Active clinical trials for "Brain Injuries"

The presence of damage to the central and / or peripheral nervous system resulting from pathologies of a different nature (such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, dementia, cranial trauma, stroke, epilepsy or other neurological syndromes) is commonly a cause of physical and mental disability. The presence of memory or language cognitive deficits is often evident at a first clinical examination. However, difficulties in cognitive areas such as decision-making, social and emotional cognition or particular forms of learning may be less evident, while exerting a strong impact on the quality of life of patients. The main purpose of this proposal is to investigate cognitive abilities in patients with neurological damage, through a series of specific tasks. In addition, the contribution of specific brain areas to the cognitive tasks will be assessed by direct modulation of brain activity. This modulation will be achieved by using non-invasive brain stimulation techniques such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Direct Transcranial Electric Stimulation (tDCS).

This study will assess the benefits of using mobile health system designed for individuals with chronic and complex health conditions (such as those with Spinal Cord Injury,Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, and Traumatic Brain Injury) to improve their wellness and self-management skills compared to those who receive standard of care only.

The overall objective is to evaluate objective dual-task turning measures for use as rehabilitative outcomes and as tools for return-to-duty assessments in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).This project consists of three goals examining the I) Diagnostic Accuracy, II) Predictive Capacity, and III) Responsiveness to Intervention of dual task turning measures in individuals with mTBI. The investigators hypothesize that objective measures of dual-task turning will have high diagnostic accuracy, predictive capacity, and responsiveness to intervention in people with mTBI.

In this study, investigators look at a different type of technology that might help to avoid having to perform CT scans in certain patients suspected of having a head injury. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) uses a specific light wavelength to determine if there is bleeding into the head as a result of trauma. Investigators will study NIRS, using a device called the Infrascanner model 2000, to determine if it is as good at detecting bleeding in the head as CT scan, which is the current gold standard. Investigators will try to determine if NIRS can rule in or rule out bleeding into the head, and perhaps this can help to avoid subjecting these youth to the potentially harmful effects of radiation. Investigators will also study how easy it is to use NIRS so that it might become a standard part of the workup for children with suspected head injury.

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is a sudden lesion in the brain, not congenital or perinatal,caused by various pathologies.According to the National Statistics Institute,in Spain 78% of people suffering from ABI are a result of stroke,and 22% due to Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) and other causes.The ABI is in most cases with problems of cognitive,physical,emotional,social,family and work.Of all these problems,attentional alterations are one of the most frequent and disabling for these participants,with a prevalence of 30-62%.However,there are currently no specific programs for the rehabilitation of attentional processes in people with ABI in Spain.So recently,a program focused on the rehabilitation of NeuronUp APT attentional processes has been developed,based on the theoretical model of Sohlberg and Mateer,which considers attention as a multidimensional cognitive function that is hierarchically organized.This program includes a large group of rehabilitation activities in contexts similar to those of daily life.Objectives:1)Evaluate the effectiveness of the NeuronUp APT attentional training program for the improvement of the attention problems presented by participants with ABI;2)determine whether the improvement of attention problems in participants with ABI causes changes in their functioning emotional and quality of life and 3)determine whether the improvement of the attention problems in participants with ABI causes changes in the functionality of the participants and, consequently, in the activities of their daily lives.Method:This is a randomized clinical trial, 46 participants with ABI between the ages of 18-65 will be recruited; 23 participants will be assigned to the experimental group (integral rehabilitation+NeuronUp APT) and the other 23 to the control group (integral rehabilitation) randomly,using a simple randomization method.Both groups will be evaluated before the start of the intervention, after the end of the intervention and 6 months after the intervention, thus collecting sociodemographic information,clinical characteristics of the disease, cognitive screening measures,emotional functioning test,functional and quality of life.Conclusions:It is hoped to achieve a transfer of the gains obtained,through the training of the attention through the NeuronUp APT rehabilitation program,to other aspects of cognitive,emotional functioning and quality of life.It is also expected that these people improve their attention problems in their daily lives.

Investigators will determine the long-lasting effects of post-acute rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury and stroke. Investigators will also evaluate if the beneficial effects of rehabilitation continue after discharge from a rehabilitative program.

This grant award entitled, "Cerebrovascular Reactivity and Oxygen Metabolism as Markers for Neurodegeneration after Traumatic Brain Injury" (hereafter, "Neurovascular Study"), aims to determine if neurovascular contributors to neurodegeneration can serve as markers of the emergence or progression of degenerative processes after traumatic brain injury in middle-aged and older adults.

In patients with severe brain injury, maintenance and control of blood pressure is at the very first point in the management strategy, whether in anesthesia or in intensive care. In order to restore cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) to appropriate levels (60-70 mmHg) while ensuring optimal perfusion of other vital organs, intravenous administration of vasodilator, inodilator or vasoconstrictor vasoactive agents is commonly used. These vasoactive agents, widely used to correct hypotension or hypertension, have their own effects on the load conditions of the left ventricle and the tone of the arterial tree, but also have effects on the microcirculation. The microcirculatory status of a tissue cannot be reliably predicted by considering only the macrocirculatory parameters usually measured. Therefore, in situations where organ perfusion is inadequate or compromised, patient management that includes the integration of the impact of vasoactive agents on the microcirculation seems essential for comprehensive hemodynamic treatment. The non-invasive study of microcirculatory perfusion and its interactions with the macrocirculatory network, using a minimally invasive method such as videomicroscopy, should allow a better use of the treatments used. For cerebral patients, routine management already includes very complete monitoring of all cardiopulmonary and cerebral systemic parameters. It is therefore imperative to study and propose new minimally invasive modalities for monitoring the microcirculation in order to define new therapeutic targets that take into account the microcirculatory compartment.

A mixed longitudinal design study will be carried out to explore the onset and time course of morphological muscle changes on a macroscopic level in children with spastic cerebral palsy (SCP). Therefore, this project aims to (1) describe the macroscopic morphological muscle changes with increasing age and (2) evaluate the onset and development of muscle alterations in relation to the brain lesion (e.g., timing, extent and location), to the neuromuscular impairments and to treatment. Overall, this project will evaluate the macroscopic muscle properties by means of 3D freehand ultrasound (3DfUS).

This trial will study the safety and efficacy of intravenous infusion of cultured allogeneic adult umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of traumatic brain injury