View clinical trials related to Brain Injuries.
Filter by:Current therapy of Mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI) revolves around symptomatic care, rest, and return to school/sport/work after symptoms have resolved. The standard intervention for sufferers of mild traumatic brain injury is brain rest, which aims to decrease symptom intensity and duration, prevent re-injury and second impact syndrome via cessation of physical and cognitive activity, and to gradually increase activity as tolerated. Increased brain temperature can be a secondary injury result in TBI. There are limited studies, primarily in the sports medicine literature, that show head-neck cooling can be a useful adjunct as a treatment for mild TBI. Our objective will be to evaluate concussive symptoms via the Post-Concussion Symptom Severity Score Index by conducting patient follow up interviews at different timepoints over 72 hours after an emergency department visit for the head injury where head and neck cooling was applied.
Despite almost universal usage of supplemental oxygen therapy in patients presenting in the emergency department with traumatic brain injury (TBI), optimal oxygen levels are unclear. The investigators propose a pilot multi-center randomized controlled trial to test the hypothesis that maintaining intermediate normal as opposed to high normal oxygen levels in patients presenting in the emergency department with TBI is feasible, and to obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of the two approaches to oxygen therapy. The aim is that the investigators produce pilot data, which could inform the design of potential subsequent larger clinical trials.
Severe acquired brain injury (sABI) is a group of disorders that cause long-term disability. Rehabilitation is essential to counteract bed immobilization, muscle failure, pain, and sensory deficits that can affect the clinical and rehabilitation pathway of these patients. Focal muscle vibration (FMV) is a tool that uses low-amplitude, high-frequency vibrations that when applied to muscle-tendon units. This technique, administered at specific frequencies, amplitudes and durations, can generate action potentials of the same frequency as the stimulus applied to the muscle or tendon. This makes it possible to activate selected afferent fibers and stimulate targeted brain areas with persistent effects over time (long-term potentiation). Regarding the effect of counteracting vibration spasticity, FMV is able to inhibit the reflex arc and induce reciprocal inhibition of functional agonist muscle. In addition, the strong proprioceptive stimulus generated by vibration is able to reach the primary motor and somatosensory cortex, enhancing cortical mechanisms that regulate co-contraction between agonist and antagonist muscles, thereby reducing muscle tone and joint stiffness. In many studies, this technique has been shown to be effective in reducing pain and joint stiffness by improving muscle contraction and motor control.
Given the rising rates of concussion in youth ages 10-19 and the significant proportion of young people who remain symptomatic for months following concussion, research evaluating the efficacy of multifaceted treatment options following concussion is imperative. Studies examining the efficacy of treatment strategies following concussion in children and adults are surprisingly limited, and most focus on one treatment approach, have small sample sizes, are not randomized controlled trials, and focus on individuals with prolonged recovery (months). There is a need for a multifaceted treatment trial to examine the early implementation of treatment approaches that may reduce prolonged recovery while considering the heterogeneous presentation of symptoms and patient preferences in the sub-acute stage following concussion. Randomized controlled trials that consider a multifaceted transdisciplinary approach to treatment in the early period following concussion are needed to raise the bar regarding evidence-informed management following concussion
This study will probe if the biological changes in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) are related to a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) using high definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) and blood-derived biomarker tools. Participants who Do as well as those who Do Not have a history of mTBI will be enrolled in the study.
One hundred participants with acquired brain injury (ABI) will be included in a randomized controlled trial, with one group playing a commercially available VR game and the control group doing activities in their everyday as cognitive training. The trial aims to investigate how VR can affect processing speed in the ABI population, and if these effects can transfer into everyday activities. The training will be performed in the participants homes, with assistance provided by the project group via phone or video conference. The training period will last five weeks. Participant's cognitive functions will be measured with questionnaires and neuropsychological tests at the start of the training period, at the end of training and sixteen weeks after the start of the intervention. In depth experiences with VR as a training method will be gathered through performing focus group interviews with some of the participants from the VR group, in addition to self-reported questionnaires from all the participants.
An Exploratory Interventional study to assess the effects of cranioplasty on brain network connectivity, neuropsychological and motor functioning in patients with severe acquired brain injury with pre-, post-cranioplasty and 6 months follow-up assessments.
Acquired brain injury is mental function damage caused by different reasons (such as cerebral neuropathy, head injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, brain tumor, etc.). After the injury, patient has mental, cognitive, behavioral, body function, and other impairments, which makes patient still need the assistance of family members. For patients with brain injury in subacute stage, clinician assesses their needs for follow-up rehabilitation intervention programs in an appropriate way to assist patients who have the potential to return home to make care plans. In the process of rehabilitation, family members support patients, accompany patients to face and cope with changes in physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects, and help patients return to life, which is the key factor for successful rehabilitation. When family members have good coping strategies, they will also have a better mood and quality of life, which will also contribute to the rehabilitation process of patients. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the psychological coping strategies used by family caregivers in the care process and the neuropsychological function of patients. This study is divided into three stages. In the first stage, it is expected to receive 30 groups of patients and their families. Semi-structured in-depth interviews and questionnaires will be conducted for caregivers of family members with brain injury, to explore the psychological adjustment strategies developed by family caregivers in the process of care, and neuropsychological assessment will be conducted for patients to understand the impact of disease on patients' neuropsychological functions, to serve as the direction of neuropsychological intervention. In the second stage, 230 family members of patients are expected to be collected. According to the psychological adjustment strategy framework constructed in phase I, appropriate neuropsychological tests and self-report questionnaires are selected to evaluate the family members of patients, and the scale is compiled. In the third stage, it is expected to collect 60 groups of patients and their families. Through screening tests, the ecological neuropsychological intervention will be carried out for those who have an insufficient psychological function or psychological distress, and the results of neuropsychological function and psychological status before and after the intervention will be tested with evaluation tools. The objective of this study is to provide a specific framework for clinical workers and families of patients with brain injury to face difficulties together and to increase the direction of clinical psychological intervention in the future.
Paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity (PSH) is a syndrome that comprises a series of signs and symptoms reflecting exacerbated sympathetic activity, including arterial hypertension, fever, tachycardia, generalized perspiration, anomalous motor activity (dystonia, muscle stiffness, extension), tachypnea, mechanical ventilator maladjustment, hypoxemia, hypercapnia, and hyperglycemia. PSH episodes can be intense and prolonged and can occur several times a day and all of these can lead to secondary brain damage and are the main causes of a poor prognosis. Paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity also induces a hypermetabolic state with hypercatabolism and inflammation and increases vulnerability to infections, sepsis, and weight loss which in turn are associated with increased morbidity, longer hospital stay, and slower recovery. The marked and sustained increase in catecholamine levels predisposes to the development of cardiomyopathy, lung edema, arrhythmias, and cardiac and multisystemic dysfunction. The reported incidence of paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity ranges from 8% to 33% and has no particular age or gender predilection. 80% of these syndrome incidents developed with traumatic brain injury.
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is one of the most frequent emergencies in the elderly population. Despite most mTBI are managed with cranial computed tomography (CT), only 10% of CTs show lesions, determining CT overuse. The use of serum glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and Ubiquitin C-terminal Hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) have shown potential for ruling out the need for cranial CT. However evidence on biomarker use in mild TBI were not based on studies that included aged participants and patients with comorbidities for which biomarker levels could vary. This is why there is a need for a prospective study that assesses the predictive performance of these two biomarkers in the elderly population, both in elderly patients suffering mild TBI and in a reference population, including patients and participants with and without comorbidities.