View clinical trials related to Cerebrovascular Disorder.
Filter by:This study will determine the risk of brain aneurysm (abnormal outpouching of a brain artery) in young adults who had their carotid artery tied off as an infant as part of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) procedure. This procedure is sometimes performed on newborns with lung problems so that they can have oxygen brought to their blood outside the body. ECMO operates similar to a heart-lung machine. Blood drained from the veins has the carbon dioxide removed and oxygen added. The oxygenated blood is then returned to the body through the arteries. People 18 to 25 years of age who underwent ECMO as an infant at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., may be eligible for this study. Participants undergo the following procedures: - Medical history and physical and neurological examinations. - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head and neck. MRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to obtain images of body organs and tissues. The subject lies in the scanner (a metal cylinder surrounded by a magnetic field) for about 90 minutes, lying still for up to 15 minutes at a time. During part of the procedure, a contrast dye is injected into a vein through a catheter (thin plastic tube) to enhance the images.
Patients with blockage of the blood vessels that supply blood to the back of the brain, known as vertebrobasilar disease (VBD), are at risk of having a stroke or temporary symptoms of a stroke known as transient ischemic attack (TIA). The risk of repeated stroke associated with VBD may be affected by several risk factors, including the degree to which the blockage reduces the blood flow to the brain. Patients with VBD have different levels of blockage ranging from partial blockage to complete blockage, which can affect the blood flow to the brain by variable amounts. The purpose of this research is to determine if patients with symptomatic VBD who demonstrate low blood flow to the back of the brain on magnetic resonance (MR)imaging are at higher risk of developing another stroke or TIA than patients with normal blood flow.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a diagnostic tool that creates high quality images of the human body without the use of X-ray (radiation). MRI is especially useful when studying the brain, because it can provide information about certain brain functions. In addition, MRI is much better than standard X-rays at showing areas of the brain close to the skull and detecting changes in the brain associated with neurological diseases. In this study researchers will use MRI to gather information about the processes that control human movement and sensory processing. The purpose of the study is to investigate how the brain is activated when remembering, thinking, or recognizing objects. Researchers would like to determine what happens to brain functions when patients have trouble remembering, thinking, or recognizing objects following the start of disorders in the brain and nervous system. In addition, this study will investigate the processes of motor control in healthy volunteers and patients with disease.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a technique used to investigate the functional activity of the brain. The PET technique allows doctors to study the normal processes of the brain (central nervous system) of normal individuals and patients with neurologic illnesses without physical / structural damage to the brain. When a region of the brain is active, it uses more fuel in the form of oxygen and sugar (glucose). As the brain uses more fuel it produces more waste products, carbon dioxide and water. Blood carries fuel to the brain and waste products away from the brain. As brain activity increases blood flow to and from the area of activity increases also. Knowing these facts, researchers can use radioactive water (H215O) and PET scans to observe what areas of the brain are receiving more blood flow. This study is designed to use positron emission tomography (PET) with radioactive water (H215O) to determine the areas of the brain associated with memory and language. Patients participating in the study will be made up of normal volunteers, patients with epilepsy, and patients with other abnormalities related to the surface of the brain (non-epileptic focal cortical dysfunctions).