View clinical trials related to ASD.
Filter by:This is a 6-week open trial to identify the optimal dosing of cannabidiol (CBD) in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to identify primary and secondary outcomes for future controlled studies. This study evaluates change in symptoms commonly associated with ASD, as evidence suggests that CBD may be effective in addressing difficulties such as irritability and anxiety, while maintaining a benign adverse effect (AE) profile in children and adolescents. 30 male and female participants with ASD between the ages of 7 and 17 years old are being recruited. Participants have fluent speech and an estimated IQ greater than or equal to 80. Study intervention is 98% pure CBD. The CBD is Greenwich Biosciences, Inc.'s 100mg/mL oral solution, brand name EPIDIOLEX. First, a Bayesian optimal interval (BOIN) design was used, such that participants were assigned to cohorts of size 3 receiving doses of 3, 6, or 9 mg/kg/day, depending on the treatment response of participants in prior cohorts. The BOIN design ended after the fifth cohort of participants, and the two lower doses, 3 and 6 mg/kg/day, were eliminated. The highest dose, 9 mg/kg/day, was not tested. Therefore, in subsequent cohorts, we will be examining 9 mg/kg/day exclusively in up to 15 additional participants with co-occurring ASD and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses, as this clinical profile appears to most closely resemble youth classified as responders within the BOIN design.
This project will use the experimental medicine approach of a Phase IIa Proof of Mechanism 16-week, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial of L-DOPA versus placebo administration in combination with a 16 week social skills training group in order to: 1) identify differences in social reward processes in adolescent and young adult ASD participants versus healthy controls as measured by fMRI activation in reward circuitry; 2) provide evidence of dopaminergic moderating effects on social reward components in ASD with greater pre- to post-treatment changes expected in the subjects randomized to L-DOPA versus placebo; 3) examine the hypothesis that baseline readouts of putative dopamine signaling (wanting activation responses) will predict the extent of fMRI reward-related activation changes pre- to post-treatment; and, 4) examine the proposed relationship between pre- to post- L-DOPA fMRI reward changes and changes in individual self-report ratings of social wanting and ratings of videotaped positive affect in a structured interaction with an examiner. The study will enroll 56 participants with DSM-5 ASD between the ages of 13-30 years of age and 18 healthy control participants without histories of psychopathology for baseline comparisons.
The trial is in three stages and will translate and validate screening and assessment instruments for use with deaf children. The first stage is modifying the screening and assessment instruments (ADI-R and ADOS-2) for use with deaf children. This will involve choosing the most promising screening instrument (SRS-2) based on the systematic review and the expertise of a review panel, which contains experts and public and patient involvement (PPI). This phase of the study seeks a wide range of user (parents/ carers and young people) views and experiences about the symptomatology and presentation of deaf children with autism, comparing this to hearing children with autism, and deaf children without autism. The second stage is to ensure that the newly modified instruments are accessible to deaf children and deaf parents by making any necessary translations from English into British Sign Language. This involves a strict translation and back translation methodology with reiterations until successful translation is achieved. For stage three in order to ensure that the new questionnaires are successfully identifying children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, the modified instrument will be validated using a 'gold standard'. The current 'gold standard' for the mental health screening of Deaf children is a clinical interview administered by experienced senior multidisciplinary deaf child mental health clinicians.