Research and Trials

This study will assess the safety and efficacy, and the pharmacokinetics of aciclovir and valaciclovir in children with chickenpox following oral administration of valaciclovir, for the purpose of seeking approval of valaciclovir HCl for the treatment of chickenpox. Official Title Clinical Evaluation of Valaciclovir Hydrochloride: 256U87 in Patients With Chickenpox…

    

Severe traumatic brain injury is associated with an increased production of free radicals causing brain damage. First line treatment of these patients aims to maintain cerebral perfusion and includes deep anaesthesia. Propofol has recently shown anti oxidant properties that need to be confirmed when used in these patients. The main…

The purpose of this study is to elucidate whether or not angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) are more beneficial or equal to angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) on development or progression of silent brain infarction and cognitive decline in Japanese patients with essential hypertension in the elderly. Official Title Effects…

To learn more about how a family treatment program helps people after brain injury. Specifically, do families feel better and function better after going through the program, and do patients feel better and function better after going through the program. Official Title Evaluation of an Intervention Model for Family Crisis…

The NIH grant has funded the development of a physiological brain atlas registry that will allow us to significantly improve the targeting and use of DBS implants for Parkinson’s Disease, Dystonia, Essential Tremor, and OCD. Official Title Physiological Brain Atlas Development. Conditions Parkinson’s Disease Dystonia Essential Tremor OCD Study…

Problem: Depressive symptoms are a common mental health problem following traumatic brain injury (TBI), occurring in up to 87% of patients. Depression following TBI has important consequences including poor functioning, lack of ability to return to work and family activities and prolonged TBI symptoms. The reason depression develops in some patients following TBI is unknown, making treatment difficult.One type of brain protein that shows genetic differences between people is called the serotonin transporter. People can be divided by whether or not they have a short protein (S allele) or a long protein (L allele) which influences the amount of serotonin transporter. Serotonin is a key brain chemical in depression in many mental/psychiatric illnesses. We think that the genetic differences in the serotonin transporter, that may not make a difference before TBI, may become important after TBI due to the nature of these injuries.Methods: A consecutive sample of 200 patients attending a TBI clinic who have sustained a mild-to-moderate TBI (American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine criteria) within the last 2 months will be assessed for the presence of major depression (standard criteria, standardised interview). In phase I, blood samples from patients with mild-to-moderate TBI with depression and without depression will be checked for the presence of the 5-HTTPR genetic difference. This will allow us to study if the S allele is more likely in TBI patients with depression. In phase II, the patients with depression will be treated with the SSRI citalopram for 6 weeks. At 6 weeks, or upon discontinuation of citalopram, depression will be assessed again. This will allow us to study if depressed patients with the S allele respond more poorly to treatment. Persons assessing depression after treatment will not know the genetic makeup of each patient.Results Expected: If the serotonin transporter genetic difference confers susceptibility to depression following TBI, this will provide important information on what causes depression following TBI and document a risk factor for depression previously unstudied in this population. Also, as SSRI antidepressants are used to treat depression in TBI, this study may identify a subgroup of TBI patients in whom different medications should be given or additional medications are required. Official TitleThe Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphism and Major Depression Following Traumatic Brain Injury.

Rationale: Diagnostic procedures, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using ferumoxytol, may help find and diagnose primary brain cancer or brain metastases.Purpose: This randomised clinical trial is studying how well MRI using ferumoxytol works in finding out the extent of the tumour in patients with primary brain cancer or brain metastases…

The primary goal of this project is to demonstrate the feasibility and clinical benefits of a new rapid treatment for secondary treatment for secondary brain injury called Discrete Cerebral Hypothermia System by CoolSystems, Inc., Berkley, CA. This device induced hypothermia in the adult brain without significant whole body hypothermia. Discrete…