Active clinical trials for "Brain Injuries"

The improvement of treatment of preterm neonates improved their survival, however there is still significant portion of preterm infants (specifically very preterm infants) that suffers from brain insults and as a result developmental deficits. The brain injury is a consequence of hypoxic ischemic events, intracranial hemorrhages, as well as, infections and metabolic crisis. The brain injury is a combination of abnormal myelination, axonal damage and neuronal death. Although there is reduction in focal brain injury, diffuse brain injury is still abundant. Several treatments has been suggested and tested in animal models to prevent the brain insults including glutamate receptor blockers, allopurinol, xenon and different types of stem cells. However, two main obstacles prevent the use of these medication, first the uncertainty of their effect on the developing brain and second the difficulty to time the brain insult. Unlike neonatal asphyxia, when the delivery time and clinical signs are used to time and grade the brain injury, in preterm infants there is no real time tool to indicate severity and timing of brain injury. The disability point out a beneficial therapeutic window is a major obstacle in the acute treatment of brain injury in preterm infants. The aim of this study is to try and delineate such therapeutic window by using brain injury biomarkers. S100b and GFAP are well recognized biomarkers of brain injury in adults, children and infants. Serial measurements of S100b in saliva (every 2 days) and GFAP in serum (weekly) will be sampled. A database of the clinical status of the infants will be collected, as well as, head ultra sound weekly and head MRI a term age. Development will be assessed by at 18 months. Two hypotheses are stated: One, increase in the levels of S100b and GFAP in their timing will be correlated with the severity of the clinical status, Two the duration of increased level of S100b and GFAP will be associated with abnormal MRI at term findings and abnormal developmental assessment.

This study is conducted over 18 months. The main objective of this study is to test and compare the relevance and reliability of different tools for measuring the anosognosia. Secondary objectives are : identify the relevant test who are able to evaluate more specially the cognitive processes involved in anosognosia explore the links between the anosognosia manifestations and the psychological manifestations

This is a pilot study. The objective is to further understand the mechanism by which amantadine improves function in patients with persistent vegetative state and minimally conscious state. Specifically, the investigators will measure the size of the nerve fibers that mediate arousal (reticular activating system, or RAS) pre and post treatment on MRI tractography. MRI findings will be correlated with the Disability Rating Scale (DRS) score. The information gathered from this study will be used to formulate a larger clinical trial.

This randomized controlled trial will enrol patients with acute severe brain injury who pass a spontaneous breathing trial but have decreased level of consciousness. It will directly compare (1) prompt extubation vs. (2) usual care, with extubation or tracheostomy timed according to physicians' discretion. The primary outcome will be ICU free days (days spent alive and outside an ICU).

The cough assessment is fundamental in the weaning process as it gives information on the possibility to expel food and secretion out from the airways. The majority of persons suffering from severe acquired brain injury are not able to cough voluntary due to severe cognitive deficit. In the present study, it would be evaluated the intensity of the reflex cough (RC) and the results would be correlated with weaning outcome.

This study evaluates the association between traumatic brain injuries and craniofacial or/and skull fractures. Purpose is to find out the amount of missed diagnoses and improve primary diagnostics of trauma patients.

Pilot study where 10 alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) patients will undergo a 30-minutes-long cognitive assessment session using the Validation Gate task to evaluate usability of this tool in Alcohol Use Disorder patients. Resting-state EEG of ARBD patients will also be recorded and compared to the ones of age-matched healthy people in order to preliminary explore the existence of possible EEG biomarkers of ARBD.

Walk recovery is one of the goals of rehabilitation programs in patients with acquired brain injury. Recent experiences have shown the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs including traditional physiotherapy in combination with robotic gait training systems (Lokomat). In this context, MRI can be used to assess the treatment effects on the muscular tissue, providing useful clinical indications for the optimization of the rehabilitation programs on the basis of the damage extension and the muscle characteristics.

This study aims to explore possible solutions needed for valid and reliable multidimensional objective assessment tools to use in screening performers for concussions, as well as, for use postinjury assessment and management of the mild traumatic brain injury, regardless of time since injury occurrence. These mobile tools would also enable clinicians to test the effectiveness of the interventions used post-concussion, prior to fully releasing the performer back into full performance/active status.

All the patients hospitalized in the neuro-rehabilitation after a severe acquired brain injury carrying a tracheal cannula will be retrospectively analyzed. Patients coming from emergency department started a rehabilitative treatment during their hospitalization in ICU. Patients transferred from an external ICU started the rehabilitation in neurorehabilitation department. Aim of the study is to evaluate if an early rehabilitation, started since the acute stage of the damage, is able to reduce the decannulation time in this group of patients.