Active clinical trials for "Wounds and Injuries"

The purpose of this study is to determine if it is technically feasable to repair nerves that are injured as part of a planned surgical removal of the prostate and the surrounding tissue in subjects with prostate cancer. The study will also examine the long term outcomes on erectile function, continence and overall quality of life in the enrolled subjects.

The purpose of this study is to see if the treatment of severely brain injured patients with darbepoetin (a long acting form of erythropoietin) will be safe, and will reduce brain damage by decreasing harmful levels of chemicals in the brain.

The purpose of this study is to determine if carbamazepine reduces irritability and aggression among individuals with traumatic brain injury

The primary purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy and safety of three dose levels of cobiprostone as compared to placebo in OA/RA patients treated with an NSAID for 20 months.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether rosuvastatin is effective in the management of moderate head injury by improving amnesia and orientation.

Of the four million trauma cases each year that will require hospitalization, 200,000 will be classified as severe trauma. During the hospital stay, malnutrition is a major complication in about 50% of the patient population. The result is muscle wasting which is a major risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality. In this study we postulate that supplementation with beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB), arginine and glutamine (HMB/Arg/Gln)or HMB alone to these severely traumatized patients can stem the loss of muscle tissue and whole body nitrogen and in turn decrease morbidity and mortality. This hypothesis is based on two recent studies showing the same nutritional mixture of HMB/Arg/Gln can reverse the muscle wasting associated with AIDS and Cancer. The hypermetabolic state seen in AIDS and cancer have a similar multifactorial etiology as seen in trauma. There is an increase in the mobilization of fat and muscle, increased or normal metabolic rate, increased protein breakdown, and an increased or normal glucose turnover. In addition, HMB alone has been shown to reduce nitrogen loss, decrease muscle proteolysis and muscle damage within the first 48 hours to three weeks after initiating supplementation during a strenuous exercise program. Male and female patients (n=100) will be recruited at the time of admittance to the Trauma ICU with an ISS of greater than 18. Patients who meet the inclusion/exclusion criteria will be randomized to receive either 1) standard tube feed plus HMB/Arg/Gln, 2) standard tube feed plus HMB alone, or 3)standard tube feed (control) in a double-blinded fashion. Clinical outcomes measures will be assessed through out the hospital stay and on an outpatient basis at weeks 4 and 12. Muscle proteolysis and nitrogen economy will be evaluated on daily basis while in the hospital and after 4 weeks on an out patient basis. If as expected, Phase I results confirm the effectiveness of the nutrient mixture in trauma patients, expanded multicenter studies will be proposed in Phase II.

Donated red blood cells vary in how old they are, that is, how long they have been stored since being collected from donors. Blood that has been donated is stored for a maximum of 42 days, after this time it is expired. That means that red blood cells that are given to patients as a blood transfusion can be anywhere from a few days old to 42 days old. The average age of blood that is given as a blood transfusion in this hospital is 21 days old. As stored blood gets older its ability to carry oxygen may be reduced. Whether or not this is important in patients with a brain injury is not currently known. The purpose of this study is to try and determine if fresh blood (less than 5 days old) is better than old blood (greater than 20 days old) in improving the supply of oxygen in patients who have suffered an injury to their brain.

The purpose of this study is to discover the feasibility of conducting clinical research in individuals with chronic sequelae following brain injury who are given hyperbaric oxygen. This study will also look at the outcome of individuals with a chronic stable brain injury due to trauma, anoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain), or stroke, who are given hyperbaric oxygen. Outcome measures testing cognitive (memory, etc.) and functional (balance, strength, etc.) measures will be performed before the hyperbaric sessions, immediately following them, and 6 months later. The subject will receive 60 hyperbaric sessions, 60 minutes in the chamber, to a pressure of 1.5 ATA, once daily, Monday through Friday.

The primary purpose of this study is to determine the effect of administration of the oral beta-2 adrenergic agonist, albuterol, on respiratory muscle strength in individuals with cervical (neck) and high thoracic (upper back) spinal cord injury and to compare findings with those obtained in a demographically matched group that will receive placebo. Participation in this study will involve 12 weeks of pharmacological intervention during which participants will be randomized to receive either oral albuterol 4mg twice daily or placebo. All investigators and study participants will be blinded to randomization by our research pharmacy. Participation in the study will require study subjects to come to our lab for the total of 2 visits (at baseline and after week 12), during which a series of tests will be performed to assess their respiratory muscle strength and pulmonary function.

The investigators plan to utilize conivaptan (Vaprisol) to promote isolated water loss, in combination with normal (physiologic) fluid replacement to maintain a normal blood volume status, in patients with severe TBI. The goal of this therapy is to raise blood sodium in a controlled fashion in subjects with severe TBI, and reduce the use of hypertonic saline infusion. We hypothesize that this therapy will maintain a stable state of high blood sodium, while decreasing the overall sodium load needed to achieve these goals.