View clinical trials related to Brain Injuries.
Filter by:The primary goal of this study is to establish and evaluate an image-based biomarker for the impaired motor control and sensory information processing present in Cerebral palsy (CP) and stroke patients.
Traumatic brain injury is an extremely common disease, it counts 50.000 deaths and 235.000 hospitalizations every year. Functional consequences of an acquired brain injury have a considerable impact on quality of lives of patients and care-givers with direct effects on balance, mobility and on psycho-social functions. Attention deficits are one of the most frequent and disabling consequences of severe brain injury. Within the wide spectrum of attentive problems, patients with traumatic brain injury frequently have shown difficulties in divided attention. Patients, care-givers and professionals frequently refer difficulties also in selective attention and vigilance as consequence of the trauma. It has been shown how these difficulties are tightly related with the missed return to work after two years from the injury. The hypothesis of this study is to investigate the feasibility of a rehabilitative protocol on gaming using the console Xbox and its efficacy in improving balance, mobility, risk of falling, attentive functions (selective and divided attention) in subjects which have had a traumatic brain injury at least 12 months before.
Injury to the brain can change the core of a person's being, affecting brain functions necessary to accomplish important goals in a complex world. Deficits in attention, working memory, and other aspects of goal-directed cognition affect a broad range of pursuits in everyday life, and are among the most prevalent and long-lasting consequences of brain injuries. The objective of this research is to develop remotely deployed training tools that target the most common, persistent and debilitating cognitive functions affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI); test the potential effects of the intervention and compare these effects to an active comparison intervention; and determine the neurocognitive and functional effects of computer-assisted remote training.
PURPOSE: The long-term goal of this line of research is to develop rational, biologically based evidence for the treatment of post-concussion syndrome (PCS) in children. The objective of this application is to examine the effect of melatonin on the symptoms of PCS and its neurobiology using integrated neurodiagnostic techniques in children. OVERVIEW: PCS is a constellation of clinical symptoms including physical (i.e. headaches), cognitive (i.e. memory), and behavioral disturbances. PCS is associated with significant morbidity in the child and his/her family), and yet there are no evidence-based medical treatments available. This suggests an urgent need to develop novel treatment options to improve outcomes for children suffering from PCS. Melatonin has several relevant mechanisms of action, and neuroprotective effects. Recent research suggests that the explanations for persistent PCS symptoms may be due to alterations in neurotransmissions and neuronal circuitry, particularly involving the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Investigators have two specific aims: 1. To determine if treatment with melatonin improves PCS in children following mild traumatic brain injury. Hypothesis: treatment of mTBI children with PCS with 3mg or 10mg of oral melatonin for 28 days will result in a decrease in PCS symptoms as compared with placebo. Effects will be dose-dependent and may be independent of sleep effects. Methods: A randomized double blind, placebo controlled trial (RCT); Outcome measure is a PCS symptom questionnaire. A subsequent RCT will then be performed using the optimal melatonin dose at a second centre. 2. To understand the neurophysiological mechanisms of paediatric PCS and assess any resultant effects of treatment with melatonin. Methods: A case-controlled study within the RCT, using functional MRI and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to investigate the neurophysiological properties of paediatric mTBI before and after treatment; Treatment groups from the RCT will be compared with two control groups: i) normal controls and ii) asymptomatic mTBI children. SIGNIFICANCE: This study has the potential to 1) provide a safe and effective treatment for PCS and 2) will provide valuable information about the neurophysiological properties of the brain associated with PCS following mTBI in children and how these change with symptom resolution.
There will be 200 participants, who aged 30 years or older with TBI in 1,5,10,15 years ago and GCS=13-15 will be recruited. Another group of 200 participants with the same age and gender and without TBI will be recruited as the controls. All of them will undergo AD8 questionnaire for dementia screening and APOE4 genotyping. Further CASI and CDR will be tested for the confirmation of dementia diagnosis for the individuals with AD8 scaore >/=2. 10 TBI with dementia, 20 TBI without dementia and 10 controls will be selected randomly for AV45 amylid PET study. There will also be 10 participants without traumatic brain injury and interested in this study, aged 55 years or older better.
Stroke, head injury and other forms of brain injury are a major cause of physical, psychological and social disability in the adult population. Psychological distress is common following brain injury, but the evidence base for specific psychotherapeutic methods in this population is limited, and standard treatment approaches may not be suitable. Recently there has been a growing interest in positive psychology - the study of wellbeing, positive emotions and characteristics, and personal growth. The investigators believe that positive psychotherapy interventions may be beneficial after acquired brain injury, to reduce psychological morbidity. Because such interventions have not previously been applied in this population, the investigators propose to conduct a pilot randomised controlled trial to examine the feasibility of a brief positive psychotherapy intervention in an out-patient setting. This project will produce essential information to allow us to plan future full-scale clinical trials in this area.
The investigators propose to conduct a 2-arm, open-label pilot study to determine if early treatment with amitriptyline will decrease the frequency and severity of headaches after mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Amitriptyline is a tricyclic antidepressant that is commonly available and inexpensive. It is used as a first-line drug for primary headache prevention in a very low dose range of 10-50 mg. - Specific Aim 1 is to conduct a 2-arm open-label study to examine the effect of preventive treatment with amitriptyline on the frequency and severity of headache after mild TBI. - Specific Aim 2 is to collect data needed for design of a Phase 3 study, including an estimate of effect size, headache variability, and desirable drug treatment start date. - Specific Aim 3 is to examine the feasibility of using headache diaries with individuals with mild TBI. - Specific Aim 4 is to establish the safety and tolerability of amitriptyline for the prevention of headache after mild TBI. The investigators hypothesize that early preventive treatment with amitriptyline will avert the development of chronic post-traumatic headache (PTH) as compared to rates of headache from a recent natural history study on PTH after mild TBI. The investigators propose to enroll inpatient subjects from a Level I trauma center as well as from outpatient clinics and from the general community with a diagnosis of mild TBI. Subjects will be screened for current headache. After baseline assessment, 72 subjects with current headache will be randomized to one of 2 groups. Group 1 will immediately begin amitriptyline and or Group 2 will be followed and begin amitriptyline at Day 30. All subjects will be asked to complete a daily headache diary beginning on Day 1 of the study. A detailed medical history and headache survey will be completed. Subjects will have a scheduled stepped increase in the drug dosage every week for 3 weeks to the maximum study dosage of 50 mg. Weekly telephone calls will monitor for adverse events and compliance with the drug and headache diary. Clinic visits will occur at 30, 60 and 90 days. The 30 day clinic visit will include cognitive testing to assess for differences between groups and initiation of drug treatment for Group 2. Both 30 and 60 day visits will include review of headache diary, potential adverse effects, and pill counts. The 90 day visit will be for outcome assessment. In addition, the headache survey will be repeated by telephone at Day 180.
Pediatric severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in children ages 1-14 years old. There are no effective therapies to treat secondary brain injury and the post-injury response of CNS apoptosis and neuroinflammation. This study is a follow-up trial from a previously performed Phase I trial that demonstrated the safety and potential CNS structural preservation effect of intravenous autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNC) after severe TBI in children. (Cox, 2011) The study is designed as a prospective, randomized, placebo controlled, blinded Phase 2 safety/biological activity study. The investigators hope to determine the effect of intravenous infusion of autologous BMMNCs on brain structure and neurocognitive/functional outcomes after severe TBI in children.
This study will examine resting dopamine function as well as dopamine response in the brain as it interacts with medicines normally prescribed to subacute Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients.
This study is designed to test the hypothesis that patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)treated with Hyperbaric (HBO) will show improvement in function and an increased blood flow as evidenced by single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) scan. Improvement is evidenced by increase in number of pixels on SPECT Scan and increased brain metabolism. Improvement may also be identified via cognitive assessments administered by Jupiter Medical Center Research Department.