View clinical trials related to Minimally Conscious State.
Filter by:Chronic consciousness disorders have high level of impact on public health and its costs.
The aim of this study is to determine whether transcranial brain stimulations, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), are effective in terms of EEG coherence and clinical changes in patients in vegetative and minimally conscious state.
Previous studies showed that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPF) cortex transiently improves performance of memory and attention. Investigator assessed the effects of left DLPF-tDCS on Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) scores in severely brain damaged patients with disorders of consciousness in a double-blind sham-controlled experimental design.
Rationale. The investigators hypothesize that bilateral electrical central thalamic stimulation of patients in Vegetative State and Minimally Conscious State from at least 6 months could improve the level of responsiveness. Aims. Evaluate the efficacy of bilateral electrical central thalamic stimulation in patients in Vegetative State and Minimally Conscious State. Study Design. Patients in Vegetative State and Minimally Conscious State from at least 6 months because of traumatic brain injury, hypoxic or ischemic brain injury will be evaluated to confirm the diagnosis according to the recent literature criteria. Then patients will be investigated by magnetic resonance (MRI), EEG and evoked potentials to evaluate eligibility. Patients included into the study will be implanted with electrodes, targeting the centromedian/parafascicularis nucleus complex of the thalamus bilaterally. In the following months patients will be repeatedly evaluated using the CRS-R and Coma/Near Coma scales and the neurophysiologic parameters (EEG, evoked potentials) to assess the effects of thalamic stimulation. fMRI,DTI and MRS will be performed prior and after thalamic stimulation.
The purpose of the study is to determine whether familiar vocal stimulation, provided during coma recovery, improves outcomes for persons who are unconscious after severe TBI. The primary hypothesis is that unconscious persons who receive standard rehabilitation (SR) plus a high-dose of Familiar Voice stimulation (FVs) compared to unconscious persons who receive SR plus a sham stimulation (Sham Group) will demonstrate: 1. Significantly more neurobehavioral functioning post-intervention compared to pre-intervention. 2. Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), significantly higher average measures of volumetric activity in the whole brain, middle temporal gyrus bilaterally, primary auditory area, bilateral pre-frontal cortex, hippocampus and/or the cerebellum post-intervention compared to pre-intervention.