Median nerve stimulation to improve thinking after recent traumatic brain injury

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

Researchers will enroll adults with acute moderate TBI and early cognitive dysfunction and deliver either active median nerve stimulation or a sham procedure. Treatments are noninvasive and designed to modulate neural activity; cognitive performance will be measured with standard scales and imaging such as MRI and magnetoencephalography. The study focuses on feasibility, safety, and early signals of whether the intervention speeds cognitive recovery compared with sham. Data will inform whether larger trials are warranted.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Aged 18-64 years.
2. Admitted within 3 days post-injury with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 9-12 at admission, accompanied by imaging abnormalities.
3. Presence of cognitive dysfunction assessed within 1-week after injury, with a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≤26.
4. Pre-injury Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score = 0 as reported by family members.
5. With a pre-injury education of ≥6 years, able to comprehend instructions and cooperate in completing scale assessments, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and magnetoencephalography (MEG) examinations.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Requirement for emergent neurosurgical intervention during treatment including surgery, intracranial pressure monitoring device placement, or drainage catheter insertion.
2. Unstable vital signs or hemodynamics, or presence of unstable cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, renal, or hematopoietic system disorders.
3. Pre-existing central nervous system conditions causing cognitive decline: traumatic brain injury, intracranial infection, brain tumor, epilepsy, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, carbon monoxide poisoning, and alcohol abuse.
4. Inability to complete assessments or examinations due to severe visual or auditory impairment, severe psychiatric or behavioral disorders, MRI contraindications, and MEG intolerance.
5. Short life expectancy due to critical illnesses.
6. Right forearm with extensive skin lesions or scars, right median nerve injury, brachial plexus injury, cervical spinal cord injury, or intolerance to MNS.
7. Pregnant or lactating women.
8. Participation in other ongoing clinical trials.

Where it's running

• Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University
  Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China Recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Guoyi Gao, MD — Beijing Tiantan Hospital
• Study coordinator: Liang Wu, MD
• Email: wuliang@bjtth.org
• Phone: 18301674233

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

• New flutemetamol F18 formulation to see if it works as well as current for brain amyloid imaging

  Researchers are testing a new flutemetamol F18 formulation (GE-287) to see if it identifies brain amyloid as accurately as the current formulation in people 50 and older who are undergoing amyloid PET scans for cognitive decline.

  Recruiting at 5 sites Phase 2 GE Healthcare · Aventura, Florida and 5 other locations · NCT07873463

• PIONEER-Prognosis: Using biomarkers and wearables to forecast recovery after mild traumatic brain injury

  This study tests whether blood biomarkers, health data from records, and wearables can help predict how people recover after a mild traumatic brain injury treated in the emergency department.

  Recruiting at 3 sites University of Michigan · Torrance, California and 4 other locations · NCT07858266

• HBOT to see if it helps cognition and well‑being in first responders with prior brain injury

  This study tests whether 40 hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions can improve thinking skills and post-concussion symptoms in current or former first responders with a history of brain injury.

  Recruiting Phase 2 Summit Hyperbarics and Wellness · Boise, Idaho · NCT07852728

• Depth Electrode Monitoring after Traumatic Brain Injury

  This study tests adding a depth electrode with continuous brain monitoring during external ventricular drain placement in adults with traumatic brain injury to see if cortical reverberation signals can be tracked safely.

  Recruiting Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute · Minneapolis, Minnesota · NCT07842458

• Longevity Metrics AI/ML Development Study

  Researchers are testing AI models that score health screening tests and predict outcomes like life expectancy for adults, using ongoing follow-up data.

  Recruiting Longevity Metrics, Inc. · Boulder, Colorado · NCT07808619

• Immersive nature-based wellbeing program for older adults with cognitive impairment

  A nature-inspired immersive virtual reality program is being tested to see if it can improve well-being and daily function for older adults with mild to moderate cognitive impairment.

  Recruiting Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa · Terrassa, Barcelona · NCT07802392

How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.