Active clinical trials for "Brain Injuries, Traumatic"

Background: - Many people who have had a traumatic brain injury have difficulty walking. Training on a treadmill is often used to help people with walking difficulties. Supporting a person s body weight with a harness while using the treadmill can help improve walking skills in people with brain injury. Varying the rate at which people walk on the treadmill may also help more than walking at a constant rate. Treadmill training with body weight support or walking at different speeds may improve walking skills in people who have had a traumatic brain injury. More research is needed to see if one method is better than the other. Objectives: - To compare the effects of two types of treadmill training in people who have had a traumatic brain injury. Eligibility: - People at least 18 years of age who have had a mild or moderate traumatic brain injury at least 6 months ago and have mild or moderate walking difficulty. Design: Participants will be screened with a medical history and physical exam. They will also take a basic walking test (not on a treadmill). Participants will be divided into two groups. The first group will have treadmill training at a constant speed. The second group will have treadmill training at different speeds. All participants will wear a support harness while walking on the treadmill. At the first training visit, participants will have a gait assessment with different tests of walking. Then they will have a treadmill walking session. After the first visit, participants will return twice a week for 6 weeks for treadmill training sessions (visits 3 through 12). They will also have grip strength and walking tests. At the end of 6 weeks, participants will have a final treadmill training session, and will have a gait assessment exactly like the one in the first training visit. At 6 months after the final session, participants will have a followup visit with a final gait assessment.

This is a double-blind, randomized controlled trial comparing the effect of omega-3 fatty acid versus placebo on blood biomarkers of brain injury, inflammation and neurogenesis.

Acute brain injury due to traumatic brain injury (TBI), intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH), and aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) carries a high morbidity and mortality, in part due to the development of secondary brain injury. The mechanisms behind secondary brain injury are incompletely understood, but oxidative/nitrosative stress and disturbances in the metabolism of the vasodilator nitric oxide (NO) are believed to be involved. The aim of the present study is to characterise systemic changes in markers of oxidative/nitrosative stress and NO metabolism in the early phase after acute brain injury, and to examine their relationship to clinical course, neurological outcome, and mortality.

post-traumatic seizures (PTS) are a common and debilitating complication of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and could have harmful impact on patient disabilty and rehabilitation outcome. In this multicentric prospective observational study we aimed to evaluate the role on functional outcome of patients admitted to neurorehabilitation unit afther traumatic brain injury of: newly occurring seizures prescription of antiepileptic prophylactic therapy The inclusion criteria were the following: 1) age ≥ 18; 2) diagnosis of TBI on presentation; 3) admission to a hospital emergency department within 24 h of injury; 4) admission within one month from the injury to the rehabilitation unit to continue clinical care and rehabilitation program; 5) up to 6 months of observation in rehabilitation setting. Were collected the following variables: gender, medical history, age at occurrence of injury, injury characteristics, fracture site, presence of penetrating TBI, presence of subarachnoid haemorrhage, associated neurosurgical procedures (craniotomy, cranioplasty), neurologic and functional assessments, brain imaging, occurrence of seizure, presence and type of anticonvulsant therapy, death during hospitalization. The investigator analysed through logistic regression variables predictors of risk occurrence of seizure, and neurological and functional outcome, respectively assessed with the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM).

The aim of this study is to compare the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation and functional upper extremity task training to functional upper extremity task training alone. The functional upper extremity task training uses the Armeo Spring robotic arm to support the limb while playing functional task games on a computer. Specific Aims: To demonstrate that tDCS combined with upper extremity functional task training in a virtual environment is more effective than functional task training in a virtual environment with sham tDCS. To compare cortico-excitatory changes following training with tDCS vs. sham stimulation, using paired- and single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation as a tool to measure cortical excitability.

We will explore the use of Huperzine A in patients who have sustained a moderate to severe Traumatic Brain Injury. We aim to determine whether Huperzine A, as compared with placebo, would have an effect on memory function after TBI. Additionally, we aim to determine whether use of Huperzine A in these patients can change brain activity (as indexed by EEG and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation - TMS), and reduce prevalence/frequency of post-traumatic seizures. We also aim to evaluate the safety of Huperzine A in this population as compared with placebo.

The primary objective of this study is to determine in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) the safe dosing of propranolol. Safety will be measured by episodes of bradycardia (heart rate < 60 beats per minute), hypotension (defined as systolic blood pressure < 90) or decreased cerebral perfusion pressure (defined as CPP less than 60mmHg) that are refractive to Brain Trauma Foundation guidelines for treatment. A no-treatment arm will establish the number of episodes of bradycardia, hypotension and reduced cerebral pressure refractory to treatment that occur without propranolol.

The purpose of this trial is to investigate safety and efficacy of Cerebrolysin as add-on therapy to standard care in patients with acute traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study duration for each patient is 180 days.

Background: - Research has shown that one exercise session may improve a person s ability to recall information they learned before the exercise. Knowing how exercise changes brain activity to improve memory can help researchers understand how memory works and how to improve it in people with memory problems. This study compares two kinds of exercise on a stationary bike for their ability to temporarily improve memory on certain tests. Researchers will look at the effect of exercise on body chemistry by drawing blood and collecting saliva. Objectives: - To understand how a single session of exercise affects memory testing in healthy people and people who have had traumatic brain injury (TBI). Eligibility: Adults ages 18 through 45 with TBI. Healthy adult volunteers, ages 18 through 45. Design: Participants will be screened with medical history and physical exam. This will take about 1 hour. Participants with TBI will also be screened with a test of their memory. This will take another hour. Visit 1 will take about 3 hours. Participants will: <TAB>- Have a tube inserted in their arm for drawing blood during the tests. <TAB>- Take memory tests. They will look at pictures, symbols, and words, then answer questions. <TAB>- Give a saliva sample by chewing on a small sponge for 2 minutes. <TAB>- Exercise on a stationary bike. <TAB>- Take the memory tests again. - Visit 2 will take place 1 week later. Participants will take the memory tests only.

The purpose of this study is to determine if hypertonic saline with and without dextran can improve neurologic outcomes in victims of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Injury and lost blood from trauma can cause your body to go into shock (low blood pressure related to blood loss). This decreased blood flow can lead to organ damage. In order to restore the blood pressure and blood flow, the medics give fluids into the patients' veins as soon as possible. This is called "resuscitation". The fluid most commonly used is "isotonic" or one that is the same salt concentration as the blood. The investigators are trying to determine if infusing a "hypertonic" fluid or one more concentrated than the blood can increase the blood pressure and restore blood flow more efficiently. The hypertonic fluids they are using are called hypertonic saline with dextran (HSD) and hypertonic saline (no dextran). Hypertonic saline is a salt solution that is slightly more concentrated than blood. Dextran is a sugar solution.