Active clinical trials for "Brain Concussion"

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a very common reason for presentation to pediatric emergency departments. So as not to overlook the risk of complications, which occur at a rate of 0-7%, measures such as cranial computed tomography (CCT-scan) and/or short inpatient observation are prescribed. Ultimately, the majority of these measures could be avoided and a large Australian cohort shows that the risk of brain tumors is 2.44 times higher for children who had a CCT-scan (3.24 for age 1-4 years). Assay of a sensitive biomarker in blood, such as the S100B protein, has the potential to reduce the number of these unnecessary measures.

The waveform assessment of an athlete's speech production has a high probability of showing abnormalities after brain injury (concussions) which could be used not only for diagnosis of the concussion, but for recovery of the brain. The aim of this study is to investigate this possibility using the Cobweb automated application system for acoustic processing.

The study will ask the question as to whether or not it is possible to deliver education material to patients with a mild traumatic brain injury in a consistent matter. The question will be asked as to whether an educational intervention decreases symptom reporting specifically looking at headache symptoms. Half of the patients will receive the current standard of care in the tertiary clinic they have been referred to while the other half will also receive the current standard of care with the addition of targeted headache educational material at various time points.

Premature cessation of screen usage is a common behavior post-concussion, given the taxing nature of a screen-time task. In the academic setting, screen-time is a near unavoidable component, however, complete avoidance of class and screen use may in fact provoke psychological symptoms of anxiety and depression in students, for fear of falling behind in their studies. Thus, compensatory measures should be investigated to assist students as they attempt to maintain academic involvement throughout their concussion recovery. Blue light blocking glasses have been shown to significantly increase screen-time usage in individuals with post-concussion syndrome, yet these results are only representative of a small portion of the concussion population. Thus, we propose investigating whether blue light blocking glasses can prolong screen usage prior to symptom exacerbation, specifically in concussed students that are still within the normal recovery timeframe. This cross-sectional randomized clinical trial will provide further evidence of the utility blue light blocking glasses can offer as a therapeutic tool for students recovering from concussion. We would like to test volunteers from the Rochester Institute of Technology who have been treated by a medical provider within the university's health center. Blue light glasses will be worn during a one-time computer reading task while the subject is participating in the study. The total time for the complete the reading task is dependent upon the participant's symptom fluctuations; however, we suspect completion criteria will be met within 20 minutes from beginning. The risks in this study are minimal and results may increase our understanding of therapeutic tools for patients with ocular-driven concussion symptoms.

Approximately 15-20% of patients diagnosed with a concussion/mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) have persistent symptoms that continue up to six months or longer. Typical problems identified by these patients include difficulty with memory, multi-tasking, the ability to complete tasks quickly, and higher executive functions (e.g., inhibition, initiation, insight, motivation) (Belanger & Vanderploeg, 2005; Mott, McConnon, & Rieger, 2012, Rabinowitz & Levin, 2014). If these symptoms persist they can not only affect thinking, but also communication abilities (e.g., verbal and nonverbal interactions, reading, and writing) (ASHA, 2007). Therefore, it is hypothesized that screening measures that evaluate both thinking and communication can better identify individuals at-risk for persistent symptoms at two week and four weeks post-injury. Also, if cognitive-communication therapy was administered earlier post-injury, then outcomes related to return to daily activities, work, and/or the academic setting could possibly change. This study intends to investigate the use of cognitive and communication screening measures for the identification of persistent symptoms and the provision of early cognitive-communication therapy if problems persist.

The Defense Automated Neurobehavioral Assessment (DANA) was recently developed as a durable, portable, and "field-hardened" NeuroCognitive Assessment Tool. The purpose of this study is to compare the sensitivity of the DANA Brief exam with the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) battery currently used by the military after concussion. The primary hypothesis is that the DANA Brief exam will be more sensitive for detecting continued impaired cognitive performance than the ANAM during recovery after a concussion.

Objective/Hypothesis: An eight-week course of forty low-pressure Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment's (HBOT's) can significantly improve symptoms and cognitive function in subjects with the persistent-post concussion syndrome (PPCS) of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

To compare the use of the Concussion Pen to current clinical care practice. This will be a prospective study of a maximum of 24 subjects, with a goal enrollment of 20 subjects (10 in each cohort). All subjects will undergo clinical evaluation for concussion and will also be evaluated using the Concussion Pen. Randomization to being evaluated using clinical care first then the Concussion Pen and vice versa will be utilized. This randomization will help to control for evaluation fatigue on the part of study participants.

The purpose of this study is to compare the sensitivity of the DANA Rapid exam with the MACE cognitive score. The primary hypothesis is that the DANA Rapid exam will be more sensitive for detecting impaired cognitive performance than the MACE cognitive score in the setting of a clinical diagnosis of concussion at the point of injury in the combat setting. A secondary purpose of this study is to examine a serial performance on the DANA Rapid exam in those subjects diagnosed with a concussion. The secondary hypothesis is that the DANA Rapid exam will show improvements in performance during the recovery period after concussion.

This research is being done to understand the role of different recovery methods in healing time after athletic or sports related concussion.