Active clinical trials for "Brain Injuries, Traumatic"

The study will provide evidence on the long term outcomes of mTBI in service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition, the study will provide evidence on mTBI incidence, and symptom patterns. Self-reported assessments at baseline and follow-ups will be combined with data on health care utilization and military job performance. The work, symptoms, and family interaction outcomes of returning soldiers screening positive for mTBI, combined mTBI and PTSD, and soldier controls will be compared at 3 months, 6 months, and at one year. The assessments over time will permit descriptions of symptom changes for these populations. It is likely the study will find similar findings to those of previous civilian studies - that concussive symptoms often resolve within months of injury. However, some soldier subsets may have chronic problems. Determining the incidence and outcomes of individuals with mTBI will assist medical providers in determining the types of follow-ups needed by returning service members and suggest the development of additional treatment interventions. These results may also inform treatment of civilian populations with mTBI. The three primary hypotheses are: Concussive symptoms at the time of return from serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and symptoms persisting 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after return will be associated with extent of exposure to combat, injury mechanism, associated injuries (co-occuring injuries), PTSD and other psychiatric co-morbidities, and number of deployment-related mTBIs. Returning troops reporting concussive symptoms at the time of return from deployment will have more work related problems at each follow-up (including lower rates of return to duty, return to work, and poor quality of work). The mTBI screening tool will be sensitive and specific to mTBI when compared to the criterion measure, which is a structured interview conducted by clinicians blinded to the screening results.

The purpose of this study is to show if it is possible to detect secondary ischemic events in patients with severe brain injury or cerebral haemorrhage with the help of non-invasive near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) by using the indocyanine green measuring of cerebral perfusion.

Procure blood specimens from individuals presenting to the emergency department with suspected brain injury.

The purpose of this study is to assess for vasospasm using Transcranial Doppler (TCD) and brain injury biomarkers, and evaluate neurocognitive outcome data in pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients who have experienced a mild to severe head injury.

This is an exploratory qualitative interview study being conducted with a primary objective of examining perceptions held by active military and veterans regarding help-seeking attitudes and mental health beliefs which influence the decision to consent or decline participation in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) clinical trials. Active duty military and/or veterans aged 18 years and older who consent to participate (N = 50), or have recently declined participation (N = 50), in an INTRuST affiliated outpatient clinical trial for deployment-related PTSD or TBI will be recruited. Participants who consent to participate in an INTRuST clinical trial (Group 1) will be interviewed once at the beginning the of the clinical trial, and again following participation in the trial. Participants who decline participation in an INTRuST affiliated outpatient clinical trial (Group 2) will be interviewed once. For participants in both groups, study participation will initiate within 1 month of referral to study. Total duration of study participation is based on the specific clinical trial that the participant is recruitment from; the longest trial is estimated to be 24 weeks or less. Semi-structured qualitative individual interviews will be conducted to carry out a thematic analysis of the data exploring familial, social and institution-level constructs which may influence the subjective experience of the research treatment process.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the brains of persons with and without traumatic brain injury differ in a meaningful way when advanced technology images of the brain are taken using three newer technologies that visualize the brain using a combination of external/internal magnetic fields and radioactive tracers (molecules that emit detectable particles). The hope is that the results of this study will validate tools (help prove that diagnostic tools actually detect disease) for the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

The study investigates whether the use of eye movement recordings can provide a reliable diagnostic of previously undiagnosed mild traumatic brain injury (blast and impact) in Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom (OIF/OEF) veterans.

This study will use MRI imaging, cognitive testing and outcome questionnaires to determine how the brain recovers and reorganizes after an injury.

The objective of this prospective study is to evaluate the reliability of plain x-rays vs.cranial computed tomography as a screening method for skull fractures and its prognostic value for intracranial bleeding (ICB).

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant injury in the Armed Forces, but it is also common in the general population. This condition poses significant challenges for both diagnosis and therapy. However, the biological and neurological reasons for TBI remain poorly understood and are in need of more in-depth study. The National Institutes of Health is collaborating with several military medical centers and research units in a multi-year study of TBI in civilian and military patients. In anticipation of these research projects, the Clinical Center s Rehabilitation Medicine Department needs to become familiar with the instruments they will likely need to evaluate this group of subjects. Objectives: To evaluate potential test instruments in patients with TBI. To evaluate patient tolerance of an extensive battery of assessments and the time required to complete the assessments. To improve staff competencies on new or novel assessments of the TBI patient population Eligibility: Individuals 18 years of age and older who have been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury in the past 5 years. Healthy volunteers 18 years of age and older who have had no instances of significant head trauma. Design: This study requires approximately 3 days of outpatient or inpatient evaluation. Subjects will undergo cognitive and neuropsychological tests, physical assessments, speech and language evaluation, and balance testing. Tests will be given orally, in writing, and on computers. The testing will be done in blocks of 2 to 3 hours, with rest periods as needed. Subjects may undergo any or all of the following assessments and screening tools, as determined by the researchers: Cognitive, quality of life, and functional assessments Speech, language, and swallowing assessments Physical functional performance and environment assessments (including balance testing) Subjects will remain under the care of their own health care providers while participating in this study.