Active clinical trials for "Brain Injuries"

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the outcome of a multidiscplinary telerehabilitation after traumatic brain injury assessed by the patient and the therapists with respect to the overall feasibility of the therapy protocol and the effects on psychological well-being and quality of life..

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are common. Post-TBI depression is associated with anxiety, aggression, fatigue, distractibility, anger, irritability, and rumination. The current research group conducted a pilot clinical trial, which investigated the novel treatment combination of buspirone and melatonin (B+MEL) in outpatients with clinical depression. Compared to placebo, B+MEL was associated with a significant improvement in depressive symptoms. Depression following TBI may be different from clinical depression. The B+MEL combination has never been studied in patients with post-TBI depression. The B+MEL has shown promise in ameliorating cognitive difficulties in people with depression. Because cognitive problems are typical in people with post-TBI depression, we plan to measure the effect of the B+MEL combination on cognitive ability in post-TBI depression. Additionally, we are interested in measuring functional magnetic resonance imaging changes before and after treatment with B+MEL in order to gain insight into the brain mechanisms of our hypothesized clinical symptom changes. The goals of the proposed pilot research project are to assess changes in symptoms in patients with post-TBI depression following Buspirone + Melatonin combination (B+MEL), and the corresponding brain mechanisms underlying these hypothesized changes by measuring: 1) depressive symptoms; 2) cognitive symptoms; 3) functional magnetic resonance imaging.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate if theta burst stimulation (TBS) can reduce chronic headaches caused by a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBS is a safe, drug-free brain stimulation technique that uses magnets to create electricity and stimulate nerve cells in the brain. After repeated TBS sessions, the increased stimulation of nerve cells can alter the way the brain communicates with itself (by creating new neural pathways) which, in turn, can reduce pain symptoms. Participants in this study will complete a baseline assessment followed by four weeks of daily home headache assessment. Participants will then receive four weeks of TBS administered three times per day and three days per week. After TBS is completed, participants will complete an additional four weeks of daily home headache assessment and return for a one-month follow-up assessment. Participation is expected to last three months.

The affectedness of the motor control of the upper limb, particulary, the hand and/or fingers, appears in many neurological diseases, what is going to impact on the functionality of the subject. The use of new technologies in the rehabilitation environment, has the target to reduce the impact on the disabling conditions. So that, the goal of this investigation is to evaluate the system use effectiveness of the Leap Motion Controller® in the treatment on the upper limb on patients with neurological disease.

This study evaluates the addition of therapy dogs in inpatient physical and occupational therapy. Data will be collected across 10 PT and 10 OT sessions, half of which will incorporate a therapy dog.

Background: - A person who has a traumatic brain injury (TBI) -- also called concussion -- can have serious and long-lasting effects. Doctors who treat TBI need more information about how the brain changes over time in people with TBI and how well a person recovers from it. To make existing TBI treatments more effective and develop new ones, researchers want to look more closely at how TBI affects people both physically and psychologically. Objectives: - To collect medical information from people with recent traumatic brain injury and compare this information to that of healthy volunteers and of persons who have had injuries to other parts of their bodies besides their heads (such as broken bones, orthopedic injuries, after surgery). Eligibility: 3 groups of people between the ages of 18 and 70 years will be asked to take part. Persons who have had a traumatic brain injury (or concussion ) within the past 30 days, OR Persons who are healthy and have never had a traumatic brain injury, OR Persons who have had an injury within the past 30 days to a part of their body other than the head (such as a broken bone, orthopedic injury, surgery) Design: This study requires two outpatient visits each lasting 1 1/2 days. The 2 visits will be about 30 days apart. Persons with TBI and non-TBI injuries must have their first visit within 30 days of their injury. Screening: Participants will be screened with a medical history, physical examination, blood tests and electrocradiogram (ECG a routine heart test). The research will involve: Giving blood samples (no more than 75 ml each visit). Having tests of memory, attention, concentration, and thinking (neuropsychological testing). Having imaging studies of the head including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans. Persons with TBI will have the same tests at Visit 1 and 2. Healthy controls and persons with non-TBI injuries will have the same tests at Visit 1 as listed above. But, at Visit 2, they will not have brain MRIs or PETs. No treatments will be provided as part of this research protocol.

Thousands of children receive sedation for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions annually, and this number is expected to increase. Children are at higher risk for sedation-related complications than adults. In different scenarios, multiple drugs are used to achieve sedation, each one with particular adverse events that must be monitored and reported. Children that need CT scans for traumatic brain injuries often need sedation, without needing and IV line for that. Chloral hydrate is an hypnotic agent used since 1832 with low incidence of adverse events; however, despite its worldwide use, it's being abandoned due to bitter taste, long time of sedation onset, vomiting and mild sedation. Intranasal midazolam, on the other hand, produces high and fast concentrations on CSF with greater rates of success but probably with higher adverse events. There are no prospective studies with large series of patients using intranasal midazolam. The aim of this study is to determine if nasal midazolam is a safer approach and more effective sedative regimen when compared to rectal chloral hydrate to children undergoing CT scans.

The proposal will assess the effectiveness of SRI treatment of anxiety following TBI. We hypothesize that participants will report significantly fewer and less severe anxiety symptoms after a 12-week course of citalopram than after a 12-week course of placebo.

Hypothesis: That HBOT can be toxic in the low-pressure range.

Objectives: Ketamine is an effective, short-acting anesthetic drug, which does not decrease blood pressure. It is widely stated that Ketamine increases intracranial pressure (ICP), which prevents its use in many emergency situations, specifically in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and with increased ICP. Based on previous clinical experience, we hypothesized that Ketamine decreases - rather than increases - ICP. Methods: Prospective, controlled, clinical trial. Children with ICP monitoring will receive a single Ketamine dose (1-1.5 mg/kg) either for increased ICP and/or before a potentially distressing activity. Hemodynamic variables, ICP and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) will be recorded 1 minute before and every minute for 10 minutes following Ketamine administration (Before/after design).