View clinical trials related to Brain Injuries, Traumatic.
Filter by:This study performs assessments of pituitary functions by basal hormone levels in the acute phase after TBI and/or SAH followed by detailed endocrine tests (insulin-induced hypoglycemia or growth hormone releasing hormone-arginine-corticotropin releasing hormone-leuteinizing hormone releasing hormone [GHRH-arginine-CRH-LHRH] test) after 4 and 12 months.
Each year in the United States alone, 300,000 persons are hospitalized for traumatic brain injury, with approximately one quarter dying. Despite advances in aggressive neurosurgical interventions, intensive care monitoring and overall supportive management, many of those who do "survive" do not fully recover and are left with a varying degree of permanent disability. It is therefore imperative that new methods of early interventions be explored. One possible road to effective therapy is to examine the timing of secondary injury via a biological marker, to help guide the timing of treatment directed specifically at early oxidant injury. A more thorough understanding of how quickly oxidant injury occurs will allow us to direct appropriate therapies targeted directly at oxidant injury within what is currently thought to be a very narrow window of opportunity for intervention, possibly peaking within the first two hours after the initial injury. Potential participants include patients between the ages of 18 and 50 years who are admitted to Parkland Memorial Hospital with a diagnosis of severe traumatic brain injury. Blood, urine, and CSF (if patient requires a clinically indicated ventriculostomy) will be collected over the first 5 days post-injury. Clinically-relevant patient progress, clinically required interventions, neuro-imaging results, and demographics will be tracked while the patient is hospitalized, with final neurological outcome measured at 3 months.
This study will use MRI imaging, cognitive testing and outcome questionnaires to determine how the brain recovers and reorganizes after an injury.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant public health problem, with 1.5-2.0 million Americans injured each year. Cognitive deficits, particularly in the domains of memory and attention are frequently the source of lingering disability after TBI and a source of enormous distress to the injured individuals and their family/caregivers. To date, interventions to ameliorate chronic cognitive deficits have been directed at either pharmacological interventions or cognitive rehabilitation. We propose to (1) To compare the efficacy of three interventions: memory and attention training (MAAT), methylphenidate, and memory/attention training in combination with methylphenidate and (2) use functional MRI (fMRI) to characterize changes in activation of the neural circuitry of memory and attention due to MAAT alone, methylphenidate alone, and MAAT in combination with methylphenidate. This is a two by two design with medication (methylphenidate/placebo) and cognitive therapy (Memory and Attention Training (MAAT) or an Attention control intervention) as possible interventions. Using a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind design, 200 individuals with persistent cognitive deficits 6-12 months after MTBI will be randomized to receive a six week trial of either (1) MAAT and placebo, (2) MAAT and methylphenidate (0.3 mg/kg BID), (3) attention control intervention and methylphenidate (0.3 mg/kg BID), or (4) attention control intervention and placebo. Symptom distress, attention and memory performance, and activation patterns of the neural circuitry of attention and memory while undergoing fMRI will be characterized at baseline, and after the four treatment conditions. This study will provide important information on three interventions for the most disabling sequelae of an enormous public health problem. Further, it will help to clarify underlying neural mechanisms and suggest additional treatment possibilities.
The purpose of this study is to determine if hypertonic saline with and without dextran can improve neurologic outcomes in victims of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Injury and lost blood from trauma can cause your body to go into shock (low blood pressure related to blood loss). This decreased blood flow can lead to organ damage. In order to restore the blood pressure and blood flow, the medics give fluids into the patients' veins as soon as possible. This is called "resuscitation". The fluid most commonly used is "isotonic" or one that is the same salt concentration as the blood. The investigators are trying to determine if infusing a "hypertonic" fluid or one more concentrated than the blood can increase the blood pressure and restore blood flow more efficiently. The hypertonic fluids they are using are called hypertonic saline with dextran (HSD) and hypertonic saline (no dextran). Hypertonic saline is a salt solution that is slightly more concentrated than blood. Dextran is a sugar solution.
The purpose of this study is to determine if bone marrow progenitor cell (BMPC) autologous transplantation in children after isolated traumatic brain injury is safe and will improve functional outcome.
The specific aim of this research is to determine if the blood from brain-injured patients contains reproducible protein markers that appear prior to elevations in intracranial pressure (ICP).
Brain damage as a result of decreased oxygen to the brain is found in 80% of patients that die with severe head injuries. Laboratory studies in animals and clinical trials have shown that increasing oxygen in the brain results in better brain oxygen consumption, less cell death, and better functional outcome. This study will test the hypothesis that Oxycyte is an effective way to increase brain oxygen levels in severe head injury.
This is a multi-centre randomised trial to evaluate the effect of early decompressive craniectomy on neurological function in patients with severe traumatic brain injury. The primary outcome is neurological function measured at 6 months post injury using the Glasgow Outcome Score. Neurological function is qualified as proportion of favourable outcomes (Glasgow Outcome Score Extended [GOSE] grades 5-8).
The purpose of this trial is to determine if mild hypothermia therapy, for severe head trauma patients, improves neurological outcome.