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61 active trials for Brain Injuries

The Effects of Head Trauma on Collegiate Athletes

Recently, researchers and clinicians have examined many different forms of concussion testing aimed to assess if a brain injury has occurred and to what degree it affects the individual being tested. Due to the multifaceted and complex presentation of concussive injuries and the unknown effects of repeated head trauma, it is unlikely that a single test of physiological or behavioral function will reflect the full range of injury-related damages from a concussive event or from a series of cumulative head traumas, as well as the injury response within brain tissue. However, by combining a variety of objective assessments which may detect structural and functional alterations following head trauma into a single study, a clearer understanding of the multi-faceted presentation resulting from head trauma may be identified. The identification of biomarkers and the utilization of objective and clinically feasible tools will provide a method to assess three domains across multiple systems affected by head trauma: 1) the prognostic value of initial concussion assessments to identify injury severity and factors responsible for prolonged recovery, 2) the temporal window of recovery and potential vulnerability of brain tissue post-injury, and 3) the long-term alterations associated with repeated head trauma exposure.

Start: August 2015

Thalamic Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound in Brain Injury

Few neurological conditions are as scientifically mysterious and clinically, legally, and ethically challenging as disorders of consciousness. To date there exists no standard intervention for patients suffering from these devastating conditions. The present project is aimed at evaluating the potential of non-invasive Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound Pulsation (LIFUP) of thalamus (a key area for the consciousness network) as a neurorestorative stimulation for those patients. In this study, LIFUP will be performed during two sessions. The proposed experiment will involve behavioral and paramedical measurements just before and after each of the two LIFUP sessions in a small sample of patients (up to 15 acute and 15 chronic patients) in order to evaluate the feasibility of a full scale clinical trial.

Start: March 2016

Efficacy of Nucleo CMP Forte in Traumatic Brain Injury in Pediatrics

Start: June 2020

Predictors of Better Outcomes After Severe Acquired Brain Injuries

Severe Acquired Brain Injury is defined as a traumatic, post-anoxic, vascular or other brain damage that causes coma for at least 24 hours and leads to permanent disability with sensorial, motor, cognitive or compartmental impairment. In this context, an accurate characterization of individual patients' profile in terms of neuronal damage, potential for neuroplasticity, neurofunctional and clinical state could allow to plan tailored rehabilitation and care pathway on the basis of solid prognostic information, also for optimizing resources of the National Health care systems and enhance ethical decisions. Patient profiling should encompass measures and procedures easily available at the bedside, and with affordable time, resource, and money-costs to determine a real impact on National Health systems. The aim of the study is identifying patient profiles in terms of clinical, neurophysiological and genetical aspects with better long-term outcome in order to plan tailored therapeutic interventions.

Start: June 2020

Neurocognitive Impairment in Pediatric Patients With Meningoencephalitis and Sepsis-associated Encephalopathy

Neurocognitive impairment is frequently observed in pediatric patients with meningoencephalitis (ME) and sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) which represent two relevant central nervous system (CNS) diseases in pediatric patients. It is uncertain, if the the origin of the disease, located primarily in the CNS of patients with ME or secondarily in patients with SAE in the course of sepsis, is of importance for the severity of injury to the brain. Prospective clinical studies combining clinical and laboratory examinations including specific biomarkers of neuroaxonal injury were not performed in a comparative study. Biomarkers of neuroaxonal injury are therefore not only of great interest to detect and monitor neurocognitive impairment but also to quantify the severity of brain injury in patients with ME and SAE.

Start: August 2020

Tbit System Precision and Correlation of Different Blood Samples

The Tbit™ System will detect S100B and GFAP concentrations with the blood specimen to produce and compare repeated measures from 3 blood samples from 3 fingersticks from one subject and one 1 venous whole blood sample will be collected from the same subject, on 3 different Tbit™ System by 3 different operators.

Start: August 2020

Virtual Rehabilitation Innovations for Motivation

Children and young people with movement difficulties such as Cerebral Palsy (CP) and Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) report that traditional therapies are highly repetitive and labourious. This influences enjoyment and participation in regular therapy programmes and may result in reduced adherence to therapy or exercise regimes, limiting effectiveness. This study will build on the team's previous work to explore the potential use of Virtual-Reality (VR) technologies in rehabilitation? particularly systems that can be used at home to increase accessibility and reduce need to attend clinics for therapy. During the co-production events of the VR4REHAB Inter Regional North West Europe (NWE) funded programme in 2018, young people desired the use of commercial games for therapeutic purposes. This work has enabled connections between affordable computer technologies: the Raspberry Pi, VR headsets and freely available commercial games. This 2-Phased project is therefore exploring the potential of commercially available virtual reality (VR) systems consoles and games for use in rehabilitation programmes. The Investigators hope to gain information on: Whether commercially produced VR games can provide a motivating environment to support adherence to therapy Whether it is possible to improve reaching and grasp-release hand movements through this method Gain an understanding of the ages of children and young people most likely to benefit from home-based VR therapy User evaluation and performance data and therapist evaluations will be collected and compared to baseline data to provide information on usability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability.

Start: June 2020

Omega 3 and Ischemic Stroke; Fish Oil as an Option

In this trial, The investigators are going to investigate the improvement of neurological functions and infarced area of the brain in ischemic stroke patients after ingestion of omega 3 products that have high concentrations of DHA and EPA in comparison to control group. The study will assess the improvement by computerized calculation of the size of the infarcted area before and after the intervention and neurological assessment tools. The researchers will follow the scientific and ethical regulations prevent any harmful effect on recruited subjects.

Start: September 2020

Metacognition in Neurological Injury

The purpose of this study is to investigate the trajectory of metacognitive functioning throughout phases of recovery from neurological insult, and to determine its relationship to rehabilitation compliance and functional outcome. It is hypothesized that metacognitive accuracy improves over time, and is a significant predictor of engagement in rehabilitation activities.

Start: December 2018

Brain Injury Therapy of Exercise and Enriched Environment

The purpose of this study is to determine whether exercise or exercise with enrichment is beneficial in individuals who previously had a head injury. The enrichment will consist of a cultural educational program that will include ethnic food, music, slides and a talk. A series of tests that measure mental function and balance will be done before and after the exercise or the exercise/enrichment program will be done to measure efficacy.

Start: May 2016

Telerehabilitation for Cognitive Impairment Following Acquired Brain Injury

Cognitive function is the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. Cognitive impairment describes a noticeable decline in cognitive function which can be temporary or permanent. This decline is measurable and ranges from mild to severe depending on the degree of decline in function. Cognitive impairment can be caused by a variety of diseases or conditions, and it is not limited to a specific age group. It can occur in patients following acquired brain injury such as traumatic brain injury and stroke. Some causes of cognitive impairment are related to health issues that may be treatable, such as medication side effects, vitamin B12 deficiency, and depression. Cognitive impairment has a significant impact on rehabilitation outcome and quality of life. It has significant health and economic impact. People with cognitive impairment report three times longer stay in hospital compared to people hospitalised for other conditions. Cognitive rehabilitation is the process by which cognitive function can be improved and reduces the impact of cognitive impairment. Cognitive rehabilitation helps to improve functional outcomes and quality of life of patients with cognitive impairment. Current cognitive rehabilitation protocols use face to face interaction which cannot optimise the intensity of therapy due a lack of resources. Many areas of UK do not have dedicated cognitive rehabilitation service, programme or personnel and where it exists, the service is restricted largely to the urban centres. These services have high patient to staff ratio with prolonged waiting times often extending over 12 months to access input. Innovative technologies with telemedicine may well bridge the gap in service provision, improve engagement and offer opportunities in resource management. Gamification refers to the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity (such as healthcare) to encourage engagement and motivation. It is increasingly being used in rehabilitation and provides a means of developing more effective treatments and interventions. Practice and repetition are key rehabilitation processes that can be enhanced through the use of gamified innovative technology. This protocol describes a trial of an innovative rehabilitation tool for community dwelling adults with cognitive impairment following acquired brain injury. The intervention is a novel interactive system connected to a television set using 3D cameras and tailored software to deliver therapeutic activities to patients within their homes. Each participant will be required to have 2 sessions per week using the device. Each session will last about 20 minutes with 4 different activities of 5 minutes duration each, targeting different domains of cognitive function. Follow up assessments will be carried out after 12 weeks of using the equipment. The primary outcome measure will be the change in the assessment scores on the cognitive tests administered before and after undergoing the rehabilitation programme. Secondary outcomes on quality of life, participation in leisure time activities and satisfaction with the use of the equipment will also be obtained. Safety while using the device will be monitored and any side effects from engaging in the activities will also be monitored.

Start: February 2020

Altered Cerebral Growth and Development in Infants With Congenital Heart Disease

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most frequent inborn defect with an incidence of 1 in 100 newborns per year, i.e. 800 children born in Switzerland per year. 10% to 15% of cases are born with single ventricle (SV), the most complex type of CHF requiring immediate surgical intervention after birth. Infants with SV CHD are treated in three surgical staged procedures over the first three years of life. However, cerebral injuries occur in around 40% of those children and impact neurocognitive abilities. As more than 90% of all infants with CHD survive to adulthood, scientific concern is focussed on patient-individual course brain growth and development within the relative contribution of fetal, perinatal, cardiac and surgical risk factors. Therefore, serial cerebral MRI examinations are needed, starting (1) at the third trimester during fetal life proceeding to (2) pre- and postoperative time points at the stage I surgery after birth and (3) before stage II surgery at 4 months of age. We will compare the cerebral MRI findings with a healthy control population, recruited at the same time points, and correlate brain growth and development with the neurodevelopmental outcome assessed at one year of age. Three Pediatric Heart Centers in Switzerland and Germany will participate. The overall aims are: To analyse the patient-individual cerebral developmental trajectories, brain growth and determine the time course of brain abnormalities in infants with single ventricle CHD by serial cerebral MRI during fetal life, after birth and at an age of 4 months (primary endpoints). To determine the neurodevelopmental outcome at one year of age using the Bayley III and will be correlated with the brain growth and brain development in the third trimester of fetal life and at the age of 4 months (secondary endpoints). To analyse fetal, neonatal, surgery-related and intensive care associated factors determining the patient-individual course for altered cerebral growth and impaired neurodevelopmental outcome at one year of age. Methodology: We will prospectively enroll fetuses and neonates with single ventricle CHD at the three Pediatric Heart Centers in Switzerland (Zurich, Bern) and Germany (Giessen). Advanced MR imaging will assess cerebral volumes, microstructural and hemodynamic changes at repeated time points during the third trimester of fetal life (32. week of gestation), the perioperative neonatal period before and after stage I surgery and before stage II surgery at 4 months of age. Biomechanical analysis of longitudinal changes of brain morphology will be applied to longitudinal fetal and neonatal MRI data. Outcome is determined with the Bayley-III at one year of age. Significance: Using a population-based sample of children with single ventricle CHD, we will be able to determine cerebral growth from the third fetal trimester until the first 4 months after birth, when the brain is most rapidly growing. By performing serial brain imaging, the knowledge of etiological pattern affecting cerebral growth, development and brain injury will increase. Morphometric and biomechanical analysis of brain growth patterns will be performed that may capture fine-grained changes associated with CHD. By correlating these data with the neurodevelopmental outcome at one year of age it will be possible to identify specific risk constellations leading to impaired brain development and categories of brain injuries that confer a higher risk of adverse outcome. The better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms will serve as the basis for neuroprotective studies and pharmacological trials aiming to improve outcomes in children with CHD in the future.

Start: January 2020

Management and Outcomes Following Emergency Surgery for Traumatic Brain Injury

Primary aim: The primary aim of the study is to compare survival to discharge (or survival to 14 days post-operatively, whichever comes first) following emergency surgery for traumatic brain injury (TBI) across Human Development Index settings. Primary outcome measure: The primary outcome measure will be survival to discharge (or survival to 14 days post-operatively, whichever comes first) Primary comparison: Between country groups defined by human development index. Centre eligibility: Any hospital or clinic worldwide performing emergency surgery for traumatic brain injury is eligible to participate. Patient eligibility: All adult and paediatric patients admitted to the participating institution with a traumatic brain injury for which they receive emergency surgery during the selected 30-day inclusion period are eligible for inclusion in the study. Team: Individual hospital teams with up to four people, collecting data for 30 days. Time period: Local study teams may select any 30-day period from the 1st of November 2018 and the 31st of December 2019 to start their study. Patients operated on who meet the inclusion criteria between 00:01 on day 0 and 23:59 on day 30 of the selected study period will be included. Validation: We will employ a method of data validation in every centre that will give us a quantitative estimate of case ascertainment that is feasible even in low-resource centres.

Start: November 2018

Validating the MATADOC Against Best Practice Standard External Reference Standard

The purpose of this project is to further develop a standardized music-based measure used in music therapy with adults who have emerged from coma following profound brain injury, but are not able to demonstrate responsiveness to their environment due to complex clinical needs. Building on previous work, the project aims to strengthen the psychometric properties (e.g. concurrent validity, responsiveness) of the measure for its use with adults with profound brain damage.

Start: December 2016

Influence of Respiratory Mechanics on Brain-specific Monitoring in Brain-injured Patients

Increase in intracranial pressure (ICP) could be associated with increase in positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) level. Data are however disparate and interactions between ventilation with high PEEP and intracranial circulation are still debated. Individual patient's chest wall elastance could have a key role in determining the effects of PEEP on ICP, since it dictates which proportion of the applied PEEP is transmitted to the pleural space, thus increasing central venous pressure (CVP) and reducing cerebral venous return. Measurement of esophageal pressure with a dedicated probe allows partitioning of respiratory system elastance into its lung and chest wall components, thus permitting to study this phenomenon. Multimodal intracranial monitoring permits to study the effects of PEEP on more advanced brain-specific indices such as brain tissue oxygen (PtiO2), cerebral microdialysis data, transcranial doppler ultrasound-derived flow measurements and automated pupillometry, besides ICP. This study aims to test the association between the ratio of chest wall to respiratory system elastance and PEEP-induced variations in ICP and brain-specific multimodal monitoring indices. This study will evaluate the relative role of other selected measures of respiratory mechanics, hemodynamic variables and intracranial compliance, in order to establish the role of individual respiratory mechanics in the interplay of physiological factors affecting the effects of positive pressure ventilation on the brain. Patients will undergo two periods of ventilation at two different levels of PEEP (5 and 15 cmH2O) in a randomized cross-over order. At the end of each period, cardiorespiratory clinical data, ICP and other advanced multimodal neuromonitoring data (brain tissue oxygen tension, cerebral microdyalisis analytes, transcranial doppler ultrasound and automated infrared pupillometry data) will be collected. Systematic respiratory mechanics assessment (including calculation of chest wall and lung elastances and estimation of the amount of recruitment versus overdistension due to PEEP by means of a single-breath derecruitment trial), echocardiography and arterial blood gas analysis will be performed.

Start: July 2019

Novel MRI for Diagnosing Traumatic Brachial Plexus Injuries

The aims are: Investigate new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans for diagnosing severe nerve injury in the arm. Understand how the brain and spinal cord respond to severe nerve injury using MRI. The nerves which control movement and feeling in the arm can be severely damaged in eg. motorbike crashes, sporting or work-related injuries. Every year 500 adults sustain life-changing major nerve injuries, causing 1) disability needing constant care, 2) life-long pain and 3) mental illness. In England, major nerve injuries cost £250million every year in hospital treatments, unemployment and social care. Injured nerves can be repaired with surgery. To decide if nerves need repairing, exploratory surgery is needed. Instead, we have developed a new MRI scan which could diagnose nerve injuries, meaning that exploratory surgery could be avoided, nerve injuries could be diagnosed sooner and reconstructive surgery performed sooner. Some people with nerve injuries develop lifelong pain - if we could understand how the brain adapts, we could learn how to prevent nerve pain. Also, some people don't recover movement in their hand - if we could understand how the brain reorganises nerves controlling movement, we could predict who would benefit from surgery.

Start: January 2019

Investigating Usability of c-SIGHT in the Homes of Brain Injury Survivors

A brain injury can damage the brain, so that it no longer receives information about the space around one side of the world. If this happens, people may not be aware of anything on one side, usually the same side they also lost their movement (the most affected side). This severe condition is called spatial neglect. Currently there is no recommended diagnostic test or clinically-proven treatment for the condition. In a recent study, the investigators found a long-lasting reduction in neglect if people practiced picking-up an object with their unaffected hand. This intervention is called Spatial Inattention Grasping Home-based Therapy (SIGHT). It requires people to lift wooden rods of different lengths. Once a person is familiar with the task, they can practice on their own at a time convenient to them in their homes. The investigators have developed the first computerized version of SIGHT (c-SIGHT) as well as a novel diagnostic test for neglect using portable low-cost motion-tracking technology that can be used in the patient's home. In the proposed study, the investigators will investigate how usable and acceptable this technology is in people's homes. Stroke survivors (recruited from community settings) will undergo a 7-day self-led training at their homes with c-SIGHT. At the end of the intervention, 1:1 semi-structured interviews will be carried out with both stroke survivors and carers to investigate usability and acceptability of c-SIGHT. Moreover, spatial neglect, carer burden and motor function will be assessed pre- and post-completion of c-SIGHT.

Start: May 2019

Human-Animal Interaction to Promote Recovery Following Pediatric Brain Injury

This study evaluates the addition of therapy dogs in inpatient physical and occupational therapy. Data will be collected across 10 PT and 10 OT sessions, half of which will incorporate a therapy dog.

Start: July 2019

Group Based Treatment for Persons With Social Communication Disorder

A large proportion of patients with acquired brain injuries (ABI) have cognitive deficits that affect the way they communicate. There is much international research done on how cognitive difficulties with attention, memory, executive functions and so on affect social communication. Without successful social skills, a person may engage in conflicts, become isolated and be denied access to social and vocational opportunities. There is more research on individual treatment for social communication disorder compared to group treatments. Internationally, several group interventions have been developed for treating social communication disorders during the last years. Group Interactive Structured Treatment (GIST) is a holistic multidisciplinary group treatment targeting social communication skills that has received empirical support. The main aim of the present study is to examine the efficacy of GIST for improving social communication in persons with acquired brain injury, and also compare the standard GIST protocol to an intensive GIST protocol. Efficacy will be assessed immediately after intervention, but also three and six months after the intervention. The project is in line with international research efforts aimed to establish more knowledge about group treatment for persons with social communication disorders after ABI.

Start: September 2018

Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Training

Non-invasive cerebral stimulation techniques have shown potential in the treatment of neurological disorders such as chronic pain, Parkinson's disease, neglect, aphasia, memory, engine deficit and epilepsy In general, non-invasive cerebral stimulation techniques have been shown to be able to induce changes in cortical plasticity that may last even beyond the end of the stimulation period. Considering this potential, there is growing interest in the application of these therapeutic techniques. Hypotheses Based on these assumptions, the underlying hypothesis behind this project is that the therapeutic use of cranial - electrical or magnetic stimulation - can aid the recovery of various brain injury symptoms. Specific objectives This study aims to provide preliminary data about the benefits of using cortical stimulation to recover various brain injury symptoms. This will be made possible thanks to the specific skills of a multidisciplinary team of neurologists and physiatrists, healthcare professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, speech therapists and the support of a biomedical engineer. These professional figures are already available at the UCK Neurosurgery of the IRCCS Neuromed directed by the proposer and actively collaborate to optimize the therapeutic exercise of patients with neurological damage.

Start: November 2017