View clinical trials related to Acquired Brain Injury.
Filter by:This Clinical Trial is a pilot study being conducted to study the impact of a specific cognitive rehabilitation program, Goal Management Training (GMT), in adult patients with executive dysfunction and associated problems in everyday functioning. The intervention program will also include relaxation training and psychoeducation regarding brain injury on everyday functioning, emotional status, and executive functioning. Goal Management Training focuses on teaching individuals strategies to compensate for executive functioning deficits and is based on a theory of goal neglect resulting in disorganized behavior following frontal lobe injury. It emphasizes strategies for self-monitoring and self-evaluation in everyday life. Given its goal-oriented emphasis, focus on individual everyday difficulties, and reports of improvements in self-reported executive failures and mood, GMT appears to be an ideal intervention treatment for individuals with executive and functional deficits. Given the emphasis of goal-oriented rehabilitation on reducing the impact of cognitive impairment on daily functioning, rather than attempting to restore cognitive abilities, a reduction in subjective reports of psychological distress is anticipated. This hypothesis is consistent with existing literature revealing reduced reports of annoyance and executive difficulties on self-report inventories. Improvements on tests of sustained attention and visuospatial problem-solving, as well as small effects on additional measures of planning, are also anticipated.
In this study, an FDA-cleared device and type of treatment called "AMES," which stands for Assisted Movement with Enhanced Sensation, will be used to determine whether sensation in the upper limb of individuals with incomplete spinal cord injuries, acquired brain injury, or stroke improves along with movement through treatment. We hypothesize that measureable improvement in the sensation of the upper limb will precede improvement in functional movement.
Problems with attention are a common and debilitating consequence of brain injury. Studies show that poor attention is the number one predictor of poor cognitive functioning one year post-injury. This is due to the fact that attention is a necessary component of more complex cognitive functions such as learning & memory, multi-tasking and problem solving. In many cases, individuals may exhibit problems with spatial attention known as 'hemi-spatial neglect syndrome' or simply 'neglect'. Many studies now show that the processing machinery of the brain is plastic and remodeled throughout life by learning and experience, enabling the strengthening of cognitive skills or abilities. Research has shown that brief, daily computerized cognitive training that is sufficiently challenging, goal-directed and adaptive enables intact brain structures to restore balance in attention and compensate for disruptions in cognitive functioning. The study aims to understand how our computer program can affect cognition and attention in those with acquired brain injury.
1. To evaluate the efficacy of a structured outpatient couples intervention program (Therapeutic Couples Intervention, TCI) on couples' marital quality after acquired brain injury (ABI). 2. To assess the impact of the TCI on the emotional well-being of persons with ABI and their partners. 3. To ascertain the impact of the TCI on caregiver burden and unmet needs as reported by partners of persons with ABI. 4. To examine the extent to which treatment benefits for survivors and their caregiving partners are sustained in the longer-term.
This open label trial is conducted to investigate the efficacy and safety of allogeneic umbilical cord blood (UCB) therapy for patients with acquired brain injury.
Stroke, head injury and other forms of brain injury are a major cause of physical, psychological and social disability in the adult population. Psychological distress is common following brain injury, but the evidence base for specific psychotherapeutic methods in this population is limited, and standard treatment approaches may not be suitable. Recently there has been a growing interest in positive psychology - the study of wellbeing, positive emotions and characteristics, and personal growth. The investigators believe that positive psychotherapy interventions may be beneficial after acquired brain injury, to reduce psychological morbidity. Because such interventions have not previously been applied in this population, the investigators propose to conduct a pilot randomised controlled trial to examine the feasibility of a brief positive psychotherapy intervention in an out-patient setting. This project will produce essential information to allow us to plan future full-scale clinical trials in this area.
Problems with attention are a common and debilitating consequence of brain injury. Studies show that poor attention is the number one predictor of poor cognitive functioning one year post-injury. This is due to the fact that attention is a necessary component of more complex cognitive functions such as learning & memory, multi-tasking and problem solving. In many cases, individuals may exhibit problems with spatial attention known as 'hemi-spatial neglect syndrome' or simply 'neglect'. Many studies now show that the processing machinery of the brain is plastic and remodeled throughout life by learning and experience, enabling the strengthening of cognitive skills or abilities. The investigators own research has shown that brief, daily computerized cognitive training that is sufficiently challenging, goal-directed and adaptive enables intact brain structures to restore balance in attention and compensate for disruptions in cognitive functioning.
The purposes of this study were to evaluate the influence of an interdisciplinary rehabilitation program in the improvement of the health-related quality of life among adult neurological patients and to identify the sociodemographic and clinical associated characteristics. Subjects with spinal cord injury, acquired brain injury and poliomyelitis survivors participated in the study. All participants underwent a rehabilitation program (RP) from January 2008 through July 2010, which consists of 40-minutes of many therapies for 1-2 days a week. The WHOQOL-BREF was applied at the initial and discharge assessments.
This research project aims to find out if a multiplayer online video game can provide therapeutic benefit for people who have survived a brain injury. Video games provide therapeutic benefits in many contexts (Griffiths, 2005). Players of online multiplayer games behave altruistically and form friendships (Wang and Wang, 2008). These positive emotional effects may enhance cognitive rehabilitation, because the cognitive and emotional sides of rehabilitation are connected (Mateer, 2005). The hypothesis is thus: that playing multiplayer online games can be a useful form of cognitive rehabilitation for brain-injured people. This research will identify whether or not multi-player online video games may be used as a complementary therapeutic tool. A further aim is to develop guidelines which would help others considering the use of video games for cognitive rehabilitation.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) reflects the responsiveness of the autonomic system to an external stimuli. The aim of this system is to maintain homeostasis.The variability implies on the interaction between the sympathetic and the parasympathetic systems to maintain the ongoing changes of the autonomic system. Following Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), there can be a damage to the Central Nervous System (CNS) function. The damages described in the literature are cognitive, motor and behavioural function, while there is less relation to the autonomic system. The autonomic system can influence the ability of patient with ABI to participate in the rehabilitation program. The aim of this work is to investigate the activity of the autonomic system activity as manifested by HRV among patients with ABI in different conditions: resting, during activity and while listening to different auditory stimuli.