View clinical trials related to Brain Injuries.
Filter by:Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death among trauma patients accounting for one-third of all trauma mortalities. Patients who survive the initial trauma are liable to secondary insults from the ensuing inflammatory state in the brain. Treatment goals are aimed at reducing secondary injury. Maintaining adequate brain perfusion, limiting cerebral edema, and optimizing oxygen delivery are part of established treatment protocols. Numerous therapeutics have been evaluated as potential treatment for TBI with very limited success and there is no medication that alters survival. Various novel therapeutic options have been investigated to prevent the secondary brain injury. Remote Ischemic Conditioning (RIC) is one of these therapies. RIC involves decreasing blood flow to a normal tissue usually the arm by inflating the blood pressure cuff 30mmHg over the systolic blood pressure. The decreased blood flow or ischemia is maintained for 5 minutes followed by releasing the pressure and re-perfusion of the arm. This cycle is usually repeated 4 times. RIC has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with heart attacks, strokes, elective neurosurgeries. A prospective observational study and a randomized clinical trial has shown the protective effect of RIC in TBI patients. Additionally, multiple studies in animals have shown that RIC is neuroprotective after TBI. RIC is non-invasive and harmless except for a little discomfort in the arm. The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of RIC on long term outcomes in patients with TBI.
Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading killer of children worldwide but effective treatments for TBI are limited. Although evidenced-based pediatric TBI guidelines exist, adherence to these guidelines is low,leading us to develop a new Pediatric Guideline Adherence and Outcomes (PEGASUS) program to increase TBI guideline adherence. We propose to test the PEGASUS program's ability to improve TBI guideline adherence and outcomes.
The objective of this study is to investigate an aerobic exercise program as a treatment for adults with persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS) following mild traumatic brain injury. In this delayed-start trial participants will be initially randomized into either a 6-week low-impact stretching protocol or 12-week aerobic exercise protocol. Following the completion of the stretching protocol participants will continue on to complete the aerobic exercise protocol in full. 56 participants aged 18-65 yrs will be recruited from the Calgary Brain Injury Program (CBIP), including the Early Concussion Education Program at Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary Pain Program, University of Calgary Sports Medicine Centre acute concussion clinic and a physiotherapy clinic (Tower Physio) all of which are located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Participants will complete an online follow up (symptom questionnaires and questions regarding exercise behaviour) 3 and 9 weeks post intervention.
The overall objective is to evaluate objective dual-task turning measures for use as rehabilitative outcomes and as tools for return-to-duty assessments in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).This project consists of three goals examining the I) Diagnostic Accuracy, II) Predictive Capacity, and III) Responsiveness to Intervention of dual task turning measures in individuals with mTBI. The investigators hypothesize that objective measures of dual-task turning will have high diagnostic accuracy, predictive capacity, and responsiveness to intervention in people with mTBI.
EEG signals have been collected and studied since the early 1990's as a way of assessing brain function at a gross level. As early as the 1930's a derivative of the raw EEG signal - event-related potentials (ERPs) - have been computed. The current research is primarily focused on three ERP components: the N100, P300 and N400. Each of the three ERPs have been studied in the academic laboratory for multiple decades. Through this research, a strong understanding has been developed regarding what can affect these components (e.g. task set, emotional state, etc.). However, these signals within various pediatric populations (e.g., those with persistent mTBI symptoms or multiple concussions) are not well characterized. Being able to safely and effectively employ the NeuroCatch™ Platform in a post-concussive pediatric cohort could provide researchers with the potential to elucidate the persistence of objective measures of impairment, patterns of recovery, and chronicity of problems due to mTBI in children. Secondly, understanding the degree to which these neurophysiological components fluctuate over time is crucial to the understanding of brain functioning. However, for this type of technology to be useful in quantifying brain health in this population,the degree to which a post-concussive pediatric brain naturally fluctuates in its processing capability must be quantified. NeuroCatch™ Platform has the ability to measure changes in several domains of brain function. These cognitive processes are foundational blocks for some of the highest cognitive processes: information integration and executive functioning.
Motor neglect describes a loss of function without a loss of strength, reflexes or sensation. Motor neglect has been described in patients with traumatic brain injury, stroke and chronic pain conditions, e.g. complex regional pain syndrome. These conditions affect hundreds of thousands of patients in the UK each year and motor neglect is a significant obstacle in their rehabilitation towards a good outcome. By focussing on improving motor neglect, outcomes including function and quality of life for these groups of patients may significantly improve. Motor neglect is potentially reversible. Rehabilitation using repetition, feedback and motivation are beneficial for optimal outcome. Current protocols use face-to-face physical therapies which can not optimise intensity due to a lack of resources. Furthermore, engagement with exercise is recognised to be poor, in part, due to a lack of attention. Innovative technologies may well improve engagement. Furthermore, telemedicine, or remote delivery of healthcare, offer opportunities in resource management, which can be delivered through the use of such innovative technologies. Virtual reality systems have been designed and utilised in rehabilitation in various conditions, e.g post-stroke, cerebral palsy and Parkinson's disease. Studies demonstrate improved function in both upper and lower limbs. Potentially more effective treatments for motor neglect utilising such technology are therefore available but need more formal evaluation. This protocol describes a Phase II randomised controlled trial for both in-patients and out-patients requiring rehabilitation with motor neglect from neurological causes (stroke, traumatic brain injury) and chronic pain conditions (Complex Regional Pain Syndromes, chronic low back pain and referred leg pain (sciatica)). The intervention will be a novel interactive virtual reality system using established technology and tailored software used in conjunction with a treadmill. The control group will be the same screen showing random static images whilst on the treadmill. Rehabilitation for each group will be offered in 3-4 sessions per week for 2 weeks. Each session will last about 30 minutes supervised by a physiotherapist. Follow-up will be by questionnaire at weeks 2, 6 and 12 and by face-to-face consultation at weeks 2 and 12.
Vascular brain infarction (VBI) occurs in 67% of patients undergoing TEVAR. Overt stroke occurs in 13% of these patients and 88% of patients suffer from neurocognitive impairment. Cerebral air embolisation during the stent-graft deployment phase of TEVAR may be a cause of VBI. Standard treatment to de-air stent-grafts is through the use of a saline flush. This study aims to investigate whether carbon-dioxide or saline is the better fluid to de-air TEVAR stent-grafts prior to insertion in to the patient and compare VBI rate in the carbon-dioxide group and saline group.
The purpose of this research study is to assess medication self-administration (MSA) and the impact of three different interventions on improving medication adherence. The findings for this study may help develop evidence-based reminder protocols to reduce medication self-administration errors after brain injury.
The purpose of the study is to monitor longitudinal changes in brain structure and function between the preseason and postseason, in a population of football playing athletes grouped by helmet make and model. Secondly, the purpose is to determine the protection of the helmet make and model relative to amount and magnitude of sustained head impacts.
- Brief Summary: Prospective, cohort, open-label study. The cohort consists of people who have a chronic balance dysfunction due to a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). All participants will participate in a 14-week PoNS Treatment protocol - a combination of symptom specific physical exercises and repeated use of the PoNS device. Subjects who meet the initial screening entrance criteria will be scheduled for a baseline assessment to evaluate balance and gait. Subjects will then begin the PoNS Treatment program and re-perform some assessments at 2, 5 and 14 weeks evaluating their functional improvements.