View clinical trials related to Post-concussion Syndrome.
Filter by:Approximately 1.1 million people a year suffer a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), or concussion, in the United States. Although most MTBI patients fully recover, as many as 28% have physical, cognitive, and/or emotional symptoms up to 6 months post-injury. When symptoms persist past three months, it is known as post-concussion syndrome (PCS). The cause of PCS is unknown, as structural neuroimaging and neuropsychological (NP) testing results are often normal. However, recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research in concussed adults showed differences in brain activity compared to controls on working memory tasks, despite normal structural MRI and neuropsychological findings. We propose improving this research by assessing brain activation patterns during simple versus complex attention and working memory tasks in 10 concussed adults via fMRI. This will be the first study to examine brain activation patterns associated with the degree of effort applied to testing, a factor known to confound interpretation of NP test performance. Validated computerized measures of selective attention (Modified Stroop Interference Task), working memory (n-back), and effort (Green's Medical Symptom Validity Test; MSVT) will be used. Ten paid controls will be used for comparative purposes. We hypothesize that concussed patients will show less brain activation than controls on complex versus simple working memory tasks and that activation patterns in concussed patients will generally be lower in those with suboptimal effort. We will also characterize self-reported emotional and physical symptoms in the PCS patients, which has not been done in prior fMRI research with this population.
Concussion is defined as any temporary disturbance in brain function following a blow to the head. It may not involve a loss of consciousness and usually results in a post concussive headache (PCH) immediately after the injury. Between 30 and 50 percent of patients with concussion will develop postconcussive syndrome (PCS) consisting of symptoms such as headache, and a variety of other debilitating symptoms lasting several weeks to months. The objective of this study is to determine if metoclopramide, a drug commonly used in the treatment of migraine headache, will be effective in relieving PCH and in preventing PCS. Eligible patients will have a history of a concussion resulting in headache within the past 24 hours. Patients will rate their pain on a standard scale before and after being treated with one or two intravenous doses of either metoclopramide or saltwater placebo. They will be contacted by telephone 1, 4 and 8 weeks later in order to determine if they have developed the postconcussive syndrome.
The purpose of this study is to find out if 3% hypertonic saline (salt-water solution) given in a vein improves the headache that may be caused by a concussion. 3% hypertonic saline may also improve some of the other symptoms that may be caused by concussion (for example: confusion, nausea, vomiting). This research is being done because there have been previous experience which suggests that 3% hypertonic saline has been beneficial in the treatment of children with more severe brain injury.