New study aims to better predict recovery after head injury in seniors
NCT ID NCT07296783
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study follows 1,500 older adults (65+) who come to the emergency department after a traumatic brain injury, along with matched controls. Researchers will track their recovery over 12 months using brain scans, blood tests, and health assessments. The goal is to develop age-appropriate tools to diagnose TBI and predict long-term outcomes in seniors.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could lead to better tools for diagnosing and predicting recovery after head injury in older adults.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study, not testing a treatment. Results may not apply to all older adults or lead to immediate changes in care.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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About 1,500 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2019
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
Participants are those with and without TBI, along with study partners.
- Ages
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65 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
TRACK-GERI/VA TBI PATIENT INCLUSION/EXCLUSION CRITERIA Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age 65 years and older, no upper age limit 2. Reliable report or physical evidence of head trauma 3. Injury occurred \<72 hours ago (within 14 days of injury for TRACK-VA TBI patients) 4. Acute brain CT for clinical use 5. Fluency in English/Chinese (UCSF only) 6. Ability to obtain informed consent from subject or legally authorized representative 7. Ability to be co-enrolled with a study partner who meets Study Partner enrollment criteria Exclusion Criteria: 1. Significant polytrauma that would interfere with follow-up and outcome assessment 2. Prisoners or patients in custody 3. Patients on psychiatric hold (e.g. 5150, 5250) 4. Low likelihood follow-up (participant or family is indicating a low interest, homelessness, out of state/country) 5. Current participation in an interventional trial 6. Penetrating TBI 7. Spinal cord injury with ASIA score of C or worse 8. Acute disabling neurological injury (e.g. acute stroke, cardiac arrest concurrent with head trauma presentation) TRACK-GERI/VA STUDY PARTNERS OF TBI PATIENTS INCLUSION/EXCLUSION CRITERIA Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age 18 years or older 2. Either designated by the patient, presents with patient to the Emergency Department, is listed in the patient's medical chart as an alternate/emergency contact, or is the patient's case manager/social worker, and knows the patient well enough to comment on the patient's health and functional status (e.g. may be family member, friend, caregiver, case manager, etc). 3. Ability to read, write, and speak English/Chinese (UCSF only) 4. Ability to provide informed consent for self Exclusion Criteria: 1. Pre-existing and major disabling medical, psychiatric, or other neurological disease (e.g. dementia) that interferes with ability to provide evaluation of patient's health and functional status. 2. Prisoners or patients in custody 3. Patients on psychiatric hold (e.g. 5150, 5250) TRACK-GERI/VA CONTROL SUBJECT INCLUSION/EXCLUSION CRITERIA Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age 65 years or older, no upper age limit 2. Visual acuity/hearing adequate for testing 3. Fluency in English/Chinese (UCSF only) 4. Ability to obtain informed consent from subject or legally authorized representative 5. Ability to be co-enrolled with a study partner who meets study partner enrollment criteria (see control study partner enrollment criteria) 6. For TRACK-VA patients only: Presentation to SFVAMC ED for acute care with planned discharge from ED. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Medically diagnosed with traumatic brain or orthopedic injury in the last year (TRACK-VA Control Subjects are not excluded for orthopedic injuries) 2. Significant polytrauma that would interfere with follow-up and outcome assessment 3. Prisoners or patients in custody 4. Patients on psychiatric hold (e.g. 5150, 5250) 5. Low likelihood follow-up (participant or family is indicating low interest, homelessness, out of state/country) 6. Current participation in an interventional trial 7. Penetrating TBI 8. Spinal cord injury with ASIA score of C or worse 9. Acute disabling neurological injury (e.g. acute stroke, cardiac arrest) TRACK-GERI/VA STUDY PARTNERS OF CONTROL SUBJECTS INCLUSION/EXCLUSION CRITERIA Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age 18 years or older 2. Designated by the control subject as someone who knows the subject well enough to comment on their health and functional starus (e.g., may be family member, friend, caregiver, case manager, etc.) 3. Ability to read, write and speak English/Chinese (UCSF only) 4. Ability to provide informed consent for self Exclusion Criteria: 1. Pre-existing and major disabling medical, psychiatric, or other neurological disease (e.g. dementia) that interferes with ability to provide evaluation of control subject's health and functional status. 2. Prisoners or in custody 3. On psychiatric hold (e.g. 5150, 5250)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
3 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center
San Francisco, California, 94121, United States
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University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, 94110, United States
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University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a web program rebuild memory after brain injury?
- Why a simple fall can cause brain bleeding in older adults
- Bedside ultrasound could flag hidden brain injury decline
- Zapping the brain to restore lost vision
- Machine learning may forecast brain decline after head injury
- MRI tracer could expose hidden brain energy crisis after head injury