Clinical trials

The overall aim of this study is nephroprotection based on a calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-free therapy beyond year one after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in highly pre-selected patients with low rejection risk.

Hepatitis D is by far the most severe form of chronic viral hepatitis, frequently leading to liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma and death. Hepatitis D is caused by coinfection Hepatitis D is caused by co-infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV). This multicenter cohort should enable a comprehensive and unbiased biomarker screening of well-defined HDV-infected patients, followed by mechanistic studies to determine the functional role of distinct molecules. Patient surveillance strategies and antiviral treatment approaches could be personalized which should reduce clinical and social disease burden, improve quality of life and save direct and indirect costs caused by HDV infection.

In order to tackle the unmet needs in chronic HBV infection, a consortium of clinical partners has gathered to establish a registry for patients with hepatitis B mono- and co-infections. The partners will build up a European-wide registry to be able to stratify patients for upcoming clinical trials. Extensive analyses of virus and host-specific parameters are to be carried out from these patients. The knowledge gained thereby should contribute to a better understanding of the HBV control and enable patient stratification with regard to immunomodulatory therapies. Furthermore, hepatitis B patients are to be identified who are willing to participate in future studies to investigate immunotherapies to cure HBV infections (e.g. therapeutic vaccines).

The planned randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind, monocentric study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of intermittent Theta-Burst Stimulation (iTBS) on negative symptoms and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Both the cerebellar vermis and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex will be stimulated successively within the same session. The goal of this trial is to learn if intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) of the cerebellum and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortext (DLPFC) can treat negative symptoms and improve cognition in patients with schizophrenia. The main question it aims to answer is: Does iTBS of the cerebellum and the left DLPFC improve negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia? Researchers will compare iTBS to sham stimulation to see if iTBS improves negative symptoms. Participants will: * Receive 10 sessions of iTBS over the course of 2 weeks * Undergo extensive examination before iTBS treatment, immediately after iTBS treatment and 4 weeks after iTBS treatment. The examination includes assessment of negative symptoms; psychometric assessment of cognition, social cognition, depressive symptoms; functional magnetic resonance imaging; assessment of eye movements; blood and saliva sampling; assessment of adverse events and stimulation associated sensations. The study thus seeks to determine whether iTBS of the fronto-cerebellar network might improve negative symptoms and cognition by altering the network's functional activity. Additionally, it will investigate whether a pro-inflammatory cytokine profile could affect iTBS outcomes and whether inflammatory markers could be affected by iTBS.

The objective of this scientific study is to evaluate the feasibility of direct auditory nerve stimulation to elicit key percepts, specifically loudness and frequency/pitch percepts in three deaf patients participants with the new auditory nerve implant (ANI). During the year with temporary stimulation of the auditory nerve, patients participants are expected to participate for 14 months, consisting of: two months for surgery for the nerve implant and healing phase, one month initial follow-up, ten months of follow-up care and study testing, and one month for explanation and post-operative observation.

The investigators will investigate the response of an individualized exercise training program on quality of life, cardiorespiratory fitness and disease-specific markers in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). To this end, the investigators will randomly assign patients with MPN to a training group and a waiting control group. The training group will undergo an individually tailored exercise training program for three months, while the control group will maintain their usual lifestyle for three months and then has the opportunity to undergo the three-month intervention program. At the beginning and at the end of the three-month intervention phase, the investigators will evaluate physical performance, daily physical activity, muscular strength, and self-reported outcomes and compare them between the training and the control group, in order to assess potential benefits of the exercise training program.

The investigators identified polyreactive immunoglobulin G (pIgG) in adults (published in Hepatology: https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.32134) and children (in preparation). Quantification of these pIgG using a "home-made" ELISA facilitates the diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) as compared to non-AIH liver diseases and healthy controls. Positivity for pIgG was independent from ANA/SMA positivity and equally diagnostic for AIH even when conventional autoantibodies (ANA/SMA/SLA/LKM) were negative. Additionally, the frequency of pIgG was lower than conventional autoantibodies (ANA, SMA) in vaccinia/drug associated severe liver injury in a retrospective multicenter study after Covid-19 vaccination (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhepr.2022.100605). Aims of the study The study aims to evaluate the diagnostic capacity of pIgG to predict AIH in comparison to other liver diseases prospectively. To avoid diagnostic inaccuracy between AIH with long-term need for an immunosuppression and drug induced liver injury with autoimmune features, which can be indistinguishable from AIH at baseline and which has a very low relapse rate after a short steroid course, a follow-up after six months is obligatory for inclusion. Therefore, the investigators will collect one serum sample from every patient (without immunosuppressive treatment) that presents to the respective hospital for evaluation of liver disease by liver biopsy within one year after initiation of the study and that provided written informed consent. Follow-up for evaluation of steroid dependency at six months after diagnosis is obligatory.

The purpose of this clinical trial is to investigate whether the videolaryngoscope i-scoop makes airway management under spontaneous breathing and analgosedation more clinically practicable than the established standard device, the C-Mac D-Blade videolaryngoscope, in adults undergoing surgery under general anesthesia. The main questions it aims to answer are: • Is good clinical practicability - defined as a successful, easy, and complication-free intubation under spontaneous breathing - more frequently achieved with the i-scoop than with the C-Mac D-Blade? Researchers will compare the standardized airway management procedure under spontaneous breathing using either the i-scoop or the C-Mac D-Blade. Participants will: * continue breathing on their own during the procedure * be randomly assigned (1:1) to one of the two videolaryngoscopes * receive standardized analgosedation and topical lidocaine anesthesia of the upper airway before the breathing tube is placed * be asked about discomfort and recall of the procedure after surgery (in the recovery room, on postoperative day 1, and at 7 days post-intubation) by a blinded interviewer

Postoperative agitation is a common and serious complication in visceral and transplant surgery, associated with prolonged hospital stays and an increased risk of self-harm. Therefore, it is important to find an approach to improve the management of postoperative agitation and to reduce its duration and severity. The medical device "PARO" is a robotic seal that enables patient-robot-interaction. Patients respond to the device through verbal communication and motor responses, as well as facial expressions and gestures. The seal detects human interaction through audiovisual recognition, tactile sensors, and the integration of artificial intelligence. The aim of the study is to observe the use of "PARO" in patients undergoing elective visceral surgery and to analyze the occurence of agitation. A decrease in the incidence of postoperative agitation is to be expected in a cohort of patients undergoing visceral surgery who use PARO compared to a group of patients undergoing visceral surgery who do not use PARO. To monitor the occurrence of postoperative agitation, a standardized screening will be conducted twice daily for three days using the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS). To assess postoperative pain, anxiety and delirium, the Numerical Pain Scale (NRS), the State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory (STAI) and a delirium screening tool (3D-CAM/CAM-ICU) are used by a trained study team. The occurrence of other neuropsychiatric symptoms and postoperative surgical complications will also be assessed. Additionally, the interaction between PARO and the patients is analyzed regarding movements, reactions to haptic and auditory stimuli, and the frequency of interaction. Our approach involves quantitatively monitoring these metrics to collect sensor data from the robot and video recordings of the patients to identify facial expression and posture patterns. The use and acceptance of the robot on clinical wards by various professional groups are evaluated. The focus is particularly on nursing staff, who have the most interactions with patients. The project is complemented by a hygiene study examining how successfully the hygiene protocol is integrated into clinical routines and what challenges the use of PARO poses in an intensive care unit. The aim is also to examine the workflow and time-related aspects of its usage. The study will be submitted as a clinical trial of the medical device within its intended use, without any additional invasive or burdensome procedures, in accordance with the provisions of Section 15 of the Medical Practitioners Act (MBO).

There is no approved standard treatment für progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). The sponsor of the study is developing a new treatment. For this reason, the investigational medicinal product (IMP) called 'human allogenic HPyV-2-specific T cells' is to be tested in this study. The sponsor wants to find out whether the IMP is safe, influences the neurological status and improves the quality of the life of patients . It is to be investigated whether the IMP can be used to treat the disease and whether it could have an advantage over the standard therapy in terms of survival rate.

The significance of the Post-COVID Syndrome (PCS) has been widely acknowledged. Various efforts are made to find out about the pathomechanisms behind PCS and to establish therapies. One sub-group of PCS-patients, however, is generally excluded from any studies, and that are those who are unable to visit outpatient clinics or hospitals for diagnostic work up or participation in clinical trials, as they are unable to leave their home and to seek medical support on their own physical and mental capabilities. They are housebound, mostly or totally bedridden. Similar cases are known from myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) of any cause and are graded as moderate to very severe ME/CFS according to the Canadian Consensus criteria. The patients are usually seen by their family doctor and have no access to medical specialists. The planned project aims to find out about the prevalence of this most severe manifestation of PCS, the clinical characteristics, the prevalence of mimics, risk factors and impact of the disease on the patients' life and their family/caregivers. Individual care and treatment plans will be developed and the effect of monthly consultation hours for patients and caregivers upon the patients' health status and the caregiver burden will be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. The project will be performed in close cooperation between patients, caregivers, the patient's family doctor and a board of experts from internal medicine, neurology, psychosomatic medicine and general medicine at Hannover Medical School. We expect an improvement of the patients' and caregivers wellbeing with intensified medical care. We are aware, however, that intensification of the patient-doctor interaction carries the risk to exacerbate the patients' symptoms. The results of our study will show how current models of care for PCS and ME/CFS patients should be modified to fit to the individual patient's aims and capacities.

This is a single center patient registry of patients receiving a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) at Hannover Medical School. By collecting and analyzing clinical data as well as blood samples, the overall aim is to optimize TIPS therapy (e.g. specify selection criteria).

The goal of this observational study is to quantify the health literacy and self-efficacy in people with alcohol-related liver cirrhosis.

The primary goal of the clinical trial is to determine that the GLOBAL ICON implant system from DePuy does not exhibit worse shoulder function after 2 years than the SIMPLICITY from Wright Medical. The primary endpoint is the Constant-Murley Shoulder Score (CMSS) of the implant after 2 years, the non-inferiority of which is to be demonstrated in comparison with an already established prosthetic system (SIMPLICITY, Wright Medical).

Randomized, prospective, multicenter, open-label, controlled, parallel-group interventional trial to test the adjunctive effect of therapeutic plasma exchange in patients with early septic shock.

The G-LACC trial is a prospective, interventional, multicenter, open-label, randomized and controlled non-inferiority operative trial. The main goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the non-inferiority of minimally invasive radical hysterectomy in contrast to abdominal radical hysterectomy in patients with early-stage cervical cancer. In the case of SHAPE criteria, surgery may also be performed as minimally invasive or abdominal simple hysterectomy. The primary criterion for assessment is disease-free survival (DFS). As secondary outcomes, overall survival (OS), disease recurrence, quality of life, intra-/postoperative complications, and serious adverse events are recorded for assessment.

The "seamless" patient: from preoperative preparation to postoperative rehabilitation. The effects of digital services for perioperative care of patients undergoing cardiac surgery will be investigated

Cardiovascular (CV) disease is a major morbidity in children after kidney transplantation (KTx), limiting life expectancy and impairing graft function. Arterial hypertension (AH) is the dominant CV risk factor, and highly abundant in this patient group. AH can cause left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which is predictive of CV death. LVH can be non-invasively assessed by measuring left ventricular mass index (LVMI). Analyses of observational data showed that blood pressure (BP) levels \<75th percentile (pct) were associated with a significant reduction of LVMI. Guidelines give BP goals for children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). No guidelines, however, exist on the treatment of AH in pediatric KTx patients. In the proposed multicenter, randomized, parallel group trial with blinded endpoint evaluation we aim to assess n=500 pediatric patients \>12 months after KTx at several KTx centers. Patients will be randomly assigned 1:1 to an intensified BP management group (BP target ≤60th pct) and a standard BP management group (BP target \<90th pct). The primary endpoint is LVMI after 24 months. Secondary endpoints are estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), pulse wave velocity (PWV) and intima media thickness (IMT) after 24 months. BP control will be guaranteed for both groups through BP telemonitoring, which will be transmitted in real time to the treating physician and the trial's centralized BP office. By defining the adequate BP goal, the results of the proposed study will have direct implications for the care of children after KTx. The results will define an important element of post-KTx care and help to lower CV morbidity and subsequently CV mortality of pediatric KTx patients.