Neurotrauma Clinical Trials

The Neurotrauma Clinical Trials Center, under the direction of David O. Okonkwo, MD, PhD, is comprised of a team of clinicians who assume responsibilities over the screening and enrollment of patients with mild, moderate, and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Clinical brain injury research is wide spanning and includes clinical trials funded by federal agencies and industry to study new therapies, novel brain monitoring, advanced neuroimaging, and biomarkers.

The center also houses the National TBI Biospecimens Repository. This repository, under the direction of Ava Puccio, RN, PhD, supports the Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury (TRACK-TBI) study, a multi-center initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and is the largest centralized collection of biological samples from TBI patients in the United States.

The Department of Neurological Surgery has pioneered efforts using hypothermia and cerebral blood flow monitoring in the treatment of severe head injury and has conducted landmark investigations into the mechanisms of induction and recovery of head trauma and secondary injury.

For more information on our neurotrauma clinical trials, please contact us at nsgy-clinical-trials@upmc.edu.

Current clinical neurotrauma studies include:

Current Trials

Brain Oxygen Optimization in Severe TBI Phase-3 (BOOST3)

A Double-Blind, Controlled Phase 2 Study of the Safety and Efficacy of Modified Stem Cells (SB623) in Patients with Chronic Motor Deficit from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

TBI Biological Diagnosis via High Definition Tractography Asymmetry Screening (HDFT)

Transforming Traumatic Brain Injury Research and Clinical Care: TRACK-TBI

Spreading Depressions as Secondary Insults after Traumatic Brain Injury to the Human Brain

Biochemical Analysis of Cerebrospinal Fluid and Brain Tissue Following Moderate/Severe Head Injury (BTRC)