Neurosurgical research is crucial to further improving the safety and precision of operations on the brain and spinal cord. Our continuous research and development enables us to further refine surgical techniques and optimize treatment approaches to achieve the best therapy for our patients. Our projects and studies in neurosurgery at Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, play a central role in this.
Where does neurosurgical research stand today?
Neurosurgical research has made significant progress in recent years, particularly in the areas of neuro-oncology, functional neurosurgery and neurostimulation.
- Thanks to state-of-the-art technologies and imaging techniques, we are now able to visualize vital structures in the brain during tumor surgery, making even the most complex procedures safer and more precise.
- The development of brain pacemakers and new stimulation techniques such as deep brain stimulation has expanded the range of treatments for movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, pain disorders and psychiatric illnesses.
- There has also been progress in the regeneration of nerve and brain tissue, for example through the use of stem cells and biomaterials.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) helps to tailor diagnoses and treatment plans to individual patients.
With your donation, you enable
- the funding of innovative research projects: support for studies on new therapies, technologies or surgical techniques
- Training and continuing education: Funding of scholarships and training programs for young scientists and surgeons to maintain expertise and knowledge at the highest level
- Patient-oriented research: Development of new treatment approaches or rehabilitation techniques that directly benefit patients, such as individualized therapies or studies on quality of life and neuroregeneration
Support our neurosurgical research
RESDEX study
Restrictive use of dexamethasone in glioblastoma
This study investigates whether neurosurgical treatment of brain tumors in certain patients can be performed without the additional administration of dexamethasone (cortisone), or only with a minimal dose of dexamethasone.
| Head of study: | Prof. Dr. Andreas Raabe, MD |
| Study coordinator: | Nicole Söll |
| Study identifier: | NCT04266977 |
ReSurge study
Randomized Controlled Comparative Phase II Trial on Surgery for Glioblastoma Recurrence
To date, there are two established strategies for treating a recurrent brain tumor:
- Re-surgery of the brain tumor followed by second-line therapy (chemotherapy or radiotherapy).
- Immediate second-line therapy (chemotherapy or radiotherapy) without prior surgery.
Which of the two treatment strategies has the greater success has not yet been clarified. The aim of this study is to investigate exactly this. It is to be clarified which of the two treatment strategies has the greater success.
| Head of study: | Prof. Dr. Philippe Schucht, MD |
| Study coordinator: | David Hasler |
| Study identifier: | NCT02394626 |
SONOBIRD study
A randomized, unblinded, multicenter, two-arm pivotal study of SonoCloud-9 combined with carboplatin versus standard lomustine or temozolomide in patients undergoing planned resection for first recurrence of glioblastoma
The standard treatment for a recurrent brain tumor usually consists of surgery and chemotherapy – for example with lomustine or temozolomide. The aim is to inhibit tumor growth. However, there is a natural barrier in the brain, the so-called blood-brain barrier (BBB): it prevents drugs that are transported via the bloodstream from reaching the brain tissue. If this barrier is made more permeable, chemotherapeutic drugs administered via a vein in the arm (as an intravenous infusion) can reach the brain tumor more easily.
This study uses an implantable medical device called SC9. When activated, this device emits ultrasound waves that increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier when small bubbles (contrast agent) are simultaneously introduced into a vein. Several studies in animals and recent clinical trials with almost 70 patients in France and the USA have shown that the use of this device allows the opening of the blood-brain barrier and facilitates the introduction of chemotherapeutic drugs into the brain.
With the help of the study, we now want to find out what influence the SonoCloud 9 (SC9) therapy procedure in combination with carboplatin has on life expectancy and tumor growth in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.
| Head of study: | Prof. Dr. Philippe Schucht, MD |
| Study coordinator: | David Hasler |
| Study identifier: | NCT05902169 |
Peers for Peers
From information to relevance
The “Peers for Peers” platform was created by medical professionals to help doctors and researchers find the really crucial articles in the flood of current publications – new findings that could already be incorporated into patient treatment but often only appear in textbooks much later.
Peers for Peers offers the quickest and easiest access to new therapeutic approaches in neurosurgery. The platform was initiated by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS).
Head of project: Prof. Dr. Andreas Raabe, MD
Project coordinator: Luisa Tonarelli