Active clinical trials for "Brain Injuries"

Development of acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in patients with severe brain injury has been associated with poor outcome. The application of lung recruitment maneuvers (RM) for a short period of time to open collapsed alveoli and reverse hypoxemia in early ARDS has been recommended. However, little is known about the cerebral and vascular effects of RM in brain injury patients with ALI/ARDS. The aim of this study is to assess the effects of a single standardized RM on oxygenation and on systemic and cerebral hemodynamics in severe brain injury patients with ALI/ARDS.

Background: - Many service members have reported feeling tired, a loss of motivation, mood changes, and problems working with others after they have a concussion during deployment. These problems may lead to problems with their job and relationships. This study hopes to figure out what parts of the brain may be affected in people with these problems after a concussion. Objectives: - To learn more about the problems that may occur after service members have a concussion during deployment and return home. Eligibility: Service members or veterans between 18 and 40 years of age who have had a mild traumatic brain injury (concussion) in the past 6 months. Companions (at least 18 years of age) of the service members will also be included in this study. Companions will have interacted with the service member at least 1 hour a week since deployment. Design: Service members will have 1 week of tests at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Companions will have 2 days of tests at the Center. Each day, service members will have 4 or 8 hours of tests. Tests will include a medical history and physical exam, neuropsychological tests and imaging studies. The tests will ask about fatigue, stress, mood, pain, daily activities, and family support. The imaging studies will measure brain function at rest and during activity. Companions will have a medical history and physical exam. They will also complete several questionnaires about themselves as well as the service member/veteran. The tests will ask about fatigue, stress, mood, pain, daily activities, and family support....

The aim of the study is to measure the effect of Finnish physician-staffed EMS unit treatment methods on traumatic brain injury (TBI) patient prognosis.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), also known as concussion, occurs commonly in sport. Despite ongoing research, there is no highly sensitive clinical test for cognitive function. This makes the clinical diagnosis of concussion particularly difficult as the clinical presentation of concussion is highly variable with symptoms often evolving over time. Given the variability in concussion presentations, there is no single test that can diagnose a concussion. Current recommendations are that sports medicine providers apply a multifaceted concussion assessment battery that combines subjective symptoms, motor control and cognitive assessment. This investigation is designed to evaluate the clinical utility of ElMindA's BNA scores in detecting and managing concussive injuries. This study will establish the reliability of BNA™ scores over clinically relevant assessment intervals and investigate the effect of SRC and sub-concussive head impacts on BNA scores.

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 BNA test is basically divided to 3 phases - first EEG data is collected from subjects using an EEG system while the subject is performing a cognitive task in front of a computer. The EEG data is then analyzed using the advanced BNA™ technology. Finally, a report of the BNA™ test is generated.

Goal: The ultimate goal of this research program is to improve the health and quality of life for wounded warriors from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) through screening, risk assessment, and outcome measurement. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the reliability and validity of the existing Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Clinical Reminder Screen for OEF/OIF Veterans.

Following current standard-of-care, subjects data (brain pressure) will be recorded for 1 hour and include 10-minutes of data during which the subject recieves chest physiotherapy (CPT). The hypothesis is that CPT is not harmful to brain pressure.

The scientific objective of this program is to meet the rehabilitation needs of combat wounded Veterans with mild to moderate Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) via telerehabilitation and determine the effect of this modality of care on patients' physical health and outcomes including function and community participation. The investigators will also evaluate the benefits and limitations of rehabilitation using telehealth from the Veteran and caregiver perspectives and evaluate the impact of rehabilitation via telehealth on Veterans Administration (VA) healthcare facility use.

Brain injuries from trauma are common in children, often resulting in death and disability. Most brain injuries are minor, yet their treatment can be challenging. Because there are many different scales used to characterize the severity of brain injury, there is no consensus regarding how to manage patients with minor brain injuries. Specifically, there is no agreement on recommendations regarding the safety of return to activities following injury. In young athletes with minor brain injuries (i.e. concussions) there is strong data suggesting that return to baseline neurologic function is often delayed by days or weeks. Children allowed to return to activities too soon may be at a higher risk for a second concussion, may delay recovery or, in rare cases, die. Researchers have designed a computer-based testing system (ImPACT©) to objectively test for neurologic deficits following injury. This test has been used primarily in athletes following a concussion but is also applicable to children with brain injuries from non-sports related traumas. We propose to utilize this testing in pediatric patients admitted to the hospital with minor brain injury. The test would be administered at the time of the hospitalization as well as in the outpatient trauma clinic at the time of routine follow up. The test would allow us to determine if there are neurologic deficits, potentially subclinical, in these brain injured patients and how quickly they recover from their injuries. If successful, the testing will likely be useful in other clinical settings such as the primary care office (e.g. pediatrician), specialty care office (e.g. sports medicine), or emergency room to determine if an injured child requires additional intervention.

The purpose of this study is to check the usability of Virtual Reality (VR) Video Capture Projected System in children with acquired brain injury(ABI)and comparing their performance to the performance of normally developing children. The trial shall include 15 subjects in each group, aged 6-12 years old. ABI subjects are hospitalized at the hospital's Pediatric Rehabilitation Department Each subject will experience 3 different virtual environments. The subjects in the trial group will practice 3 experiences (3 times in 3 different days) during a period of a week to 10 days, to check the practice effect.In addition, all subjects will be tested in three tests: "PEDI" - to evaluate the functional abilities of daily living (dressing, eating...),The "Melbourne Assessment" - to evaluate functional movements of upper extremities, and the TEA-ch - to evaluate different attention abilities. Performance correlations will be tested between these tests and the performance in the VR first experience.