Castres

This research aims to find out how common cardiac amyloidosis is in older adults aged 80 years and above who have been hospitalized for heart failure and have thickening of the heart muscle (left ventricular hypertrophy). Patients will be recruited from 31 geriatric or cardiology centers over 24 months. Each participant will have a baseline visit where medical history, clinical data, frailty status, genetic testing, and heart ultrasound data will be collected. Bone scans using 99mTc-DPD or 99mTc-HMDP will be done during or after hospitalization to check for amyloidosis in the heart muscle. After the initial visit, participants will receive follow-up phone calls every 3 months for 12 months to track hospitalizations, nursing home admissions, and death. The main measure is the number of patients diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis based on bone scintigraphy at the start of the study.

Researchers are evaluating the effectiveness of the World Health Organization's Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) program in preventing age-related functional decline among elderly individuals aged 70 and over living at home. The program focuses on maintaining autonomy by assessing six key functional areas: mobility, cognition, nutrition, vision, hearing, and psychological well-being. The study compares the comprehensive ICOPE strategy to usual care provided by primary care physicians in a randomized controlled trial. Participants are randomly assigned to either receive the full ICOPE program or continue with usual care. The ICOPE intervention includes repeated screenings every six months using the ICOPE tool, a comprehensive assessment of the six functions, a personalized prevention and care plan based on participant preferences, and follow-up support. Telephone follow-ups occur 1.5 months after starting the program and between annual visits to help participants adhere to their intervention plans. The intervention lasts 36 months, followed by a 24-month extension during which all participants receive the ICOPE program. Participants attend follow-up visits at 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months where functional data are collected by a research nurse blinded to treatment assignment. Additional phone calls at 6, 18, 30, 42, and 54 months gather information on relevant life events. Researchers monitor functional decline over 36 months as the primary outcome, with the extended follow-up providing further data on the program's lasting effects and cost-effectiveness.

Researchers are evaluating the efficacy of the RGn600 device in treating patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. This randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind study involves 108 patients in France and aims to assess the impact of RGn600, a non-invasive device combining PhotoBioModulation (PBM) and Static Magnetic Stimulation (SMS), on brain-gut axis inflammation related to Alzheimer's disease. The study follows patients up to 52 weeks to understand the treatment's effects on cognition and other outcomes. Participants are randomly assigned to receive either the active RGn600 device or a sham device. The device is applied on the head and abdomen for 20-minute onsite sessions over 26 weeks with a decreasing frequency: five sessions per week during weeks 1 to 8, three sessions per week during weeks 9 to 16, and two sessions per week during weeks 17 to 26. After treatment, patients continue to be followed for an additional period up to week 52. During the study, patients undergo assessments at four onsite visits at Day 0, Week 8, Week 26, and Week 52. Evaluations include cognitive tests, neurological scales, quality of life questionnaires, and safety monitoring including adverse event reporting and blood tests. A biobank will collect blood, fecal, and saliva samples from patients at the Toulouse University Hospital site to support further biological analyses related to Alzheimer’s disease markers and inflammation.

Researchers are exploring how combining proactive medication assessment by clinical pharmacists with electronic monitoring of side effects affects the quality of life and economic outcomes for patients undergoing oral cancer therapy. Oral therapies, which make up 75% of cancer treatments, raise specific challenges such as drug interactions and side effects that can impact treatment effectiveness and patient well-being. These side effects are often underreported during physician visits, so using electronic patient reported outcomes (ePRO) may provide a better understanding and management of toxicities. The study involves a care pathway that includes scheduled consultations with hospital pharmacists to identify potential drug interactions and educate patients about their treatments to improve quality of life and adherence. Patients will also be followed up by nurses and receive weekly symptom notifications through the THESS application, where they report any side effects experienced over the past week. This approach aims to closely monitor and manage toxicities associated with oral cancer therapies. Participants will be involved in ongoing assessments including symptom reporting via the electronic system, consultations, and follow-ups to monitor side effects and drug interactions. Researchers will measure the time until a 5-point decrease in quality of life between groups, with follow-up lasting up to 18 months. The study also aims to estimate the economic impact of this combined care approach, ensuring continuous monitoring and support throughout the treatment period.

There is a wide variation in how rapid sequence induction is performed in operating rooms worldwide. This study aims to describe how French anesthesiologists prevent serious blood flow problems during rapid sequence anesthetic induction in adult patients. It focuses on the occurrence of major hemodynamic disorders, such as low or high blood pressure, sustained arrhythmias, or cardiac arrest within the first 10 minutes after anesthesia begins. Participants will undergo rapid sequence anesthetic induction, a process used to quickly induce general anesthesia for patients at high risk of lung fluid aspiration. The study will observe the clinical practices of pre-oxygenation, induction, and intubation, and check how well these practices follow the formal expert recommendations from 2017 and 2018. Data on the prevention of gastric fluid inhalation, equipment used, drugs administered, and clinical parameters will be collected during the induction process. Throughout the study, researchers will monitor neurological and cardio-respiratory signs and record any complications within the first 10 minutes after anesthesia induction. The main outcome measured is the occurrence of major hemodynamic disorders during this period. The study is observational and multicenter, involving adult patients undergoing rapid sequence induction in France.