Postoperative Cognitive DysfunctionFOCUSNCT04520802
Neuroinflammation in Cognitive Decline Post-cardiac Surgery
An observational study of Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction and Coronary Artery Disease, run by Radboud University Medical Center at 1 site in Netherlands.
Trial summary
Major cardiovascular surgery is associated with postoperative cognitive decline (POCD), with a deterioration in memory, attention and speed of information processing. A multifactorial pathophysiology is presumed but this study focuses on the role of (neuro)inflammation in the development of POCD after coronary artery… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 50 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction, Coronary Artery Disease, Pathophysiology
- What is being tested?
- 18F-DPA-714 PET/CT neuroimaging
- How many people
- 15 participants
- Where
- 1 siteNetherlands
- Study dates
- 18 Feb 2019to 1 Jul 2022
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 50 years and older
- All sexes
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: Patients >50 years that are planned to undergo elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery by the cardiothoracic surgery department of the Radboud university medical center in Nijmegen (NL).
Who may be able to join
- Age > 50 years
- Planned for on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting surgery
- High-affinity binder or mixed-affinity binders based on rs6971 polymorphism for TSPO
- Chronic use of statins (defined as pre-hospital use)
Who cannot join
- Previous cardiac surgery.
- Pregnancy or wish to become pregnant within 2 weeks after PET-CT scan
- Contra-indication to undergo a PET/CT or MRI scan, including claustrophobia.
- Low-affinity binder based on rs6971 polymorphism for TSPO, or unable to determine rs6971 polymorphism.
- Patients with cognitive disorders that have not recovered enough to be able to understand the study leaflets and information for participation.
- Brain or spinal surgery within the last 6 months.
Show all 22Show fewer
- Meningitis or brain infection within the last 6 months.
- Pre-existing dementia or neurodegenerative disease or cognitive impairment interfering with the ability to understand informational material about this research project.
- Presence of a CSF catheter or shunt.
- Patients with known brain tumors.
- Patients with brain injury (e.g. acute stroke, or subarachnoid hemorrhage) within the last 6 months.
- Severe brain trauma in previous medical history.
- Chronic (>2 weeks) use of immunosuppressive agents (see table 3.3.A).
- Concomitant diseases resulting in severe immunosuppression (e.g. HIV).
- Auto-immune or auto-inflammatory disease
- Active infection < 2 weeks prior to inclusion (defined as fever >38.5 or antibiotic treatment)
- Kidney failure, defined by a MDRD-GFR<15 ml/min/1.73m2
- Known contrast allergy for gadolinium
- Chronic use of neuroleptics, defined as pre-hospital use.
- Patients that do not speak Dutch or have disabilities that prevent accurate delirium diagnosis.
- Analphabetic patients.
- No written informed consent obtained.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Netherlands1 site
Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Radboud university medical center
Nijmegen, 6500HB
About this study
Official title: Neuroinflammation in Cognitive Decline Post-cardiac Surgery: The FOCUS Study
Major cardiovascular surgery is associated with postoperative cognitive decline (POCD), with a deterioration in memory, attention and speed of information processing. A multifactorial pathophysiology is presumed but this study focuses on the role of (neuro)inflammation in the development of POCD after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery.
Read the detailed description
Systemic inflammation can activate the innate immune cells of the brain inducing neuroinflammation, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease. Major cardiovascular surgery induces a severe systemic inflammatory response.There is growing support that neuroinflammation is a pivotal factor in the development of postoperative cognitive decline (POCD) due to surgery-related systemic inflammation.
Although the neuroinflammatory hypothesis is scientifically accepted, in vivo human data supporting the role of neuroinflammation in severe systemic inflammation such as major surgery are still lacking. In the last decades, several nuclear imaging tracers have been developed that can quantitatively measure microglial and astrocytic activation in vivo, by targeting the mitochondrial 18kDa translocator protein (TSPO).
The investigators hypothesize that cardiac surgery induces a neuroinflammatory response and that its presence is related to acute and long term brain dysfunction postoperatively. This will be studied by pre- and postoperative PET brain imaging using a 18F-DPA-714 tracer targeting TSPO, combined with longitudinal neuropsychological examinations. Structural changes in the brain will be recorded on MRI prior to and after cardiac surgery to enable us to correct for the potentially confounding effects of neurovascular events on cognitive outcomes after CABG surgery.
- Being tested
- 18F-DPA-714 PET/CT neuroimaging
- Medical subject headings
- Postoperative Cognitive Complications, Coronary Artery Disease
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
18F-DPA-714 PET/CT neuroimagingDiagnostic test
- Pre- and postoperative neuroimaging using 18F-DPA-714 PET/CT and brain MRI.
- Longitudinal neuropsychological examinations (up to 6 months postoperatively)
- Blood samples are drawn to assess the severity of the systemic inflammatory response
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| POCD | Patients with postoperative cognitive decline (POCD) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery Receives: Diagnostic Test: 18F-DPA-714 PET/CT neuroimaging | |
| no POCD | Patients without postoperative cognitive decline (POCD) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery Receives: Diagnostic Test: 18F-DPA-714 PET/CT neuroimaging |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in TSPO PET tracer uptake at 3-7 days post-surgery
18F-DPA-714
Measured: 3-7 days post-surgery minus preoperative (= day before surgery)
Secondary outcomes (9)
Occurrence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD)
POCD diagnosis based on neuropsychological assessments including TMT A\&B, Stroop I, II, III, WAIS-IV - digit span, LDST, RAVLT, RCFT, RBMT-3 face recognition, LFT and token test. POCD diagnosis is made when patients are newly impaired in one or more cognitive domains (memory, executive functioning, speed of processing and language), or when the average test rating has declined in more than one domain compared to baseline.
Measured: Baseline (preoperative), postoperative (3-7 days after surgery, 6 weeks and 6 months)
Whole brain TSPO PET tracer uptake pre- and 3-7 days post-surgery
18F-DPA-714
Measured: pre- and 3-7 days post-surgery
Pro- and anti-inflammatory in vivo cytokine concentrations [in pg/ml]
TNFa, IL6, IL-1B, IL10, IL-1RA
Measured: Day before surgery, during surgery (stop extracorporeal circulation (ECC)), after surgery (6 hours after stop ECC, 24 hours after incision, 3-7 days post-surgery and 6 weeks after surgery)
Ex vivo cytokine production of stimulated monocytes [in ng/10^9 monocytes]
TNFa, IL6, IL1B, MCP1, IL10
Measured: Day before surgery, 3-7 days and 6 weeks after surgery
Flowcytometry analysis to study the inflammatory phenotype of the cells
HLA-DR, CCR2, CD11b, CD14, CD16
Measured: Day before surgery, 3-7 days and 6 weeks after surgery
Complete blood count
including leukocyte differentiation measured on an automated hematology analyzer
Measured: Day before surgery, during surgery (stop extracorporeal circulation (ECC)), after surgery (6 hours after stop ECC, 24 hours after incision, 3-7 days post-surgery and 6 weeks after surgery)
Ex vivo cytokine production of healthy donor monocytes, after exposure to patient serum obtained during CABG surgery
Healthy donor monocytes will be exposed to patient serum obtained during surgery, to see whether this changes the ex vivo cytokine producing capacity (TNFa, IL6, IL10)
Measured: Perioperatively at stop extracorporeal circulation (ECC)
Number of newly developed (ischemic and hemorrhagic) brain and vascular wall lesions
Measured: pre- and 3-7 days post-surgery
Delta brain activity in three large scale brain networks involved in stress reactivity on resting-state fMRI
Measured: pre- and 3-7 days post-surgery
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted20 Aug 2020
- Study start18 Feb 2019
- Primary completion1 Jul 2022
- Study completion1 Jul 2022
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Postoperative Cognitive DysfunctionStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 15 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Radboud University Medical Center
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Wilson F. Abdo, Radboud University Medical Center
- Investigators
- Wilson F Abdo, MD PhD, Principal investigator, Radboud University Medical Center
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04520802
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- NL.57785.091.16
- Other IDs
- 2016-002016-40, CMO 2016-2598, 2016
- Acronym
- FOCUS
- Status last verified
- Mar 2023
- First submitted
- 3 Jul 2020
- Last updated
- 31 Mar 2023
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Publications
Peters van Ton AM, Duindam HB, van Tuijl J, Li WW, Dieker HJ, Riksen NP, Meijer FA, Kessels RP, Kohn N, van der Hoeven JG, Pickkers P, Rijpkema M, Abdo WF. Neuroinflammation in cognitive decline post-cardiac surgery (the FOCUS study): an observational study protocol. BMJ Open. 2021 May 11;11(5):e044062. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044062.
PubMed 33980522
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 31 Mar 2023. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Neuroinflammation in Cognitive Decline Post-cardiac Surgery: The FOCUS Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04520802
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- FOCUS / NL.57785.091.16
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 15 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Radboud University Medical CenterUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 18 Feb 2019 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Jul 2022 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Jul 2022 (actual)
- First posted
- 20 Aug 2020 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Major cardiovascular surgery is associated with postoperative cognitive decline (POCD), with a deterioration in memory, attention and speed of information processing. A multifactorial pathophysiology is presumed but this study focuses on the role of (neuro)inflammation in the development of POCD after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery.
Detailed description
Systemic inflammation can activate the innate immune cells of the brain inducing neuroinflammation, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease. Major cardiovascular surgery induces a severe systemic inflammatory response.There is growing support that neuroinflammation is a pivotal factor in the development of postoperative cognitive decline (POCD) due to surgery-related systemic inflammation.
Although the neuroinflammatory hypothesis is scientifically accepted, in vivo human data supporting the role of neuroinflammation in severe systemic inflammation such as major surgery are still lacking. In the last decades, several nuclear imaging tracers have been developed that can quantitatively measure microglial and astrocytic activation in vivo, by targeting the mitochondrial 18kDa translocator protein (TSPO).
The investigators hypothesize that cardiac surgery induces a neuroinflammatory response and that its presence is related to acute and long term brain dysfunction postoperatively. This will be studied by pre- and postoperative PET brain imaging using a 18F-DPA-714 tracer targeting TSPO, combined with longitudinal neuropsychological examinations. Structural changes in the brain will be recorded on MRI prior to and after cardiac surgery to enable us to correct for the potentially confounding effects of neurovascular events on cognitive outcomes after CABG surgery.
Study design
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| POCD | – | Diagnostic Test: 18F-DPA-714 PET/CT neuroimagingPatients with postoperative cognitive decline (POCD) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery |
| no POCD | – | Diagnostic Test: 18F-DPA-714 PET/CT neuroimagingPatients without postoperative cognitive decline (POCD) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 50 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- Patients >50 years that are planned to undergo elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery by the cardiothoracic surgery department of the Radboud university medical center in Nijmegen (NL).
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Age > 50 years
- Planned for on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting surgery
- High-affinity binder or mixed-affinity binders based on rs6971 polymorphism for TSPO
- Chronic use of statins (defined as pre-hospital use)
Key exclusion criteria (22 listed)
- Previous cardiac surgery.
- Pregnancy or wish to become pregnant within 2 weeks after PET-CT scan
- Contra-indication to undergo a PET/CT or MRI scan, including claustrophobia.
- Low-affinity binder based on rs6971 polymorphism for TSPO, or unable to determine rs6971 polymorphism.
- Patients with cognitive disorders that have not recovered enough to be able to understand the study leaflets and information for participation.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| 18F-DPA-714 PET/CT neuroimaging* Pre- and postoperative neuroimaging using 18F-DPA-714 PET/CT and brain MRI. * Longitudinal neuropsychological examinations (up to 6 months postoperatively) * Blood samples are drawn to assess the severity of the systemic inflammatory response | Diagnostic test | POCD, no POCD |
Primary outcome
Change in TSPO PET tracer uptake at 3-7 days post-surgery
Time frame: 3-7 days post-surgery minus preoperative (= day before surgery)
18F-DPA-714
9 secondary outcomes
Occurrence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD)
Time frame: Baseline (preoperative), postoperative (3-7 days after surgery, 6 weeks and 6 months)
Whole brain TSPO PET tracer uptake pre- and 3-7 days post-surgery
Time frame: pre- and 3-7 days post-surgery
Pro- and anti-inflammatory in vivo cytokine concentrations [in pg/ml]
Time frame: Day before surgery, during surgery (stop extracorporeal circulation (ECC)), after surgery (6 hours after stop ECC, 24 hours after incision, 3-7 days post-surgery and 6 weeks after surgery)
Ex vivo cytokine production of stimulated monocytes [in ng/10^9 monocytes]
Time frame: Day before surgery, 3-7 days and 6 weeks after surgery
Flowcytometry analysis to study the inflammatory phenotype of the cells
Time frame: Day before surgery, 3-7 days and 6 weeks after surgery
Complete blood count
Time frame: Day before surgery, during surgery (stop extracorporeal circulation (ECC)), after surgery (6 hours after stop ECC, 24 hours after incision, 3-7 days post-surgery and 6 weeks after surgery)
Ex vivo cytokine production of healthy donor monocytes, after exposure to patient serum obtained during CABG surgery
Time frame: Perioperatively at stop extracorporeal circulation (ECC)
Number of newly developed (ischemic and hemorrhagic) brain and vascular wall lesions
Time frame: pre- and 3-7 days post-surgery
Delta brain activity in three large scale brain networks involved in stress reactivity on resting-state fMRI
Time frame: pre- and 3-7 days post-surgery
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 31 Mar 2023.
- Background: PubMed 33980522Peters van Ton AM, Duindam HB, van Tuijl J, Li WW, Dieker HJ, Riksen NP, Meijer FA, Kessels RP, Kohn N, van der Hoeven JG, Pickkers P, Rijpkema M, Abdo WF. Neuroinflammation in cognitive decline post-cardiac surgery (the FOCUS study): an observational study protocol. BMJ Open. 2021 May 11;11(5):e044062. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044062.
- Pubmed link to publication of complete study protocolLink provided by the sponsor.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Wilson F Abdo, MD PhD principal investigator
Radboud University Medical Center
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction and Coronary Artery Disease, run by Radboud University Medical Center at 1 site in Netherlands.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 22 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 31 Mar 2023. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Netherlands. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change in TSPO PET tracer uptake at 3-7 days post-surgery (time frame: 3-7 days post-surgery minus preoperative (= day before surgery)). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04520802, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 31 Mar 2023.