Active clinical trials for "Brain Concussion"

To test the safety and feasibility of a new treatment for adolescents who are slow to recover from a sport-related concussion, the investigators are conducting a randomised controlled trial comparing treatment as usual with an active rehabilitation program that involves sub-symptom threshold cardiac exertion, sport-specific coordination activities, and positive visualisation techniques.

This study evaluates the effect of a physical exercise + caregiver skills training on feelings of burden, mood, and biological markers of inflammation in persons who provide care for Veterans with a TBI or dementia. Half of the caregivers will participate in a balance and flexibility + caregiver skills training program, while the other half will participate in a moderate/high intensity aerobic and resistance + caregiver skills training program.

Although the vast majority of individuals sustaining a sport-related concussion (SRC) will receive medical clearance to return to sport within 7-10 days, approximately 30% of children and adolescents reporting to the emergency department will experience symptoms that last longer than a month. Research has demonstrated that exercise below the threshold that results in increases in symptoms, beyond those experienced at rest, (sub-symptom threshold aerobic exercise) may be beneficial in recovery. However, the optimal amount and intensity of aerobic exercise for an individual to experience the most beneficial outcomes is currently unknown. Unfortunately there are limited Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT's) evaluating the benefits of aerobic exercise in a youth population. The current evidence includes studies with relatively small sample sizes, unreliable measurements of physical activity (self-report), and inherent biases through inadequate blinding. There is a need to develop and validate evidence-informed interventions as a means of treatment for limiting time loss from sport, and school in adolescents who experience persistent symptoms of sports related concussion beyond 10 days.

The aim is to evaluate the study design, procedure and measurements in a randomised controlled pilot study.

Children and youth are at a greater risk of concussions than adults, and once injured, take longer to recover. The increased incidence of sports-related concussion in youth and the potentially serious long-term negative impact on their developing brains has enormous repercussions. While most young athletes recover within several days, many continue to experience symptoms for many months post-concussion. Symptoms are wide ranging and include - most notably: headache, sleep disturbances, brain fog, irritability as well as impairments in emotion and cognitive function (i.e. attention, memory, concentration, etc.). Yet there are no evidence-based intervention studies that have successfully addressed these symptoms. Thus, there is an urgent need for improved therapeutic strategies, which promote optimal functional recovery in youth concussion. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a safe, non-invasive neurostimulation technique that can modulate neural excitability in the brain to positively impact cognition, behaviour and mood, particularly when combined with a behavioural intervention. Our long-term goal is to determine whether exercise combined with neurostimulation improves recovery from concussion. However, to our knowledge, the therapeutic potential of tDCS has not been studied in youth with concussion. Our objectives are as follows: To determine the tolerability of a 20-minute session of tDCS in symptomatic youth athletes; To evaluate the association between symptoms and EEG metrics at baseline and following a single session of tDCS in symptomatic athletes and compare these associations in symptomatic athletes who do not receive tDCS.

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a brief mindfulness-based intervention for targeting chronic physiological underarousal and post-concussive symptoms following a mild head injury (MHI), as self-reported by undergraduate university students. For the purposes of this study, MHI is defined (and identified) through our demographic questionnaire as a traumatic-based injury to the head - "Have you ever hit your head with a force sufficient to alter your state of consciousness" (consistent with the Kay et al., 1993 criteria/definition; American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine - ACRM). The investigators exclude congenital or genetic injuries.

This hypothesis-generating feasibility study compares mTBI Patients and Controls using advanced MRI Applications.

The aim of this research program is to 1) Evaluate potential problems with vision, inner ear-eye reflexes and deficits of processing eye information that occur following TBI; and 2) Evaluate treatment programs for individuals with eye and inner ear problems that persist for greater than 10 days following injury. This study will include 465 youth and young adults (aged 6-30 years old) who sustain a TBI of any severity. An initial evaluative phase using the best available technology to evaluate eye and inner ear function will be performed, and compared with typical tests that are used in the clinic. If symptoms and functional problems remain 10 days after injury, participants will be randomly placed into a treatment group (including eye movement, inner ear-eye reflex and attention exercises as per our pilot studies) or a control group (typical rehabilitation). Success will be measured in terms of return to sport (mild TBI), achievement of goals (moderate and severe TBI) and quality of life. It is expected that this program will inform clinical practice and future research leading to a treatment program in TBI that includes multiple components.

Millions of sport related concussions (SRC) occur yearly in the United States, and current diagnosis of concussion is based upon largely subjective clinical evaluations. The objective of this study is to determine whether urinary metabolites are significantly altered post SRC. Urine of 26 athletes will be analyzed pre-injury and after SRC by 1H NMR spectroscopy. Data will be analyzed using multivariate statistics, pairwise t-test, and metabolic pathway analysis. Variable Importance Analysis based on random Variable Combination (VIAVC) was used to select what features are present out of 224 features. Partial least squares discriminant analysis was performed leading to separation between pre-season and post-SRC groups. A Receiver Operator Curve (ROC) curve will be constructed to classify the features. Pathway topology analysis will also be completed to determine biological pathways are potentially affected following SRC.

Soccer, the most popular sport in the world, exposes players to repeated head impacts and concussions, due to contact with another player or with the ground. Moreover, routine game-play in soccer involves intentional and repeated head impacts through ball "heading", with frequent high velocities, which might cause a transient brain dysfunction. In this pre-post prospective interventional study, 22 soccer players will perform 10 headers from machine-projected soccer balls at standardized speeds, modelling routine soccer practice. They will perform heading series in 2 different oral conditions, on different days at least 1 week apart: 1) Without mouthguard and tight jaws ; 2) With mouthguard and tight jaws. The strength of the neck muscles will be measured before the heading series. The kinematic of the movement will be recorded during each impact during the 2 heading series, as well as the activity of the jaw muscles which will be recorded by electromyogram. Before and after each heading series, electrophysiological data, multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and cognitive computerized assessment will be acquired