Active clinical trials for "Brain Ischemia"

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and pharmacokinetics of moderate to high doses of erythropoietin in newborn infants with birth asphyxia.

The hypothesis is that premature infants' can have enough cooling applied to cool their brain to decrease CNS injury without cooling their body.

Study objectives: The main objective of this study is to determine the feasibility of implementing measures in the intensive care unit (ICU), based on a physiological algorithm, to reverse decreases in cerebral oxygen saturation using, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Methods: Randomization of 50 patients is balanced by experimental group; control and intervention, with an allocation sequence based on a block size of ten, generated with a computer random number generator. In the intervention group ICU Staff will use NIRS to follow a physiologically guided strategy to maintain regional oxygen saturation (rSO2) within 90% of baseline values. In the control group ICU Staff will provide standard of care without the use of NIRS.

The investigators will conduct a proof-of-concept study to provide preliminary evidence of efficacy of physical exercise dose on ambulatory function in adults undergoing sub-acute stroke rehabilitation.

This study examines the effect of inhaled xenon gas in the treatment of newborn infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in combination with cooling, which is the standard treatment for this condition. The hypothesis is that the xenon + cooling combination will produce better neuroprotection than the standard treatment of cooling alone.

Selective head cooling or whole body hypothermia has become the standard of care for neonatal hypoxia-ischemia encephalopathy (HIE). Despite early intervention death or major neurodevelopmental disability still occurs in nearly 50% of infants ≥ 36 weeks gestational age (GA) treated with cooling. No additional therapies have proven to be efficacious in further reducing brain injury and impairment for these high risk infants. Neuroprotective strategies aimed at improving early childhood outcomes are still needed. An important area of study includes therapies that may complement the neuroprotective effects of hypothermia and promote neuronal regeneration, recovery and neurovascular remodeling. Among these therapies, erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESA) have been shown to provide neuroprotection, improving short and long-term neurologic outcome in brain injury and HIE in neonatal and adult animal models. Parallel with neuroprotective effects in experimental settings, recent small clinical studies suggest improved outcomes after ESA administration in patients with severe traumatic brain injury and HIE. ESA may work through several important mechanisms including reduced inflammation, limited oxidative stress, decreased apoptosis and white matter injury, as well as via pro-angiogenic and neurogenic properties. Darbepoetin alfa (Darbe), a recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO)-derived molecule, has an extended circulating half life and comparable biological activity to EPO, including activation of the EPO receptor. The proposed study is a Phase I/II dose safety and pharmacokinetic trial of early Darbe administered concurrent with hypothermia in human newborn infants with moderate to severe birth asphyxia. The long-term objectives of the proposed research are to reduce mortality and to decrease the risk of long-term disabilities in infants with HIE who survive beyond the newborn period.

Andago V2.0 is a recently developed overground gait and balance training device. Many patients in neurorehabilitation suffer from gait disorders, most typically after stroke. Since pharmacological therapies are basically not available, neurorehabilitation plays an important role in the treatment of such patients. The Andago V2.0 may represent a useful device in the rehabilitation of stroke and other neurological patients featuring a severe gait disorder. Therefore a study has been designed to investigate the usability of the Andago V2.0 in the setting of a neurorehabilitation clinic. The primary outcomes of this study are the usability and acceptance of the investigational medical device (IMD). Usability is mainly measured by the time spent for the set-up and release of the participant, achieved training times and distances, the number of stumbles, collisions and emergency stops and the error messages during the session. Besides patient and therapist satisfaction with the Andago V2.0 is recorded.

Despite the advances in neurosurgical and -radiological techniques and intensive care, the mortality and morbidity rates in SAH have not changed in recent years. There is still only a limited understanding of the mechanisms of secondary insults causing brain injury after SAH, also called delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI). In this study, the investigators are exploring the use of quantifiable biomarkers from blood and continuous EEG monitoring as tools for the diagnostics of DCI. Additionally, the investigators are looking into other clinical variables (eg. pain, heart function) as factors of DCI.

Annually 13000 Norwegians experience an ischemic stroke. The number of stroke is anticipated to increase with 50% within 2030 due to a growing number of elderly. Many of them will have severe function deficits and reduced quality of life. The investigators have established a cohort consisting of 800 patients with first time ischemic stroke treated at hospitals in Central Norway. The investigators want to study the incidence and prognostic markers for death, recurrent stroke and severe functional deficits during a period of 10 years after the initial ischemic stroke. The investigators want to focus on the impact of physical functioning, the level of physical activity and use of medication for secondary prevention on the incidence of death, recurrent stroke and severe functional deficits. The investigators are especially interested in the importance of fulfilling the treatment targets for blood pressure and cholesterol and the importance of smoking cessation in stroke survivors. Our objective is to improve todays stroke treatment and achieve a more efficient use of the health resources in order to increase survival after stroke maintaining a good physical and psychological function and quality of life.

This study is about rehabilitation of arm function after a stroke. The investigators are testing the dosage of therapy that is needed for meaningful recovery of arm and hand function. Dosage of therapy refers to the amount of time (in this case, the total number of hours) that a person participates in treatment. The investigators hope to learn how much therapy time is needed in order for change to occur in arm and hand function after a person has had a stroke. Eligible candidates must have had a stroke affecting the use of an arm or hand at least 6 months ago.