View clinical trials related to Brain Injuries.
Filter by:Blunt head trauma (BHT) accounts for >450,000 emergency department (ED) visits for children annually in the US. Fortunately, >95% of head trauma in children is minor in nature. Although most children have minor head trauma, clinicians obtain cranial CTs in 35-50% of these children, which carries a radiation risk of malignancy. Recently, the investigators conducted a study of 44,000 children in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) in which the investigators developed and validated clinical prediction rules that identify which children with minor BHT are at very low risk of having clinically-important traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and, therefore, do not require a CT scan. In this proposal, the investigators aim to assess whether implementing the PECARN TBI prediction rules (one for preverbal, one for verbal children) via computerized clinical decision support (CDS) decreases the number of (unnecessary) cranial CT scans obtained by ED physicians for children with minor BHT at very low risk of clinically-important TBIs. After a two-site pilot phase to test and refine the CDS, the investigators will conduct a seven-center prospective trial. The investigators will measure cranial CT use prior to and after the intervention implementation of CDS and clinician education. The investigators will study the use of CT by practitioners for children <18 years for 12 months pre- and post-intervention.
The primary objective of the protocol is to study the long-term outcome of a large group of traumatic brain injury patients. This outcome is to be described in terms of activity, participation, quality of life, SOCIO-professional outcome and impact on caregivers, and in relation to health care provision. The secondary outcome is to measure the impact on functional outcome of several predictive factors, and their relative importance on outcome. Our principal hypothesis is that SOCIO-professional and health provision factors play a major role on long-term outcome, further even than initial severity of brain injury.
Tampere Traumatic head and brain injury study is a prospective study aiming to explore neuroradiological, neuropsychological, neurological and biochemical aspects of mild traumatic brain injury (mtbi). The main interest is on factors that effect to the outcome after mtbi. The study is conducted in Tampere University Hospital's emergency department between the 1st of August 2010 and 31st of July 2013.
The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the utility of the Banyan UCH-L1/GFAP Detection Assay as an aid in the evaluation of suspected traumatic brain injury (Glasgow Coma Scale score 9-15) in conjunction with other clinical information within 12 hours of injury to assist in determining the need for a CT scan of the head.
The purpose of this study is to obtain evidence of safety and determine the pharmacokinetics (PK) of NNZ-2566 in healthy volunteers, when administered orally.
This is an exploratory qualitative interview study being conducted with a primary objective of examining perceptions held by active military and veterans regarding help-seeking attitudes and mental health beliefs which influence the decision to consent or decline participation in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) clinical trials. Active duty military and/or veterans aged 18 years and older who consent to participate (N = 50), or have recently declined participation (N = 50), in an INTRuST affiliated outpatient clinical trial for deployment-related PTSD or TBI will be recruited. Participants who consent to participate in an INTRuST clinical trial (Group 1) will be interviewed once at the beginning the of the clinical trial, and again following participation in the trial. Participants who decline participation in an INTRuST affiliated outpatient clinical trial (Group 2) will be interviewed once. For participants in both groups, study participation will initiate within 1 month of referral to study. Total duration of study participation is based on the specific clinical trial that the participant is recruitment from; the longest trial is estimated to be 24 weeks or less. Semi-structured qualitative individual interviews will be conducted to carry out a thematic analysis of the data exploring familial, social and institution-level constructs which may influence the subjective experience of the research treatment process.
This is a case series study evaluating the feasibility and dosage of Intensive Mobility Training (IMT). Twelve participants with chronic, mild-to-moderate, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) causing significant locomotor impairment, who meet these specific criteria, will be recruited. Location and nature of neural insult will be determined by multimodal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) exam. All participants will receive 3 hours of rehabilitation per day for 20 days, focusing on gait and balance. Locomotion and balance will be comprehensively tested prior to IMT, after 10 days of IMT, and then again after the full dose of IMT. This study will determine the feasibility of this intervention in the population of TBI patients, allow an estimate of effect size and provide initial information on possible neural predictors of success. Furthermore the investigators will be able to determine whether the dosage of 10 days is sufficient or whether significant improvements are made with 20 days of the intervention.
Successful community participation following acquired brain injury (ABI) continues to be an elusive goal for patients, clinicians and researchers. Our pilot work shows that community dwelling survivors of ABI can significantly improve performance on self-identified real- world performance problems and that they can transfer this learning to improve goals not trained in the treatment sessions. We will compare two types of rehabilitation intervention using a randomized controlled trial. We will also interview survivors, their significant others and clinicians regarding their experiences with each intervention to help us discover what works best.
Hemiparetic gait following acquired brain injury (ABI) is grossly characterized by decreased speed of walking, increased stance time on the unaffected side, and decreased stance time on the affected side.These abnormalities are associated with a complex pattern of dysfunction including muscle weakness, spasticity, impaired sensory-motor control, long-term mechanical changes in muscles and joints, and cognitive impairments e.g. attention.\ At this stage of our knowledge it is still unclear which kinetic and kinematic parameters of hemiparetic gait provide insight about the different components of the complex pattern of dysfunction. A novel technique had been introduced in the Motion Laboratory of the Sheba Medical Center consisting of an ordinary treadmill that is equipped with a 'mat' of more than 5000 high-quality capacitive pressure/force sensors. This treadmill developed by "ZEBRIS" enables to analyze gait and roll-off patterns on the treadmill. Aims of the study: 1. To assess variability of data derived from the Zebris treadmill. 2. To investigate stability of hemiparetic gait. 3. To evaluate variability and relevant gait parameters taking place during recovery after acute ABI. 4. To compare gait on ground with gait on treadmill. Rationale of the study- Basic assumptions of the study: 1. No significant change in gait parameters is expected in both groups including healthy controls and chronic ABI subjects in recurrent examination within one week period. 2. Subacute ABI patients are found to be within the context of neurorehabilitative recovery due to brain plasticity. Therefore a change in gait parameters is expected within two consecutive examinations in the chosen time intervals. 3. All measurements are subject to error which contributes to the variance of outcomes. On the grounds of these assumptions: A. Two consecutive examinations in both groups including healthy controls and chronic ABI subjects are intended to estimate the error in measured values. B. Two consecutive examinations in the subacute ABI patient group are intended to estimate the contribution of neurorehabilitative recovery due to brain plasticity assessed with this unique research instrumentation.
Up to half of all military service members with combat-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) also suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). TBI and PTSD are each associated with cognitive problems in what are called 'executive functions' such as planning actions, inhibiting behavior, monitoring one's own thoughts and feelings, and solving problems day-to-day. These types of impairments occur more often among veterans with both TBI and PTSD than among those with only one of these conditions. The combination of TBI and PTSD in veterans has also been linked to problems with anger and violence, which are common complaints of veterans seeking mental health services post-deployment and have been shown to predict poor treatment outcomes in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Although the relationship between combined TBI/PTSD diagnoses and post-deployment adjustment problems has been demonstrated, there has been little research into clinical interventions designed to reduce the severity of cognitive and affective symptoms in veterans with both TBI and PTSD. Therefore, the investigators propose a randomized clinical trial involving a cognitive rehabilitation intervention that targets improved executive functioning, with the participation of N=100 veterans diagnosed with both TBI and PTSD (n=50 in experimental group and n=50 comparison). As part of the study, all participants will receive an iPod touch. Participants will be placed into one of the two study groups randomly. Based on which group participants are placed in, they will receive one of two different sets of iPod touch apps and programs that address and aim to improve different facets of cognitive functioning. Regardless of which group, Veterans will be instructed to daily practice iPod touch applications on cognitive functioning. Also, family members will be trained as "mentors" to reinforce use of the applications in everyday living environments. Trained facilitators will also travel to participants' homes to meet with veterans and family to observe behaviors in the home environment, arrive at strategies for applying new skills in their situations, troubleshoot any iPod technical problems, and review family mentoring processes. The investigators will measure clinical outcomes using a comprehensive array of functional and structural methods at baseline and six months. The investigators hypothesize improved executive function among those in the experimental group as well as reduced irritability/impulsivity and improved social/occupational functioning. The investigators further hypothesize that, as a group, veterans participating in the cognitive rehabilitation program will show significant changes in neural activity associated with executive functions when comparing pre- and post-treatment EEG and fMRI responses. Better understanding of the neural circuitry and neurocognitive function underlying executive function and associated affective control deficits in veterans with both TBI and PTSD, and how they relate to treatment outcome, will allow us to better identify therapeutic targets for cognitive rehabilitation. The current proposal aims to explore the relationship between brain function and connectivity in selective pathways/circuits, neuropsychological functioning, and cognitive rehabilitation response in veterans with both TBI and PTSD. This study of the neurobiology and neuropsychology associated with intervention efficacy will allow us to identify veterans with both TBI and PTSD who are predisposed to positive treatment outcomes. To our knowledge, this will be the first attempt to integrate neurobiological and neurocognitive techniques with information about the efficacy of a theoretically and empirically driven cognitive rehabilitation intervention in veterans with combined TBI/PTSD diagnoses. This research may suggest additional avenues for assessment of clinical intervention efficacy and the identification of therapeutic targets (e.g. alteration of function in fronto-limbic circuits) relevant to the military population. Given links between TBI/PTSD, executive dysfunction, and anger, impulsivity, and aggression, efforts to rehabilitate cognitive function will be particularly important to ensure that current and future veterans adjust successfully when they return home to their families, workplaces, and communities.