Brain Injuries Clinical Trials

Individuals with and without neurologic diagnoses greatly benefit from participation in regular exercise but the majority are physically inactive. This is an issue for both them and their care partners as their health is often linked. This study aims to examine the long-term physical and psychosocial effects of structured, group-based, high intensity functional training (HIFT) exercise for people with neurologic diagnoses and their care partners. Read Less

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death among trauma patients accounting for one-third of all trauma mortalities. Patients who survive the initial trauma are liable to secondary insults from the ensuing inflammatory state in the brain. Treatment goals are aimed at reducing secondary injury. Maintaining adequate brain perfusion, limiting cerebral edema, and optimizing oxygen delivery are part of established treatment protocols. Numerous therapeutics have been evaluated as potential treatment for TBI with very limited success and there is no medication that alters survival. Various novel therapeutic options have been investigated to prevent the secondary brain injury. Remote Ischemic Conditioning (RIC) is one of these therapies. RIC involves decreasing blood flow to a normal tissue usually the arm by inflating the blood pressure cuff 30mmHg over the systolic blood pressure. The decreased blood flow or ischemia is maintained for 5 minutes followed by releasing the pressure and re-perfusion of the arm. This cycle is usually repeated 4 times. RIC has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with heart attacks, strokes, elective neurosurgeries. A prospective observational study and a randomized clinical trial has shown the protective effect of RIC in TBI patients. Additionally, multiple studies in animals have shown that RIC is neuroprotective after TBI. RIC is non-invasive and harmless except for a little discomfort in the arm. The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of RIC on long term outcomes in patients with TBI. Read Less

Mobilization, specifically verticalization, has been shown to play a role in enhancing consciousness. Vestibular stimulation has the potential to influence the neural substrate of consciousness, but this modality has not been thoroughly explored. The primary aim of this study is to compare the influence of verticalization with and without vestibular input on level of consciousness in patients experiencing disorders of consciousness (DoC). Read Less