View clinical trials related to Brain Injuries.
Filter by:Severe traumatic brain injury is associated with an increased production of free radicals causing brain damage. First line treatment of these patients aims to maintain cerebral perfusion and includes deep anaesthesia. Propofol has recently shown anti oxidant properties that need to be confirmed when used in these patients. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of propofol compared to midazolam on intra cerebral oxidative stress following severe traumatic brain injury.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a neurologic disorder cuased by physical trauma to the brain. Neuroendocrine abnormalities in these patients have been reported, including central hypogonadism within hours of the insult and eventual recovery of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis with recovery of cognitive function to baseline. This pilot study will measure hormonal level of neuroendocine function at the time of TBI and various time points during recovery.
It is anticipated that the use of tissue oxygen monitoring to measure brain tissue oxygen and deltoid muscle oxygen will provide more precise information about focal brain ischemia and systemic hypoperfusion than current techniques and measures such as blood pressure, heart rate and intracranial pressure. Understanding the relationship between tissue oxygen tension collected from the brain and deltoid muscle in critically injured patients could lead to a broader understanding of the important metabolic and cellular events that occur following severe injury and the changes induced by therapeutic interventions. Furthermore, the use of interventions designed to improve tissue hypoxia, as measured by low brain or muscle tissue oxygen, may improve mortality or neurological recovery after systemic trauma or head trauma compared to current approaches that do not involve tissue metabolic monitoring.
The purpose of this study is to compare the effect of bolus of either sodium-lactate or mannitol on the evolution of intracranial pressure (ICP) during intracranial hypertensive episodes (IHE)
The purpose of this study is to determine if hypertonic saline with and without dextran can improve neurologic outcomes in victims of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Injury and lost blood from trauma can cause your body to go into shock (low blood pressure related to blood loss). This decreased blood flow can lead to organ damage. In order to restore the blood pressure and blood flow, the medics give fluids into the patients' veins as soon as possible. This is called "resuscitation". The fluid most commonly used is "isotonic" or one that is the same salt concentration as the blood. The investigators are trying to determine if infusing a "hypertonic" fluid or one more concentrated than the blood can increase the blood pressure and restore blood flow more efficiently. The hypertonic fluids they are using are called hypertonic saline with dextran (HSD) and hypertonic saline (no dextran). Hypertonic saline is a salt solution that is slightly more concentrated than blood. Dextran is a sugar solution.
This research seeks to establish a neonatal DNA Tissue Bank to find out if differences in small segments of DNA predispose babies to Chronic Lung Disease (CLD), Periventricular Brain Injury (PVI), Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), or Hypoxic Respiratory Failure (HRF).
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of early administration of recombinant human erythropoietin on long-term neurological outcome after severe traumatic brain injury.
The goal of this project is to develop a low-cost, user-friendly, portable telerehabilitation system for physical therapy of the upper limb after stroke or traumatic brain injury. The system is based on the use of a commercially available force feedback joystick and will work with an ordinary home PC and a standard high-speed internet connection. Using the joystick, the patient will perform exercises designed to aid in recovering motor function of the hand and arm. The joystick will be programmed to either assist or resist the patient's movements. The system will include sophisticated analysis of patient status and progress to provide the therapist and physician with detailed information. In the first phase of the study, we will develop the system in cooperation with the physical therapy staff and other rehabilitation specialists. The investigators will examine the usability, comfort, safety and therapeutic benefit of the system. In the second phase of the study, the investigators will employ the system in patients' homes, using the internet to connect to rehabilitation specialists in the clinic. The study hypothesis is that it is possible to adapt commercially available, low cost gaming equipment such as force feedback joysticks to provide therapy for patients in their own homes, and that patients will be able to work with this system and will find it enjoyable and helpful for recovering motor function.
Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common injury that can produce significant functional sequelae and ongoing disabling symptoms. Predicting who will have an uncomplicated recovery and who will suffer ongoing symptoms is difficult. This protocol evaluates the use of neuropsychologic testing after mild TBI in injured patients to attempt to objectively establish predictors of long term disability and functional recovery.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of early conversion tracheostomy from endotracheal intubation (ET) to percutaneous, dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) in traumatic brain-injured patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation.