Cerebral Autoregulation, Brain Perfusion, and Neurocognitive Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury (CAPCOG-TBI)

June 26, 2025 updated by: Kan Ding, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Cognitive impairment after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (msTBI) not only significantly affects the quality of life in individuals with msTBI, but also increases the possibility of late-life dementia. The goal of this study is to determine whether acute (< 1 week) cerebrovascular injury and its recovery within the first year postinjury measured by cerebral autoregulation and brain perfusion are associated with cognitive outcome at 12 months after msTBI. The results from this study will improve our understanding of cerebrovascular contributions to cognitive decline related to TBI and provide critical data to inform the development of strategies based on vascular mechanisms to improve cognition and prevent neurodegeneration after msTBI.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Nonfatal traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability in adults, with an estimated economic cost of approximately $40.6 billion for the US population. The quality of life of TBI survivors is highly dependent on the extent of cognitive recovery after injury. Of note, about 65% of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (msTBI) survivors continue to experience cognitive symptoms including impaired memory, slow processing speed, and poor attention span years after injury, with broad individual variability. Epidemiological studies also suggest that TBI is a risk factor for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD). Further understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms by which TBI contributes to progressive cognitive decline/dementia is a prominent research priority for the NIH.

Although TBI and ADRD have different etiologies, mounting evidence indicates that cerebrovascular dysfunction occurs in both TBI and ADRD. Impaired cerebral autoregulation (CA) and brain hypoperfusion are well documented after acute TBI which are associated with unfavorable functional outcomes at 6 months. Our recent studies and others using multimodal hemodynamic and imaging approaches have shown that impaired CA and brain hypoperfusion also occur in chronic TBI years after injury and are associated with poor cognitive performance. The 2019 ADRD Summit called for further studies to understand the vascular contributions to progressive cognitive impairment/dementia after TBI and develop non-invasive diagnostic approaches. The following important questions remain to be addressed: 1) What is the impact of cerebrovascular dysfunction after acute TBI on short- and long-term cognitive outcomes? 2) What is the temporal relationship between the recovery of cerebrovascular function and cognitive outcome after TBI? and 3) Is there a relationship between changes in cerebrovascular function and post-TBI neurodegeneration as assessed through changes in brain volume and axonal integrity?

The overarching goal of this proposal is to determine whether acute, subacute, and chronic cerebrovascular dysfunction measured by CA and brain perfusion after msTBI are associated with cognitive outcomes and neurodegeneration after 12 months. We hypothesize that the degree of cerebrovascular dysfunction assessed during the acute stage (<1 week postinjury) and its poor recovery during the first year are associated with poor cognitive outcomes, brain volume loss, and axonal damage at 12 months postinjury. We propose a longitudinal study with 100 adults who sustained a single msTBI19 and 30 controls with orthopedic trauma only. The primary cognitive outcome is the NIH Toolbox Cognitive Battery (NIH_TB) fluid composite score at 12 months postinjury. Secondary clinical outcomes include the Glasgow Outcome Score-Extended (GOSE) and Traumatic Brain Injury Quality of Life (TBI-QOL). Brain volume loss and axonal integrity will be assessed using MRI. Our team has complementary expertise and research experience in TBI clinical care, cognitive outcomes after TBI, aging/dementia, cerebrovascular physiology, and neuroimaging to successfully conduct this project.

Aim 1: To determine the associations of cerebrovascular dysfunction assessed during the acute stage of msTBI (< 1 week postinjury) with cognitive outcome at 1 year. We will measure dynamic CA and brain perfusion using non-invasive multimodality approaches, including 2D duplex ultrasonography for cerebral blood flow (CBF), transcranial Doppler (TCD) for CBF velocity (CBFV), near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for regional brain tissue oxygenation, and finger arterial photoplethysmography for beat-to-beat arterial blood pressure (ABP). CA will be quantified by dynamic changes in ABP and CBFV and brain tissue oxygenation. We hypothesize that the degree of cerebrovascular dysfunction during the acute stage of brain injury is inversely associated with 1) cognitive performance and 2) the GOSE and TBI-QOL score at 1 year postinjury.

Aim 2: To determine the temporal associations between the recovery of cerebrovascular function and cognitive outcomes after msTBI. Dynamic CA and brain perfusion will be measured at 3, 6 and 12 months postinjury. We hypothesize that the extent of cerebrovascular function recovery after TBI is associated temporally with 1) cognitive outcomes and 2) the GOSE and TBI-QOL score at 1 year postinjury.

Aim 3: To determine the temporal associations of acute cerebrovascular dysfunction and its recovery with the imaging biomarkers of neurodegeneration after msTBI. We will perform state-of-the-art MRI studies of brain structure and function at 3 months and 12 months postinjury. Brain imaging biomarkers will include whole and regional brain volumes and white matter axonal integrity. We hypothesize that the severity of acute cerebrovascular dysfunction and its poor recovery are associated with brain volume loss and axonal damage, and the associations between cerebrovascular dysfunction and cognitive outcome after TBI are mediated by the brain structural changes.

The findings from this study will improve our understanding of cerebrovascular contributions to cognitive and functional outcomes after TBI. This study will also provide the urgently needed knowledge of potential pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies targeting cerebrovascular function to improve cognition and slow neurodegeneration after TBI.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

130

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

    • Texas
      • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75390
        • Recruiting
        • UT Southwestern Medical Center
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Rong Zhang, PhD
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Kan Ding, MD
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • David Zhu, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • C M Cullum, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Yulun Liu, PhD
      • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75235
      • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75231

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with either moderate to severe traumatic brain injury within one week of injury, or plain orthopedic trauma within one week of injury.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Documented/Verified TBI (ACRM Criteria) (eg, motor vehicle (MV) occupant, MV pedestrian/cyclist, fall, other non-intentional, violence/assault)
  • A documented moderate to severe TBI defined as: Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) < 13, or loss of consciousness (LOC) > 30 minutes, or posttraumatic amnesia (PTA) > 24 hours or intracranial neuroimaging abnormalities
  • Between the age 18 - 80 year-old
  • ≤ 1 week postinjury
  • Acute brain CT for clinical care
  • Admitted to the hospital for TBI
  • Visual acuity/hearing adequate for testing
  • Fluent in English or Spanish
  • Patient or LAR ability to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age greater or less than the range 18-80 years
  • Significant polytrauma that would interfere with follow-up and outcome assessment
  • Major debilitating baseline mental health disorders (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression with active suicidal thoughts at the time of evaluation) that would interfere with follow-up and the validity of outcome assessment.
  • Major debilitating neurological disease (e.g., stroke, CVA, dementia, tumor) impairing baseline awareness, cognition, or validity of follow-up and outcome assessment.
  • Significant history of pre-existing conditions that would interfere with follow-up and outcome assessment (e.g., active substance abuse, alcoholism, HIV/AIDs, end-stage cancers, learning disabilities, developmental disorders)
  • Patients on psychiatric hold
  • Prisoners or patients in custody
  • Pregnancy in female subjects
  • Low likelihood of follow-up (e.g., participants or family indicating low interest, residence in another state or country, homeless or lack of reliable contacts)
  • Current participant in an interventional trial (e.g., drug, device, behavioral)
  • Penetrating TBI
  • Spinal cord injury with ASIA score of C or worse
  • Contraindications to MRI

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
msTBI
Subjects with moderate to severe TBI within the first week after initial injury
Orthopedic control
Orthopedic trauma controls within the first week after initial injury

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
NIH Toolbox Cognitive Battery
Time Frame: September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
NIH Toolbox is a set of brief, comprehensive assessment tools. This study protocol will use the Cognitive battery of the Toolbox consisting of 7 subtests designed to measure executive function and attention (Flanker and Dimensional Change Card Sort), episodic memory (Picture Sequence Memory Test), working memory (List Sorting Working Memory Test), processing speed (Pattern Comparison Processing Speed and Flanker), and language (Picture Vocabulary Test). Assessments will be administered on an iPad (5th generation).
September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R)
Time Frame: September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
A word-list learning and episodic memory test. Each form consists of a list of 12 nouns (targets) with four words drawn from each of three semantic categories.
September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
Trail Making Test A &B (TMT A & B)
Time Frame: September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028

The TMT is a measure of attention, speed, and mental flexibility. Part A requires the individual to draw lines to connect 25 encircled consecutive numbers distributed on a page. Part A tests visual scanning, numeric sequencing, and visuomotor speed. Part B is similar except the person must alternate between ascending numbers and letters. Part B tests cognitive demands

including visuomotor, visual scanning, and mental flexibility. Both sections are timed and the score represents the amount of time required to complete the task.

September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) IV Processing Speed Index (Coding and Symbol Search subtests)
Time Frame: September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
The Processing Speed Index consists of two subtests: Symbol Search and Coding.
September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
Revised-Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (R-GOSE)
Time Frame: September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
The Revised Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (R-GOSE) is a measure of disability and handicap intended for use following head injury. It was developed specifically to meet the aims of the TRACK-TBI study and is based on the GOSE structured interview (Wilson et al. 1998). Unlike the GOSE, which does not distinguish between disability related to the brain injury and disability related to peripheral injuries sustained in the same incident, the R-GOSE assesses the impact of both non-CNS injuries (i.e. peripheral injuries) and the brain injury separately. As a result, two scores are obtained: an 'All' rating which reflects the participant's change in level of dependence as a function of peripheral and brain injuries combined, and a 'TBI' rating that removes the impact of the peripheral injuries leaving a disability rating that reflects only the TBI.
September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
Expanded Disability Rating Scale Post-Acute Interview (E-DRS-PI)
Time Frame: September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
The E-DRS-PI measures the degree of disability experienced by an individual with a history of TBI using a structured interview. The answers to the interview questions are designed to guide the ratings of the items represented on the E-DRS-PI. The higher the total score, the greater the degree of disability. The interview is comprised of a series of multiple-choice questions that pertain to neurologic function, self-care and vocational activities. Depending on the answers to earlier questions relevant to a particular item, later questions are skipped. The total score will be added on the paper form. This form and the total will be uploaded into the database.
September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Time Frame: September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is a self-rated questionnaire which assesses sleep quality and disturbances over a 1-month time interval. Nineteen individual items generate seven "component" scores: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medication, and daytime dysfunction. The sum of scores for these seven components yields one global score.
September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
NINDS Epilepsy Screening Questionnaire
Time Frame: September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
NINDS-ESQ was first used and validated in the TRACK-TBI cohort as an Epilepsy screening tool. The questionnaire consisted of screening items in which the participant has to answer if they had experienced (or were told they experienced) any of the following: item 1a, "Uncontrolled movements of part or all of your body such as twitching, jerking, shaking, or going limp, lasting about 5 minutes or less?"; item 1b, "An unexplained change in mental state or level of awareness; or an episode of "spacing out" which you could not control, lasting about 5 minutes or less?"; and item 1c, "Any other type of repeated unusual attacks or convulsions lasting about 5 minutes or less?" In addition, the patient was asked item 1d, "Has anyone ever told you that you have seizure(s) or epilepsy?"
September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
Rivermead Post-concussion Questionnaire (RPQ)
Time Frame: September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
The Rivermead PCS Questionnaire (RPQ) was originally developed as a measure of severity of symptoms following MTBI. It consists of 16 post-concussion symptoms including headaches, dizziness, nausea/vomiting, noise sensitivity, sleep disturbance, fatigue, irritability, feeling depressed/tearful, feeling frustrated/ impatient, forgetfulness, poor concentration, taking longer to think, blurred vision, light sensitivity, double vision and restlessness. In the original version of the RPQ, participants are asked to rate the degree (on a scale of 0 to 4) to which a particular symptom has been absent or a mild, moderate or severe problem over the previous 24 hours compared with premorbid levels. Note that the five-point rating scale asks the respondent to compare his/her current symptoms (if any) to symptoms experienced prior to the current injury. Thus, a score of 0 (i.e., "not experienced) means the symptom was not previously experienced and is currently not a problem.
September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
Participant Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9
Time Frame: September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
The Participant Health Questionnaire 9 is a standardized assessment instrument designed to screen, diagnose, monitor, and measure the severity of depression.
September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
Time Frame: September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028
The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale is a standardized assessment instrument designed to assess the presence and severity of suicidal ideation and behavior, identify those at risk and track response to treatment. Four constructs are measured. The first is the severity of ideation (hereafter referred to as the "severity subscale"), which is rated on a 5-point ordinal scale. The second is the intensity of ideation subscale (hereafter referred to as the "intensity subscale"), which comprises 5 items, each rated on a 5-point ordinal scale. The third is the behavior subscale, which is rated on a nominal scale that includes actual, aborted, and interrupted attempts; preparatory behavior; and non-suicidal self-injurious behavior. And the fourth is the lethality subscale, which assesses actual attempts.
September 1, 2023 - May 31, 2028

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 1, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 24, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 24, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

June 28, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

July 1, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 26, 2025

Last Verified

June 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

IPD will be upload to FITBIR. The protocols including statistic analysis plan will be published. CSR will be shared through FITBIR.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Time frame of study protocol is to be determine depending on manuscript submission and revision timeline.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Criteria will be assessed as data and timelines become solidified.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)

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