Effect of High-Intensity Gait Training Using a Treadmill on Locomotion Recovery in Traumatic Brain...
Traumatic Brain InjuryGait Disorders1 moreThe project will consist of subjects who have suffered Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and who are able to ambulate on treadmill with or without a harness system. This will be a 4-week controlled study consisting of two groups of TBI patients, high-intensity intervention group and low-intensity control group. Both groups will receive physical therapy treatment 3 times per week for 1 hour. The intervention group will undergo 30-minute sessions of high-intensity walking on a treadmill with an overhead harness attached for safety. In addition, they will also get up to 30-minutes of low-intensity physical therapy in order to receive 1 hour of treatment time. The control group will undergo only low-intensity physical therapy activities for 1-hour. Low-intensity physical therapy will include strength exercises, stretches, balance, and low-intensity gait training. All participants in both groups will complete these outcome measures on the first day of the study, after 2 weeks of participation, and again at the end of 4 weeks or on their last day before discharge from Carilion's services. Later on, all participants in both groups will be followed up to complete the same set of outcome measures at the end of 1 month since completion of the protocol. This follow up session will take up to 45 minutes to complete.
Feasibility of tDCS as an Adjunct to Outpatient Physiotherapy in Children With ABI
Acquired Brain InjuryStroke2 moreThis study will evaluate the feasibility of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as an adjunct to an outpatient motor skills-based physiotherapy intervention for children and youth with acquired brain injury. Up to 10 children (age 5-18 years) with childhood onset stroke or traumatic brain injury will be randomly allocated to receive active or sham anodal tDCS immediately prior to the physiotherapy session. These sessions will occur twice weekly for a total of 10 sessions. Assessment of gross motor outcome measures will occur immediately before and after the combined tDCS and physiotherapy treatment protocol. The preliminary treatment effect between the two treatment groups will be compared and other feasibility indicators will be evaluated.
Connectivity in Cranioplasty
Acquired Brain InjuryTraumatic Brain Injury2 moreAn Exploratory Interventional study to assess the effects of cranioplasty on brain network connectivity, neuropsychological and motor functioning in patients with severe acquired brain injury with pre-, post-cranioplasty and 6 months follow-up assessments.
Pilot Trial for Adults With Acquired Brain Injury
Acquired Brain InjuryTraumatic Brain Injury1 moreThis pilot study will compare a yoga program to a non-yoga exercise program in adults with brain injuries. The investigators will measure possible improvements in balance and heartrate. The investigators also plan to measure changes in brain function and link balance and/or heartrate improvements to changes in brain function. Ideally, this work will create a foundation for a larger-scale study.
Persistent Post-Concussion Symptoms With Convergence Insufficiency
Persistent Post-concussive SymptomsConvergence Insufficiency4 moreOur successful R01 discovered 1) the neural mechanistic difference between typically occurring convergence insufficiency (TYP-CI) and binocularly normal controls and 2) the underlying mechanism of office-based vergence and accommodative therapy (OBVAT) that is effective in remediating symptoms. Adolescent and young adult concussion is considered a substantial health problem in the United States where our team has shown that about half of patients with persistent post-concussion symptoms have convergence insufficiency (PPCS-CI), causing significant negative impact associated with reading or digital screen-related activities, and is believed to be one factor causing delayed recovery impacting return to school, sports, or work. The results of this randomized clinical trial will impact the lives of adolescents and young adults with PPCS-CI to guide professionals on how to manage and treat those with PPCS-CI by 1) comparing the differences between PPCS-CI and TYP-CI, 2) discovering the neural mechanism of OBVAT for PPCS-CI compared to standard-community concussion care, and 3) determining the effectiveness of 12 one-hour sessions compared to 16 one-hour sessions of OBVAT.
Improving Neurotrauma by Depolarization Inhibition With Combination Therapy (INDICT)
Traumatic Brain InjuryThis study is a randomized Phase 2 trial to determine the feasibility of real-time electrocorticographic monitoring of spreading depolarizations (SD) to guide implementation of a tier-based protocol of intensive care therapies, aimed at SD suppression, for the management of patients who have undergone acute operative treatment of severe traumatic brain injury.
Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy for Retried Professional Football Players
TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)Concussion5 moreThis is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial with an open-label extension to evaluate the efficacy of growth hormone (GH) on cognitive functions of retired professional football players with growth hormone deficiency (GHD).
A Health and Wellness Lifestyle Program to Support Community-Dwelling Persons With Traumatic Brain...
Traumatic Brain InjuryTo evaluate the efficacy of an adapted telehealth-based, health and wellness lifestyle program on promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors and improving health outcomes.
Antisecretory Factor In Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic Brain InjuryThis study evaluates the addition of Salovum, an egg yolk powder enriched for antisecretory factor, to standard care of participants with severe traumatic brain injury. Half of the participants will be administered Salovum while the other half will be given a placebo egg yolk powder, not enriched for antisecretory factor. Intracranial pressure (ICP), partial brain oxygen pressure (PtbO2), microdialysis of metabolites and inflammatory mediators and trauma intensity level (TIL) will be assessed in all patients.
Randomized Controlled Trial for Vestibular Treatment in Concussion
Vestibular DisorderMild Traumatic Brain InjuryA prospective, single-blind, four-group multi-center randomized controlled trial (RCT) of targeted rehabilitation exercises for vestibular symptoms and impairments (T-REV) in civilians with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) will be conducted at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program (UPitt). The four treatment groups will consist of the factorial combinations of low (30%) and high (70%) intensity of exercise crossed with low (12-18 min, 1x/day) and high (12-18 min, 2x/day) frequency. A total of 125 participants aged 18-50 years will be enrolled across years 1-4, with approximately 100 participants completing the whole study. After potential participants with mTBI are screened for the vestibular clinical profile, using domain-specific tests and measures, and enrolled into the study, participants will complete primary and secondary outcome measures and receive a home exercise program that a) targets participants individual deficits, and b) is of the appropriate intensity and frequency for the participant's randomly assigned treatment group. Participants will return for in-clinic visits once per week to receive treatment and progress assigned exercises.