Serotonin-norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors and Acute Kidney Injury
DepressionAcute Kidney InjuryThe purpose of this study is to determine if there is an excess risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) with Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) as compared to Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), two classes of medication used for the treatment of depression.
Advanced MRI Applications for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury-Phase 2
ConcussionTraumatic Brain InjuryThis is an open-label, non-randomized, prospective, multi-site, parallel group (segment), hypothesis-generating study designed to collect data that will aid in future scientific and engineering exploration of correlations between clinical neuropsychological assessments and GE Research Pack II advanced MR imaging in mTBI patients. The results are primarily intended for scientific inquiry and engineering development purposes, and may be used in future regulatory submissions.
S100 Biomarker in the Acute Management of Mild Head Injuries
Brain InjuryHead InjuryA prospective validation study of the "Scandinavian guidelines for initial management of minimal, mild and moderate head injuries in adults". Enrolling a consecutive sample of 1000 adult head injury patients from the emergency department of the Tampere University Hospital (Tampere, Finland). A venous blood sample with S100 analytics (+storage blood) is drawn from every patient. The patients are head CT-scanned according to the SNC guidelines. Outcome assessment (GOSE, MRS, Rivermead PCS Questionnaire) is completed as follows: 1 week, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years.
Surgical Treatment for Spinal Cord Injury
Acute Spinal Cord Injury of Traumatic Origin (tSCI)Despite many years of research, an incomprehensible amount of scientific efforts worldwide and billions of dollars invested, no effective therapy resulting in major neurological or functional recovery is available to date for traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI). Although there is increasing experimental evidence from animal models that surgical decompression of the spinal cord improves recovery after tSCI, clinical studies have not shown conclusive data yet. The main explanations for this lack of convincing evidence are relatively small sample sizes in previous studies, their predominantly retrospective nature, suboptimal measurement methods for the assessment of neurological deficits, and inappropriate recording and documentation of potential confounding factors.
Laser Speckle Imaging for Wound Perfusion Monitoring (WoundImager)
Wounds and InjuriesThe purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of an optical device designed and developed to quantitatively monitor blood flow velocity of wound sites. It is hypothesized that the blood flow velocity of the wound site will provide critical information on the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Impact of Age on Cardiovascular, Cerebrovascular and Cognitive Health in Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal Cord InjuryAs the spinal cord injured population ages, these individuals are being exposed to an increased prevalence of age-associated diseases, which coupled with the secondary complications of the injury may contribute to the reduced life expectancies. Decentralized autonomic regulation in persons with SCI results in a multitude of cardiovascular changes, which may contribute to accelerated aging. Adverse cardiovascular changes may have deleterious effects on cerebral blood flow dynamics and an increase in cerebral vascular resistance index in individuals with SCI during cognitive testing. Deficits in memory and processing speed in individuals with SCI may relate to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular dysfunction. Identifying the associations between healthy aging versus premature or accelerated aging in organ system function in the SCI population is an important first step towards prevention and amelioration of these changes. Therefore the study objectives are to compare, among individuals with SCI, age-matched non-SCI and older non-SCI individuals arterial stiffness and cerebral vascular resistance index; memory, processing speed, and executive function; and volume of white matter hyperintensities. 60 individuals with SCI, 30 age-matched non-SCI controls, and 20 older non-SCI controls will be recruited for this study. All potential subjects will undergo a two-part screening process which consists of an initial screening via telephone and a detailed, in-person screening. Eligible subjects will be invited to participate in a 4 hour laboratory visit during which their arterial stiffness, blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate and, blood flow to the brain will be monitored at rest and during a comprehensive series of cognitive tests. A subset of the participants will be asked to take part in an MRI brain imaging session: 40 persons with SCI, 10 age-matched non-SCI and 10 older non-SCI. Eligible subjects will be asked to participate in a 1 hour MRI/functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) session. We hypothesize that arterial stiffness and cerebral vascular resistance index will be increased in the SCI group compared to the age-matched non-SCI but will be comparable to the older non-SCI groups. In addition, we hypothesize that the prevalence of mild to moderate cognitive impairments in memory, processing speed, and executive function will be increased in the SCI individuals compared to the age-matched non-SCI but will be comparable to the older non-SCI individuals.
Streamlining Trauma Research Evaluation With Advanced Measurement
Orthopaedic TraumaThe STREAM Study is a prospective longitudinal observational outcomes study that will examine the reliability, validity and responsiveness of the PROMIS tools for clinical research following orthopaedic trauma.
Effects of an Adapted Ski/Snowboarding Program on Quality of Life in Children With Physical Disabilities...
Cerebral PalsyTraumatic Brain Injuries2 moreThis study is assessing quality of life in children with a physical disability who participate in the Children's Hospital Colorado Hospital Sports Program (HSP), where children with physical disabilities are able to participate in more organized sports and active programs with the use of adaptive equipment. This study would assess a child's self reported and parent perceived quality of life before and after child participation in HSP for the winter season. The investigators aim to determine the level of child and parent happiness and satisfaction in specific quality of life aspects including: physical activities and health, feelings, moods, self perception, home life, friends, school, learning and bullying. The investigators believe that children with any physical disability will have a more satisfactory reported quality of life after participating in HSP for one or many years.
Computerized Attention Training for Individuals With Acquired Brain Injury
Acquired Brain InjuryStroke1 moreProblems with attention are a common and debilitating consequence of brain injury. Studies show that poor attention is the number one predictor of poor cognitive functioning one year post-injury. This is due to the fact that attention is a necessary component of more complex cognitive functions such as learning & memory, multi-tasking and problem solving. In many cases, individuals may exhibit problems with spatial attention known as 'hemi-spatial neglect syndrome' or simply 'neglect'. Many studies now show that the processing machinery of the brain is plastic and remodeled throughout life by learning and experience, enabling the strengthening of cognitive skills or abilities. The investigators own research has shown that brief, daily computerized cognitive training that is sufficiently challenging, goal-directed and adaptive enables intact brain structures to restore balance in attention and compensate for disruptions in cognitive functioning.
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy And Capacitive Coupling - Coag Versus Blend Mode Causing Thermal Injury...
Intraoperative ComplicationsThermal Injury1 moreMonopolar radiofrequency energy is used to perform the laparoscopic cholecystectomy operation. The appearance of burns are common following laparoscopic cholecystectomy; particularly at the port site of the active electrode. Willson et al found that 9 out of 19 skin biopsies from the skin adjacent to the port site of the monopolar instrument's active electrode were found to have thermal injury by histology. [Willson et al. Surg Endosc (1997) 11:653] Authors have speculated that using different generator modes may lead to less capacitive coupling; [Wu et al Am J Surg (2000) 179: 67] although no data exists to support these speculations. The investigators hypothesize that capacitive coupling electrosurgical injuries from monopolar instruments are occurring during laparoscopic cholecystectomy operations. The investigators hypothesize that use of blend modes will reduce the incidence of capacitive coupling thermal injuries during laparoscopic operations in comparison to coag modes.