RecruitingNot ApplicableNCT07025317

Spotting and Managing Adult Repeated Traumas in the Brain

Developing an Evidence-based Approach to Diagnose and Treat Adults With a History of Concussion

Sponsor

Université de Montréal

Enrollment

200 participants

Start Date

Mar 1, 2024

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Conditions

Brain Injury Traumatic Mild

Summary

Emerging evidence suggests that concussions (a type of mild traumatic brain injury; mTBIs) may cause chronic neurological disturbances with effects lasting beyond 20 years, changing brain structure and nearly doubling the risks of developing dementia into old age. Yet diagnoses remain notoriously difficult, gender differences are poorly understood, and negligible therapies exist to manage and treat these long-term effects. This project proposes using a combination of NeuroTracker (a promising software-based cognitive assessment and intervention for mild TBIs), with the latest MRI techniques and blood-based biomarkers of brain function, to provide unprecedented assessment sensitivity of long-term concussion effects, comparing older male and female adults, with and without a history of concussion. Additionally, NeuroTracker will be used as a therapeutic intervention to improve outcomes in adults with histories of concussion, with the combined assessments measuring efficacy pre-post training. This project aims to comprehensively understand the impacts of mild brain traumas into later life, via both physical and functional biomarkers of brain health. It will also validate the value of NeuroTracker as an accessible training intervention for recovering cognitive functions impacted by earlier-life concussions.

Eligibility

Min Age: 60 Years

Inclusion Criteria2

It will be based on age (60+ years) and history of concussion (with the most recent concussion occurring at least one year prior to the study). Consistent with the literature, the history of concussion will be determined by interviewing participants about their experience with each experience of concussion (e.g. how was the injury sustained (sports injury, vehicle accident, etc.), how long has it been since the injury, did they experience a loss of consciousness during the event, how was their concussion diagnosed, what were their symptoms and when did the symptoms resolve).
The interview will also gather information on age, sex, gender, education, occupation, and medical history (e.g. mood, medications). These variables will be coded and included in analyses, as appropriate. For example, years of education and years since the most recent concussion can be used as covariates.

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Interventions

OTHERPerceptual-cognitive

The intervention is to determine the effectiveness of NeuroTracker for treating cognitive deficits associated with a prior history of concussion. NeuroTracker has a virtual cloud-based platform (NeuroTrackerX), which has been validated for use in research. This online platform allows participants to complete the interventions from home and greatly increases the accessibility of the program. Participants will have two 30-minute training sessions per week over the course of the 6-month intervention. Each session will consist of 3 blocks of 20 trials. For each trial in a block, participants sit upright, approximately 20" away from a standard computer or laptop screen, and wear anaglyph 3D glasses while focusing on the center of a standard 20" computer screen.