View clinical trials related to Brain Concussion.
Filter by:The purpose of this project is to determine the effects of mild traumatic brain injury and blast exposure on the inner ear balance and central nervous systems.
The purpose of this study is to improve the ability to diagnose problems after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and to test a drug that may improve the outcome from these injuries. Of the more than 1.5 million people who experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year in the United States, as many as 75% sustain a mild TBI which can cause long-term or permanent impairments/disabilities in a significant proportion of patients. In addition, traumatic brain injury has become a signature injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For people with these injuries, it is difficult to determine whether symptoms are due to the head injury or another condition, such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. In this project, there are 3 observational studies that involve testing of mental functions and behavior, imaging of the brain with special x-ray procedures, and blood samples to look at glandular function, which may be affected by head injury. A fourth study is a test of a drug, atorvastatin, which may provide protection for injured brain cells and improve outcome. By collecting and analyzing the information from these tests, it will be possible to make the process of diagnosing mild TBI or post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) more precise, and also to see if atorvastatin is a helpful drug for patients with MTBI.
The current project will examine the effects of aerobic exercise on cognition among a group of veterans who have suffered a mild traumatic brain injury.
Many soldiers returning from their recent service in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) were exposed to blasts during combat. About 60% of blast-injured soldiers are diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI), with approximately 18% having a mild TBI (mTBI). mTBI is associated with many symptoms, including memory problems, headaches, difficulty concentrating, increased anxiety, and, especially relevant here, reports of difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments and/or when people speak rapidly. While problems understanding rapid speech or speech in noise are associated with hearing loss, many of the OIF/OEF veterans with these complaints have clinically normal hearing. Although there is no physical damage to their ears, these veterans' hearing problems have a negative impact on their quality-of-life and functioning. Thus it is incumbent upon the VA to examine intervention approaches for veterans with normal/near-normal auditory sensitivity and significant complaints of difficulty hearing. Currently, there is no standard-of-care for these veterans other than providing information about hearing, hearing conservation, and the use of communication strategies. Two forms of rehabilitation likely to be more effective than such an informational-counseling approach are: (1) the use of personal miniaturized Frequency modulation (FM) systems, and (2) the provision of auditory training with Posit Science Brain Fitness Program (BFP). Personal FM systems increase the loudness of the speech signal relative to that of the unwanted noise, while the BFP training improves the ability to listen by taking advantage of the brain's ability to change (i.e., neural plasticity). In this study veterans will randomly be selected to receive one of four treatments: (1) FM use alone, (2) BFP training alone, (3) FM+BFP training combined, and (4) informational-counseling. The effectiveness of the interventions will be compared using self-report of hearing functioning on standard questionnaires. Results will contribute to the development of evidence-based intervention approaches for blast-exposed veterans with reported functional hearing difficulties and normal/near-normal auditory sensitivity.
This study investigates how well a new therapy program prevents persistent symptoms (e.g., headaches, fatigue, irritability, etc.) after concussion. The program involves examining beliefs about concussion and learning healthy coping strategies, and is completed with the first three months post-injury.
The aim of the study is to compare a multidisciplinary examination and follow up by rehabilitation program with a multidisciplinary examination, good advice and follow up by the family doctor. Further on we will examine if there were differing clinical characteristics between patients who attended a planned follow-up session and those that failed to and Prognostic factors in mild traumatic brain injury patients after discharge from hospital.
Enhanced Goal Management Training (GMT) is a 10-week group or individual therapy that teaches strategies to improve an individual's ability to complete everyday tasks. This research study will test the effect of GMT on 36 OEF/OIF Veterans compared to a control group of 16 OEF/OIF Veterans receiving a Brain Health Workshop. The results will provide information to conduct future research with a larger group of patients or to identify which patients demonstrate more benefit from the training.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a Public Health problem, because of the numbers of events (more than 200,000 per year in France). Craniocerebral tomodensitometry (CCT) is widely used for the diagnosis of minor/mild TBI, but both the access to the CCT and the cost of this imagery are critical factors. We hypothesized that the blood level measurement of S100 protein (S100), a neurological biomarker of cerebral injury, would help to the clinical evaluation of minor/mild head injury events, and would be an economic alternative to CCT for the diagnosis of these pathologies. In addition, a part of the study will explore the prognostic value of such blood level S100 determination for the evaluation of medical/social consequences of minor/mild TBI. Medical objective of the study: 1. to assess the contribution of early determination (to medical care) of S100 for the diagnosis of minor/moderate TBI (TCCMM - Glasgow sup or equal to 9), 2. to determine the usefulness of a second dosage three hours later for the medical decision. In other words, to compare S100 biomarker and CCT considered as a reference ( "Gold Standard") for the diagnosis or exclusion of TCCMM, and to precise its terms of use. Economic objective: to conduct a cost-effectiveness study of blood level determination of S100 vs. CCT for the diagnosis of minor/moderate TBI and its medical/social consequences
The administration of N-acetyl-cysteine (an anti-oxidant) for seven days along with observation will result in improved hearing and balance function in individuals who demonstrate these disorders after blast exposure when compared to a placebo medicine and observation at the seven day time point.
Many active duty military, national guard, and reserves personnel who served in the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq were exposed to blasts and other mechanisms of traumatic brain injury (TBI).1,2 Although physical trauma is not unexpected during war fighting, survival after head injury, particularly blast-related, has become a common occurrence only in recent decades. As such, the associated cerebral damage is less well studied and understood, particularly over the long term. The Brain Injury Outcomes (BIO) is a longitudinal study with the short-term objective of better characterizing multi-modal outcomes in individuals who have sustained a brain injury using a systems medicine approach. Long-term aims include monitoring participants for signs of emerging symptoms or age-related vulnerabilities. Identification of abnormality profiles for multiple severity levels of brain injury (from any source, including blast and non-blast) reflects a second long-range goal. Third, the investigators will examine and compare physiology between Veterans who have sustained a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) with and without persisting symptoms and various co-morbidities including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. A control group of Veterans who have not sustained a TBI will also be recruited for comparison. Fourth, the investigators intend to facilitate the clinical use of advanced methodologies, such as brain imaging measures, with the brain injured (and other populations). Finally, the investigators will assess methods of analysis, separately and in combination through integration, for multi-modal data in search of diagnostic profiles. Increased knowledge of injury patterns and the trajectory associated with brain injury could contribute to better methods of diagnosis, monitoring and, perhaps, treatment. This investigation has spawned several sub-studies, one of which was the Validation of Brief Objective Neurobehavioral Detectors (BOND) of Mild TBI, which continues. The investigators have collaborated with Harvard/Boston Children's Hospital in the Angiogenic Signaling Signatures Identified in Stress and Trauma (ASSIST) sub-study. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will assist in integrating BIO Study multi-modal data. Investigators at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine collaborate with neuroimaging sequences and methods.