Active clinical trials for "Brain Injuries, Traumatic"

Background: Cognitive impairment is common in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) at all levels of severity. Such impairments may affect their ability to return to work and thus increase healthcare costs and the associated economic burdens. Both cognitive rehabilitation and stimulant medications are widely used to manage post-traumatic cognitive impairments; however, previous metaanalyses failed to demonstrate their beneficial effects on cognitive recovery in patients with TBI. Nurses, the first-line healthcare providers, should therefore seek and use an alternative approach for dealing with post-traumatic cognitive deficits. Purpose: To assess the effects of low resolution tomography (LoRETA) Z -score neurofeedback (NF) and theta/beta NF in alleviating cognitive impairments in patients with TBI as well as the possible mechanism through which they provide this alleviation. We hypothesize that adults with TBI receiving LoRETA Z-score NF and theta/beta NF will experience the improvements in cognitive functions while participants in the control group will not.

The purpose of this study is to improve behavior control displayed by persons with traumatic brain injury by assessing effectiveness of treatments for post-TBI irritability and aggression.

One of the principal complicating factors associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is sleep-wake disturbances (e.g., insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, and circadian rhythm sleep disorders). Morning bright light therapy (MBLT) has been shown to improve sleep quality in a variety of conditions, but little has been done investigating the utility of MBLT in improving sleep in Veterans with TBI. This proposal aims to determine the effect of MBLT on sleep quality in Veterans with TBI. Veterans with and without TBI will be recruited from the VA Portland Health Care System. Baseline questionnaires and 7 days of actigraphy will be collected prior to engaging in 60 minutes of MBLT daily for 4 weeks, during which actigraphy will also be collected continuously. Post-MBLT questionnaire data will be collected, and follow-up questionnaire data will be collected at 3 months post-MBLT.

The study aims to demonstrate improvement of daily life functioning and improvement of cognitive tests in post traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients suffering from working memory deficit, by a 3-month specific cognitive rehabilitation program, in comparison with patients with usual non-specific rehabilitation of same duration. As secondary objectives, the study aims to: demonstrate improvement of specific neuropsychological tests of working memory; demonstrate improvement of non-specific tasks involving working memory; assess the evolution in not-targeted domains by the specific rehabilitation, which would give evidence of a global cognitive stimulation effect; demonstrate improvement of social integration ability and quality of life; demonstrate persistence of effects at 3 months and 6 months after the end of treatment; demonstrate the acceptability, the tolerance and the feasibility of rehabilitation.

The E-TIPS trial will evaluate an evidence-based, telehealth pain self-management intervention compared to standard care (a waitlist) for chronic pain in adults with physical disabilities who are employed. Participants from anywhere in the US will be randomized to either E-TIPS, a cognitive-behavioral pain self-management intervention delivered by telephone, or a waitlist control. Outcomes, including pain interference, will be assessed at baseline, mid-treatment, post-treatment, and 6-month follow up.

The purpose of this small, research study is to examine effectiveness of an at-home application of an experimental intervention, on thinking and memory in mild-moderate, closed-head, traumatic brain injury cases. The experimental intervention is light-emitting diode (LED) therapy, which is applied to the scalp and through the nose using a head frame device. Participants are expected to complete two, 5-week series of LED treatments, at home, 3 times a week. There will be a 1-month period between the two series. Each home treatment is 20 minutes. Participants will be trained to use the head frame device, in-office. The head frame device falls within the FDA category General Wellness, low-risk devices, and no medical claims are made. A two-hour paper and pencil testing (4 visits) and a one-hour MRI (3 visits) will be administered before and after each treatment series. Participants may be in the study for about 4 months. This study is supported by Vielight, Inc., Hayward, CA/ Toronto, Canada

The objectives of this VA Merit application are to identify a neural target unique to Veterans with co-occurring alcohol use disorder and mild traumatic brain injury (AUD+mTBI) and to test the efficacy of this target as a stimulation site for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment to maximize functional recovery. rTMS will soon be a treatment option at 30 VAs nationwide and preliminary studies show promise for AUD and mTBI treatment. A better understanding of how AUD+mTBI impacts the brain needs to occur in order to advance rTMS to optimize function. This research is aligned with the VA RR&D's mission to generate knowledge and innovations to advance the rehabilitative health and care of Veterans, to effectively integrate clinical and applied rehabilitation research, and translate research results into practice. This research is also aligned with the goal of the Psychological Health & Social Reintegration portfolio to develop interventions improving psychological health status of Veterans enabling them to function more fully in society.

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the effectiveness of a memory enhancement technique in persons with a Traumatic Brian Injury (TBI). The study is designed to research how well this technique can help people with TBI improve their memory and their ability to function better in everyday life

Acquired Brain Injury (TBI) is a serious medical and health problem in the US. Individuals with an acquired brain injury due to stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) commonly suffer from upper extremity physical impairments that persist even after years of injury; these deficits are attributed to the damage to brain structure and changes in structural and functional connectivity. Although the conventional rehabilitation approaches are helpful in assisting motor recovery often there is a complaint of fatigue due to the repetitive tasks and also, nearly half of the ABI survivors do not regain their ability to use their arms for daily activities. To address this issue, Dr. Shenoy's proposed study will investigate the combined use of individually targeted non-invasive brain stimulation and music-assisted video game-based hand exercises to achieve functional recovery. Further, the project will also investigate how the intervention modulates brain activity (recorded using EEG) in terms of brain connectivity before- and after the -intervention. In the end, this study will allow us to understand the cortical dynamics of ABI rehabilitation upon brain stimulation. Extending further, this could pave the way to advance the knowledge of behavioral and neural aspects of motor control in patients with different types of neuromuscular disorders.

Blood flow through the brain is reduced after brain damage. Secondary brain ischemia caused by hypoxia and hypotension, further increase the susceptibility of the ischemically compromised brain to secondary impairment during this period. In order to determine whether and to what extent blockage of the stellate ganglion (BSG) affects the blood flow to the injured brain, the investigators will measure the variables of brain blood flow before and after BSG using computed tomography angiography (CTA), trans-cranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD), intracranial pressure (ICP) and perfusion computed tomography (PCT) of the brain. At the same time, the investigators would like to evaluate whether and to what extent BSG affects the aseptic inflammatory brain injury response and the biochemical indicators of brain damage in patients with moderate and severe brain injury.