Active clinical trials for "Brain Injuries"

The purpose of this study is to (1) test the benefits of the patient-centered collaborative care treatment approach for persons who have had a TBI and who have pain, including headache; and also (2) test whether this approach improves quality of life, patient satisfaction, adherence to other treatments, and quality of care in the TBI care system. This project uses the contextual paradigm of disability to analyze and improve outpatient treatment of pain, including headache, in people who have had a TBI. Issues of restricted access and health care system complexity likely contribute to sub-optimal treatment of chronic pain. Therefore, the investigators seek to enhance real-world outpatient healthcare delivery through a patient-centered, collaborative care approach to treating chronic pain. The intervention is structured to reduce pain interference directly and indirectly through improved management of pain and comorbid conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety, and sleep difficulties) that can amplify pain perception and disability. In addition, change in the system of care may reduce burden on the emergency department. The investigators have heard from our clinician and patient partners that poor pain management often leads to emergency department visits, and this has also been reported in the literature.

This project will study 40 Veterans identified with symptoms understood to characterize mild to moderate Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Following screening and informed consent, Veterans will be randomly assigned to treatment with repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) or sham rTMS (placebo). Additional examinations will compare brain imaging (structural and functional MRI scans at rest) across participants at baseline, after acute rTMS treatment, and at 6 month followup. The VA population differs significantly from populations that have been included in prior trials of rTMS for many conditions such as depression, chronic pain, and PTSD. Many returning Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) personnel and Veterans with concussion histories report cognitive problems, such as impaired attention, verbal fluency, poor planning, reduced working memory, and mental flexibility. The investigators hope to show the efficacy and durability of rTMS in treating these symptoms safely in Veterans with co-morbidities.

In this study, researchers will show to caregivers of patients how to use a tDCS device (this device was designed to be easy to use, with fixed parameters and only one button to press to run the stimulation). They will be asked to apply a stimulation every day, 5 days per week during for 4 weeks, in chronic patients in minimally conscious state (MCS). 2 sessions of 4 weeks of stimulations will be realized, one anodal and one sham in a randomized order. Before and after each session, behavioral improvement will be assessed with the Coma Recovery Scale Revised (CRS-R). A final assessment will be done 8 weeks after the end of the sessions to assess the long term effect of tDCS.

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital is conducting a research study evaluating the effectiveness of the brain-training product, MUSE, an EEG-guided neurofeedback device designed to assist in cultivating a relaxed, attentive state of mind during meditation. The investigators study aims to evaluate whether such a tool could be useful in treating persistent traumatic brain injury symptoms such as inattention, impulsivity, irritability, or dysregulated mood.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of Methylphenidate in pediatric acquired brain injury population, regarding ecologic (every day) function. It is hypothesized that the function with treatment will improve when compared to function without treatment in the same patient. Improvement is expected by shortening time of execution in each specific task and by reduction of the amount of assistance needed.

This is a prospective, interventional study aiming to assess the effectiveness of the Esophageal Cooling Device (ECD) as a temperature control modality in post cardiac arrest patients. In addition, observed adverse events during ECD use, ease-of-use, nurse satisfaction and patient outcomes will be examined.

This is a proof-of-concept study designed to demonstrate whether increases in cerebral blood flow, improvements in brain functioning, and reductions in symptomology associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result from treatments consisting of near-infrared phototherapy (NIR).

This study will provide initial data on the safety and effectiveness of allopregnanolone in improving neurobehavioral outcome and reducing mortality in adults with moderate and severe traumatic brain injury.

The present study addresses problematic anger and irritability in community dwelling persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI). It is designed to test the worth of a novel treatment approach called Anger Self-Management Training (ASMT), compared to a treatment offering supportive therapy focused on personal readjustment and education, the PRE (Personal Readjustment and Education). The project is a 3-center randomized controlled trial employing equivalent therapist time and therapeutic structure in the delivery of treatment options. The overall aim is to evaluate the relative response rate and correlates of treatment response for the ASMT as compared to the PRE.

Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) or "concussions" are an increasingly prevalent injury in our society. Patients with post-concussion syndrome have been shown to have deficits on tests of short term memory, divided attention, multi-tasking, information processing speed, and reaction time, as well as alteration in mood and emotional functioning. Many patients have other vague complaints including fatigue, dizziness, irritability, sleep disturbances, and chronic headaches. Furthermore, sleep disruption of one of the most common complaints in patients suffering from traumatic brain injuries, with as many as 40 to 65% of patients with mTBI complaining of insomnia. Sleep problems in these patients are associated with poorer outcome, while resolution of the sleep disturbance is associated with improvement in cognitive functioning. Despite recent evidence of the correlation between sleep quality and recovery from traumatic brain injury, and the well-established role of sleep in neural plasticity and neurogenesis, there have been virtually no direct studies of the causal effects of sleep on recovery following mTBI. However, it is quite likely that sleep plays a critical role in recovery following brain injury. A particularly promising non-pharmacologic approach that shows potential in improving/modifying abnormalities of the circadian rhythm and sleep-wake schedule is bright light therapy. For the proposed investigation, we hypothesize that bright light therapy may be helpful in improving the sleep of patients with a recent history of mTBI and may also have other mood elevating effects, both of which should promote positive treatment outcome in these individuals. Bright light therapy may increase the likelihood that they will recover more quickly, benefit more extensively from other forms of therapy, and build emotional and cognitive resilience.