Active clinical trials for "Brain Injuries"

The overall hypothesis is that the long-term cognitive and behavioral sequelae of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are due to selective disruption of the long association white matter tracts of the cerebral hemispheres, with resulting functional impairment of the network of cortical regions that are interconnected by these long-range association pathways. We propose that traumatic white matter injury can be measured with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and that the impaired cortical activation can be detected with magnetoencephalography (MEG), and that the results of these imaging examinations will correlate with neurocognitive status and functional recovery after TBI.

The main purpose of this study is to prospectively examine changes in Brain Network Activation(BNA)following concussion in high school athletes. In addition, the study will examine the relationship between changes in BNA to symptoms, cognitive performance and vestibular function from baseline to 1-7, 8-14 and 15-21 day post injury intervals in high school athletes with concussion.

One of the most common symptoms suffered by traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients is disruption in attention. Lack of attention impacts daily life including academic or professional tasks, and interpersonal relationships. The focus of Therapeutic Resources for Attention Improvement with Neuroimaging for Traumatic Brain Injury (TRAIN-TBI) is to investigate the changes in neurological function with special interest in attention after TBI for children ages 8 to 16. This study will be done through advanced neuroimaging procedures, neurocognitive testing, and an online training tool created by The Brain Plasticity Institute. The investigators hypothesize that the training will improve attention in TBI subjects and that the advanced imaging will show corresponding neural connectivity changes, as compared to matched healthy controls.

The use of Event Related Potentials (ERP) and neurocognitive performance in patients following concussion has been examined previously in small cohorts and relatively long after concussion occurred. However, little is known about the immediate changes in brain activity in specific brain regions and connectivity across them associated with performance on specific neurocognitive tests following a concussion, and the subsequent changes over time. The proposed study will provide initial evidence for the feasibility of an ERP based biomarker for concussion reflecting temporal and spatial changes in brain activity as well as brain functional connectivity associated with concussion.

Abnormalities in structural and functional connectivity between brain regions have been suggested as putative biomarkers of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and significant contributors to neuropsychological functioning and injury outcome. The purpose of this study is to use two advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques called diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and resting state functional MRI to compare structural and functional connectivity between individuals with documented mild TBI and healthy controls. To evaluate the significance of structural and functional connectivity for behavior, the brain imaging data will then be related to measures of cognition and emotion. Over a 4-year period, 150 adults with documented mild TBI and 30 healthy controls will participate in the study. The study will investigate the following questions and hypotheses: Evaluate the DWI metric fractional anisotropy (FA) as a measure of white matter integrity across multiple stages of recovery following mild TBI relative to healthy controls. It is hypothesized that mild TBI will be associated with greater white matter abnormalities than healthy controls. It is hypothesized that there will be a relationship between FA, cognition and emotion as a function of the injury. It is hypothesized that functional connectivity will be related to FA.

There will be 200 participants, who aged 30 years or older with TBI in 1,5,10,15 years ago and GCS=13-15 will be recruited. Another group of 200 participants with the same age and gender and without TBI will be recruited as the controls. All of them will undergo AD8 questionnaire for dementia screening and APOE4 genotyping. Further CASI and CDR will be tested for the confirmation of dementia diagnosis for the individuals with AD8 scaore >/=2. 10 TBI with dementia, 20 TBI without dementia and 10 controls will be selected randomly for AV45 amylid PET study. There will also be 10 participants without traumatic brain injury and interested in this study, aged 55 years or older better.

Currently, there is no direct, reliable, bed-side, and non-invasive method for assessing changes in brain activity associated with concussion. Event Related Potentials (ERPs), which are temporal reflections of the neural mass electrical activity of cells in specific regions of the brain that occur in response to stimuli, may offer such a method, as they provide both a noninvasive and portable measure of brain function. The ERPs provide excellent temporal information, but spatial resolution for ERPs has traditionally been limited. However, by using high-density electroencephalograph (EEG) recording spatial resolution for ERPs is improved significantly. The paradigm for the current study will combine neurophysiological knowledge with mathematical signal processing and pattern recognition methods (BNA™) to temporally and spatially map brain function, connectivity and synchronization. The proposed study will provide additional evidence for the utility and contribution of the BNA™ test (reflecting temporal and spatial changes in brain activity as well as brain functional connectivity associated with concussion) in concussion management.

The PreTBI I study will investigate whether prehospital blood samples drawn already in the ambulance can rule-out intracranial lesions in patients suffering head trauma. The study aims to improve triage and treatment of patients suffering mild head trauma, who are considered low-risk patients. These patients do not always benefit from hospitalization, but are nevertheless admitted on precaution, as clinical assesment can be difficult. Hypotheses: A prehospital measurement of serum S100B ≤ 0,10 microgram/L in mild TBI patients rules out traumatic intracranial lesion with a sensitivity >97%. A prehospital measurement of serum GFAP (glial acidic fibrillary protein) in mild TBI patients rules out traumatic intracranial lesion with sensitivity >97% and results in lower false positive rate than S100B. Prehospital measurements of both GFAP and S100B results in lower false positive rates than in-hospital measurements.

Brian injured patients are predisposed to various complications related to mechanical ventilation. Appropriate decision making of the weaning is crucial and validated predictive parameters are desirable. In present study, the investigators aim to a) validate the electrical activity of diaphragm (EAdi) derived parameters, and b) evaluate the traditional predictive parameters in weaning prediction in brain injured patients.

Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography is usually used in the evaluation and management of patients with brain injury. This noninvasive method measures local blood flow velocity and direction in the proximal portions of large intracranial arteries. The operator requires a short training and experience to perform. The third ventricle diameter measurement by transcranial duplex flow sonography was performed in healthy volunteers . This studies show similar results in those obtained with the MRI or Computer Tomography (CT). Currently the third ventricle diameter measurements by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography was not validated for neuro-intensive care unit patients. The investigators propose to used recent ultrasound system to validate the third ventricle diameter measurements in comparison with the standard method (CT).