View clinical trials related to Brain Injuries.
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Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)patients often suffer from loss of muscle strength in the hand and foot, decrease in coordination and high muscle tone (spasticity). In this study, investigators seek to compare how two different training programs can improve the coordination and symptoms of fatigue in individuals with movement deficits secondary to TBI. Using brain imaging, the study will also investigate changes in brain structure and activity associated with hand movement.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a manualized intervention (FITS) to families living with brain injury or spinal cord injury. The intervention will be provided by a trained neuropsychologist and consists of 8 structured sessions of 90 minutes duration. The intervention group will be compared to a control group receiving treatment as usual, one psycho-educational group session of a 2 hour duration.
Phase 1 of the STIMPACT trial is an open label,dose-escalation,safety study of intravenous (IV) methylphenidate (MPH) therapy in patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC) caused by severe brain injuries. To be classified as having a DoC, a patient must be in a coma, vegetative state (VS), or minimally conscious state (MCS), as determined by behavioral assessment using the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). Patients with DoC admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) will be eligible for the study. A total of 10 patients with DoC will be enrolled in the Phase 1 study. Patients will receive escalating daily doses of IV MPH starting at 0.5 mg/kg, increasing stepwise to 1.0mg/kg and 2.0 mg/kg unless an adverse event (AE) necessitates dose de-escalation or a serious adverse event (SAE) necessitates that the patient stop participation in the study. Pharmacokinetics will be evaluated in selected patients with indwelling venous catheters or arterial catheters via serial serum measurements of MPH at each dose. The pharmacodynamic properties of IV MPH at each dose will be assessed by comparison of pre-versus post-dose EEG-based measures. The pharmacodynamic properties of the maximum tolerated dose will also be assessed by comparison of pre-versus post-dose resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) connectivity measures. Finally, we will test the association between structural connectivity of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a dopaminergic brainstem nucleus that is believed to mediate MPH activation of the cerebral cortex, and EEG and rs-fMRI pharmacodynamic measures.
Unfavorable outcomes (UO) are seen in 15 to 20% of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Early identification of patients at risk for UO is crucial for suitable management to be initiated, increasing their chances for a return to a normal life. The investigators previously developed a diagnostic tool enabling early identification (8 to 21 days after the injury) of patients likely to develop UO. In the present study, the investigators examined the value and beneficial effects of early multidimensional management (MM) on prognosis. The investigators used a diagnostic tool to classify 221 mTBI patients as UO (97) or FO (favorable outcome) (124). Patients whose initial risk factors point to UO are at risk of developing post-concussion syndrome (PCS). UO patients were randomized into 2 groups: a group that underwent MM (cognitive-behavioral rehabilitation) (34) and a group with no specific management (46). At 6 months, these 2 groups were compared and the impact of MM on outcome was assessed. Among patients initially classified as FO (101), 95% had FO at 6 months and only 5 had PCS as defined by DSM-IV classification. Of the UO patients who received MM, 94% had no PCS 6 months after injury, whereas 52% of the UO patients who did not receive MM had persistent PCS. The effect of MM on the recovery of patients at 6 months, once adjusted for the main confounding factors, was statistically significant (p<0.001). These results show that the initiation of MM after early identification of at-risk mTBI patients can considerably improves their prognosis.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death, disability and cognitive impairment in young people worldwide. The majority of the traumatic deaths in developed countries results directly from lesions in the central nervous system. Furthermore, due to the persistence of disabling effects of TBI for many years, personal and public costs of supporting survivors have to be taken in consideration. Many patients rescued by ICU treatment may have been severely disabled or vegetative because of trauma. These data suggest that, despite improvement in medical and surgical treatments, other factors related to trauma itself and to patient's condition could have an impact on the final outcome. Aim of the TBI-PRO project is to collect high quality clinical and epidemiological data and to describe the outcome of moderate-to-severe TBI in a local contest (Bergamo area, Italy).
Unilateral neglect is a neuropsychological disorder reflected by a disturbance in the spatial exploration and distribution of directed attention affecting the contralateral part of space and body relatively to the brain lesion. The chronic aspect of this pathology leads to a poor progression following rehabilitation and a decreased independence of patients in daily life. Thus, it is necessary to set up efficient and long lasting therapies for unilateral neglect patients to improve their daily quality of life. Prismatic adaptation is now a classical method which allows patients to improve their neglect through corrective pointing movements in response to a lateral displacement of the visual field. A large and growing body of literature has investigated prismatic adaptation as a very promising rehabilitation method, improving both visuomotor and cognitive features of unilateral neglect. However, its effects are somehow irregular and clinical applications of this method are still limited. The necessity for patients to come to the hospital to take advantage of prismatic adaption sessions draws some limitations about our knowledge concerning 1) the temporal dynamic of prism adaptation effects on a long-term basis and 2) the optimal duration of treatment (most of the time constrained by the hospitalization duration) and its therapeutical effects on a very long-term basis. Moreover, a large number of patients also suffer from motor deficits which reduce the possibility to optimize the prismatic adaptation session. Thus, the aim of this project is to develop and validate others modalities of prismatic adaptation which can be applied at home and for a longer duration. These modalities should allow the investigator to get insights about the temporal dynamic of prismatic adaptation on the cognitive system. First, the investigator will investigate the effects of a prismatic adaptation modality using virtual reality to reproduce the lateral displacement induced by the prismatic goggles. He will also investigate prismatic adaptation induced by motor imagery, i.e. with mental representations of pointing movements without concomitant motor execution. This project could enhance the fundamental knowledge and enable to design new modalities of therapeutical use of prismatic adaptation (virtual or imaged) so as to allow a home-based treatment and follow-up. Thus, the aim of this project is to demonstrate the implication of similar mechanisms through different modalities (virtual and imaged compared to classical application) and the feasibility of these new modalities of healthy subjects. Thereafter, the aim will be to use knowledge acquired during this project to set up clinical trials to test for the efficiency of these modalities on a long-term basis in a pathological population.
Aim 1: To use magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in Veterans and civilians with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and sensory postconcussive symptoms (PCS) to demonstrate the mechanism of therapeutic benefit of HD-tDCS for sensory symptoms, as shown by reliable changes in the activity of the cognitive control network (CCN) and sensory system network (SSN) following stimulation; Aim 2: this intervention will result in long-term improvements in measures of executive function, depression/anxiety, and quality of life.
The purpose of this study is to test the effects of an innovative exercise program referred to as movement-2-music (M2M) on health and fitness outcomes in adults with physical/mobility disabilities. One hundred and eight participants with physical/mobility disabilities will be recruited and randomly enrolled into one of two groups: a) M2M or b) waitlist control. The primary aim of this study is to determine the effects of a 12-week M2M program on health and fitness in participants with physical/mobility disabilities who are in one of three functional mobility groups: 1) Group I - only able to exercise while sitting, 2) Group II - able to exercise sitting and standing with/without support, and 3) Group III - able to exercise one side of the body more than the other side. The second aim is to compare the observed effects of the program in this study to a previous M2M study that groups participants based on disability type. The third aim of this study is to test whether adherence (defined as attendance to the 12-week program) affects the effects of M2M in participants with physical/mobility disabilities. The potential influences of different functional mobility and disabilities of participants on how the program affects participants' health and fitness outcomes will also be tested. **In response to COVID-19, the 12-week M2M intervention and all assessments have been modified from being delivered in-person at Lakeshore Foundation to being delivered remotely in real-time through videoconferencing technology.**
Background and Purpose: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are persistent and frequently comorbid complications of recent combat. There is no proven treatment for mTBI, and standard treatments for PTSD frequently achieve only transient, modest impact. Motion-assisted, Multi-modular Memory Desensitization and Reconsolidation (3MDR) is a novel treatment for PTSD combining aspects of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), within the Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN). The added benefit of the eye movement (EM) component of EMDR is controversial; the purpose of this pilot study is therefore to: 1) obtain an initial estimate of the efficacy of 3MDR in service members with comorbid PTSD and mTBI, and 2) determine the impact of EM on treatment response. The investigators hypothesize that 3MDR will significantly improve symptom severity, both with and without EM. Population: Participants will be active or retired service members with a history of mTBI who meet criteria for probable PTSD on the PCL5. It is anticipated that participants will be recruited through the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine (CNRM) Recruitment Core and the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE). Design type and procedures: This is a pilot, controlled clinical trial in which all 20 participants with comorbid PTSD and mTBI receive 10 sessions (3 preparatory, 6 3MDR treatment, and 1 conclusion), but will be randomized to either include EM (EM+) or not (EM-). In the preparatory sessions, the therapist will help each participant select 2 songs and 14 pictures to be used in their treatment sessions. The therapist will help the participant rate the pictures from least to most impactful. Each 3MDR treatment session will start by playing the first song, to bring them back to the time of their trauma. This will be done while the participant walks on the CAREN's embedded treadmill through the 3MDR virtual environment (VE) projected onto the system's curved screen. This is followed by a display of one of their pictures, a manifestation of their trauma, which they directly face and walk down a hallway toward, until the picture looms before them. The therapist, standing next to the participant along the treadmill's edge, will query the participant about what the picture means to them, how it makes them feel, etc., while the CAREN operator superimposes key words (said by the participant) over the picture, which the therapist later asks the participant to read aloud. Then, for ~60 seconds, the EM+ group will see a red ball "bounce" across the screen in front of the picture, and a number appears on the ball as it touches the screen's edge. The participant will be asked to recite each number aloud. This element is absent for EM- participants. All participants repeats these procedures for 5-7 pictures in each 3MDR treatment session; the pictures used will be agreed upon by therapist and participant, targeting more impactful pictures, whether repeats or new, in later sessions. The pictures are followed by playing the second song, chosen to bring the participant back to present day. The participant will walk at a comfortable pace throughout the session, with each session lasting typically ~60 minutes. The primary outcome measure will be change in PCL-5 score from pre- to post-intervention, with additional measures at 3 and 6 months.