Active clinical trials for "Brain Injuries"

Background: - Many people who have traumatic brain injury (TBI) have low levels of physical fitness. Low physical fitness causes severe fatigue that reduces the ability to perform routine daily activities, and may also cause increased depression, anxiety, or sadness. Aerobic exercise, such as treadmill walking or running, improves physical fitness in most people and may also decrease fatigue and improve mood. However, more information is needed to determine if exercise improves these conditions in people who have TBI. Objectives: - To examine the effect of an aerobic treadmill walking exercise program on physical fitness, fatigue, and mood in people with TBI. Eligibility: - Individuals between 21 and 45 years of age who had a nonpenetrating traumatic brain injury at least 6 months before participating; able to understand oral and written English language, give informed consent and sign a consent form; are physically inactive (including activities related to both job and recreation); and are able to stand and walk on a treadmill safely without help. Design: This study requires 4 testing visits and 36 exercise visits over 14 weeks. The first and third testing visits will last about 4 hours and the second and final testing visits will take about 2 hours. Testing visits will consist of a medical history and physical examination, completion of questionnaires (about fatigue, daily physical activity, sleep quality, mood, and overall quality of life), tests of thinking and a treadmill exercise test. Participants will have treadmill exercise training 3 days per week for 12 weeks. Each session includes a check-in, warm-up, treadmill walking at the training heart rate, and cool-down. Thirty-two of the sessions will last for about 1 hour, and four of the sessions will include questionnaires to fill out and will last about one-and-a-half hours. After completing the exercise training program, participants will have a final testing visit to complete the questionnaires (about fatigue, daily physical activity, sleep quality, mood, and overall quality of life), tests of thinking and a treadmill exercise test.

The Midwest Advocacy Project (MAP) is a community-based multiple-site randomized practical behavioral trial of advocacy skill training for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI), their families, and significant others. The purpose is to evaluate the efficacy of a 4-session advocacy training program to improve behavioral advocacy skills compared to self-directed advocacy training of the same session frequency. Groups will be randomly assigned to either a programmed group or a self-directed group in collaboration with the Brain Injury Associations of Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin each year over the 5 year study period. The primary outcome is pre-post measures of written and verbal advocacy skill measured by the Advocacy Behavior Rating Scale. It is hypothesized that subjects who receive programmed advocacy training will show greater positive change on pre-post measures of advocacy skill measures than subjects receiving self-directed training.

The primary aims of this project are to examine the feasibility and relative efficacy of two models of on-line intervention for families of children with traumatic brain injury: one, a model emphasizing cognitive appraisals and problem solving skills; the other, emphasizing linking families to resources and providing professionally-moderated peer support.

The Brain Injury Inpatient Guide for Families and Caregivers (BIIG-FACS) is a comprehensive intervention to meet the needs of family members and significant others of patients who are undergoing acute, inpatient brain injury rehabilitation.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether NNZ-2566 is safe and effective in the treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been called the signature injury of the Iraq War. This pilot study investigated family needs of 6 rural families caring for a Veteran with TBI. Two Veterans had moderate TBI and all had comorbid post traumatic stress disorder diagnoses. The veterans were 1 to 5 years post-injury. Families were reluctant to include others in helping the family because of privacy concerns, desire for independence, and negative employment repercussions if the extent of the TBI deficit became known in the community. Most were still employed, despite TBI deficits. Despite having previously received information, families still had substantial needs for information about the condition and its prognosis and sequelae (e.g., why things happen, unsafe/frightening behaviors, work, finances, communication changes) and the availability and types of services (e.g., who to contact, benefits, help needed)

Unfavorable outcomes (UO) are seen in 15 to 20% of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Early identification of patients at risk for UO is crucial for suitable management to be initiated, increasing their chances for a return to a normal life. The investigators previously developed a diagnostic tool enabling early identification (8 to 21 days after the injury) of patients likely to develop UO. In the present study, the investigators examined the value and beneficial effects of early multidimensional management (MM) on prognosis. The investigators used a diagnostic tool to classify 221 mTBI patients as UO (97) or FO (favorable outcome) (124). Patients whose initial risk factors point to UO are at risk of developing post-concussion syndrome (PCS). UO patients were randomized into 2 groups: a group that underwent MM (cognitive-behavioral rehabilitation) (34) and a group with no specific management (46). At 6 months, these 2 groups were compared and the impact of MM on outcome was assessed. Among patients initially classified as FO (101), 95% had FO at 6 months and only 5 had PCS as defined by DSM-IV classification. Of the UO patients who received MM, 94% had no PCS 6 months after injury, whereas 52% of the UO patients who did not receive MM had persistent PCS. The effect of MM on the recovery of patients at 6 months, once adjusted for the main confounding factors, was statistically significant (p<0.001). These results show that the initiation of MM after early identification of at-risk mTBI patients can considerably improves their prognosis.

This study will establish the acceptability and feasibility of enrolling and retaining heavy drinking Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in an 8-week, randomized cross-over design trial of active VR working memory retraining (WMR). This study will also seek to establish the efficacy of active VR-WMR to increase performance in executive function.

The overall aim of this project is to investigate the clinical utility of the Andago System, a CE certified mobile bodyweight supporting walking robot, in children with neuromotor disorders. Clinical utility encompasses practicability, acceptability, appropriateness, and accessibility. In this study, the investigators would like to investigate several aspects of clinical utility that belong to the first three components.

This study aims to assess the impact of the choice of visual feedback solution (immersive via CAVE and VR headset; non-immersive via screen only) on driving performance and quality of experience on a physical driving simulator and its acceptability to wheelchair drivers with neurological disorders.