View clinical trials related to Brain Injuries.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to evaluate brain injury when two different drugs (propofol and precedex) are used to sedate patients who need a neurologic exam.
Depression is very common in people who have experienced a traumatic brain injury. Few treatments have been found to be effective in treating depression in this situation. We intend to investigate the effectiveness of a form of brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, which has been found to be effective in treating depression in people who have not undergone a brain injury. By evaluating new methods of treating depression in this population, we hope to increase the options available for treating people in this difficult situation. Furthermore, problems with aspects of thinking are also commonly present post brain injury, as in some individuals with depression. Various brain stimulation techniques, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have been shown to have a positive effect on cognition. We also intend to investigate whether a therapeutic effect on cognitive deficits is present following TMS, in addition to any effects on depression. New treatment protocols will be developed, and understanding of the pathology and treatment of post traumatic brain injury depression will be enhanced.
The aim of this study is to determine effect of proprioceptive stimulation with passive gait training on the cortical activity in patients with severe brain injury, demonstrated as changes in EEG (electroencephalogram)and ERP (Event Related Potentials). Hypotheses: 1) Proprioceptive stimulation increases EEG-frequency in patients with impaired consciousness due to severe brain injury. 2) Proprioceptive stimulation increases conductivity speed of the cognitive P300-component of ERP in patients with impaired consciousness due to severe brain injury.
The purpose of this study is to: 1. Determine the temporal course of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression in patients wiht severe traumatic brain injury 2. Determine the temporal course of the expression of MMP-related inflammatory mediators of secondary injury in patients with severe traumatic brain injury 3. Describe the association of physiological changes and standard microdialysis analyte measures (lactate, pyruvate, lactate/pyruvate ratio, and glucose) to MMP and neuroinflammatory marker concentrations.
This study is evaluating whether a bedside brainwave monitor can be used to detect early brain injury in premature infants.
This study performs assessments of pituitary functions by basal hormone levels in the acute phase after TBI and/or SAH followed by detailed endocrine tests (insulin-induced hypoglycemia or growth hormone releasing hormone-arginine-corticotropin releasing hormone-leuteinizing hormone releasing hormone [GHRH-arginine-CRH-LHRH] test) after 4 and 12 months.
Each year in the United States alone, 300,000 persons are hospitalized for traumatic brain injury, with approximately one quarter dying. Despite advances in aggressive neurosurgical interventions, intensive care monitoring and overall supportive management, many of those who do "survive" do not fully recover and are left with a varying degree of permanent disability. It is therefore imperative that new methods of early interventions be explored. One possible road to effective therapy is to examine the timing of secondary injury via a biological marker, to help guide the timing of treatment directed specifically at early oxidant injury. A more thorough understanding of how quickly oxidant injury occurs will allow us to direct appropriate therapies targeted directly at oxidant injury within what is currently thought to be a very narrow window of opportunity for intervention, possibly peaking within the first two hours after the initial injury. Potential participants include patients between the ages of 18 and 50 years who are admitted to Parkland Memorial Hospital with a diagnosis of severe traumatic brain injury. Blood, urine, and CSF (if patient requires a clinically indicated ventriculostomy) will be collected over the first 5 days post-injury. Clinically-relevant patient progress, clinically required interventions, neuro-imaging results, and demographics will be tracked while the patient is hospitalized, with final neurological outcome measured at 3 months.
Adults who sustain brain damage due to stroke, traumatic injury or surgery may develop difficulty finding words. This study compares the effectiveness of two behavior-based programs to improve picture naming ability in these individuals.
The purpose of our study is to verify wherever normothermia (achieved with diclofenac administration) may improve intracranial pressure control and may limit secondary cerebral damage thus positively influencing outcome in patients with acute cerebral damage admitted to ICU.
This study is designed to examine the effects of a wake-promoting agent (Modafinil) on working memory (WM) in persons with moderate to severe TBI utilizing a double blinded placebo controlled methodology. Our approach is to evaluate participants with BOLD fMRI and a limited neuropsychological battery to examine WM performance before and after pharmacological intervention. Hypotheses 1. Because increased cognitive effort (as a function of decreased efficiency after TBI) is presumed to underlie fMRI activation dispersion that is seen during central executive WM tasks, we anticipate an attenuation of cerebral activation in prefrontal cortex during pharmacological intervention with Modafinil when compared to placebo administration on the mPASAT and vigilance testing. 2. There will be a correlation between the decreased dispersion of the fMRI signal on scans and improvement in neuropsychological measures when individuals are on Modafinil that is not seen when they are taking placebo.