. Internal reminders: Visual signs and alerts in treatment areas will reinforce patient awareness and engagement. The study will compare patients receiving these interventions with those under standard care, assessing treatment compliance, anxiety levels, and clinical outcomes over a 12-month period.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of 1 capsules (300 mg per capsule) of Nutrarex Probiotic Capsules per day in regulating gut health and blood lipid in adults by clinical trial.