Clinical trials
The Department of Neurosurgery at Medical Center - University of Freiburg sets itself the goal to offer its patients with vascular diseases of the brain and spinal cord a wide range of treatment options according to the newest results and achievements in medical research. Therefore, the Department of Neurosurgery takes part in several national und international multi-center clinical trials and also performs investigator-initiated trials to improve the treatment of these diseases and to obtain new information on the best treatment options for its patients. Thus, the Department of Neurosurgery can offer its patients treatment options with the newest pharmacological agents available within a clinical trial setting which are partly not yet approved on the German market.
The Department of Neurosurgery is in close co-operation with the German Register of Clinical Trials (DRKS).
Following trials are currently conducted in Freiburg (updated in 2015):
Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains a devastating disease with mortality rates up to 52% at 30 days. It is a major public health problem with an annual incidence of 10-30 per 100'000 population, accounting for 2 million (10-15%) of about 15 million strokes worldwide each year. The strategy of decompressive craniectomy (DC) is beneficial in patients with malignant middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction. Based on the common pathophysiological mechanisms of these two conditions, this procedure is also frequently performed in patients with ICH, but is has not yet been investigated in a randomized trial.
The primary objective of this randomized controlled trial is to determine whether decompressive surgery and best medical treatment in patients with spontaneous ICH will improve outcome compared to best medical treatment only.
Secondary objectives are to analyze mortality, dependency and quality of life. Safety endpoints are to determine cause of any mortality and the rate of medical and surgical complications after DC compared with best medical treatment alone.
Dr. Christian Scheiwe
Senior neurosurgeon
Consultation hours for vascular deseases
Dr. Mukesch Shah
Senior neurosurgeon