View clinical trials related to Autistic Disorder.
Filter by:Autism, ranked among the '' pervasive developmental disorders' (ASD), is characterized by disturbances in the areas of reciprocal social interaction, communication and behavior, interests and activities restricted, repetitive. Various studies indicate that autistic disorder is subjected to a genetic predisposition, most likely polygenic and heterogeneous. However, no major gene responsible for this disorder has yet been identified. Given the link between the Fragile X syndrome (the most common form of mental retardation (MR) hereditary) and autistic behavior, it seems interesting to look, also, a possible link to the molecular level. Among the proteins interacting with FMRP (absent protein in fragile X patients), the investigators were interested to CYFIP1, protein encoded by the gene CYFIP1 appears to be a good candidate gene involved in the RM and autism by its chromosomal position and function. As FMR1, CYFIP1 is expressed in the brain cortex, hippocampus and Purkinje cells of the cerebellum. This protein co-localizes and interacts with Rac and FMRP, which are both involved in neurogenesis and cognitive development. In humans, the gene encoding CYFIP1 is located in the 15q11-q13. Now, the only autosomal abnormalities most frequently observed in autism are those involving the proximal 15q region, including duplications or 15q11-q13 triplications interstitial, of maternal origin. These data suggest that an / or more autism genes responsible are probably present in the 15q11-q13 chromosomal region, although no gene has yet been identified. Thus, the study of the role of CYFIP1 gene in patients with autism spectrum disorders would most likely contributory. The investigators wish to study the involvement of the 15q11-q13 chromosomal region and CYFIP1 gene in autistic disorder in a hundred patients from the Autism Resource Centre (ARC) Nice PACA antenna, over a two year period. The diagnosis and assessment report of children likely to be included in this study will be conducted at ARC Nice. Balance sheets are made according to the recommendations of the High Authority of Health for diagnosis of infantile autism and PDD. These children are then sent to the Genetic Consultation Nice Hospital where an analysis of the background and a specific morphological examination will be realized..
This is a one-group, pre-post feasibility study of an intensive, interdisciplinary (theatre, Occupational Therapy (OT), and Speech Language Pathology (SLP)) intervention targeted at social skill development in children, aged 3-4. The intervention uses process drama modified with OT and SLP techniques and using typically developing peer models. Feasibility outcomes are recruitment rates, retention rates, daily program records of ease of implementing program, and record of modifications needed. Child primary outcomes are Social Skills Improvement Scale (SSIS), Theory of Mind (T0M) Battery and Inventory, Structured Play Assessment (SPA), and Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS) scores within 4 weeks of program end. Secondary outcomes are brain activity in frontal lobe and temporal/parietal areas measured by high density EEG within 4 weeks of program end, parental interview at 3 months related to child's social skills, and observational data on social skills during the program.
This is a single site, prospective, randomized, double-blind study of a single intravenous autologous or allogeneic, unrelated cord blood (CB) infusion in children ages 2-7 years with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Participants will be randomly assigned to Sequence A, consisting of a single infusion of CB cells at baseline followed 6 months later by a single infusion of placebo, or Sequence B, consisting of an infusion of placebo at baseline followed 6 months later by an infusion of CB cells. All participants will ultimately be treated with CB cells at some point during the study. Participants with an available qualified autologous CB unit will receive autologous cells, and those without a suitable autologous CB unit available will receive cells from a ≥4/6 HLA-matched, ABO-matched allogeneic, unrelated donor CB unit from the Carolinas Cord Blood Bank. All infusions will be double-blinded. The primary outcomes will be assessed 6 months after the initial infusion in the sequence. Additional testing for secondary exploratory analyses will be performed at 12 months. Duration of study participation will be 12 months from the time of baseline infusion.
The investigators are evaluating the implementation and the effectiveness of a medical student staffed support program (ASAP) for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder coming into Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital for a medical procedure. The ASAP program involves training and assigning a medical student as an Ambassador to help advocate for the special needs of a child with ASD. This study is designed to compare patient satisfaction of children and families who are assigned an Ambassador to those who are not assigned an Ambassador during the procedure. The secondary objectives are to measure overall medical student satisfaction with the program, medical student career interests before and after participation, and medical student comfort level interacting with children with ASD before and after participation.
The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of folinic acid in the treatment of language problems in children with autism spectrum disorder. Folinic acid, also known as leucovorin, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to decrease side effects during cancer chemotherapy. Folinic acid may be helpful in treating language problems in children with autism spectrum disorder, but this is not known. Therefore, folinic acid is an investigational new drug for this study. Investigators will enroll a total of 134 participants across all three centers, over a 5 year period and participation will last between 12 and 24 weeks.
The main purpose is to study brain plasticity (the changes that occur in the brain through experience) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research suggests that during development, the brains of individuals with ASD may change in response to their experiences differently than the brains of typically developing individuals. Investigators want to understand why and how this difference may contribute to the symptoms of ASD.
The goal of this study is to validate a panel of miRNAs that distinguish children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from their non-ASD peers with a positive MCHAT-R. These biomarkers may allow earlier diagnosis of autism, allowing earlier service, and also help us to understand some of the changes in the brains of autistic children.
Plasticity refers to susceptibility of an organism to change. Cognitive training is an intervention approach based on the notion of plasticity. It entails the repeated exercise of a set of higher-order cognitive abilities over several weeks after which performance gains are expected on the trained as well as untrained tasks. Cognitive training has produced successful results in various clinical groups, but its benefits have not been explored in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study will develop a software-based training program tailored to the cognitive deficits in ASD. The investigators will also examine possible training-induced functional changes within the brain using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Fifty children with ASD 3-7 years will be recruited and randomly assigned to the control (n=25) or the training group (n=25). A subgroup of these samples will carry out the response inhibition and set-shifting tasks in the fMRI scanner. The study will consist of a pre-post design and a four-month follow up. Repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) will be carried out with group (training, control) as the between subjects factor and Time (pre- post-training, follow-up) as the within subjects factor to identify training induced cognitive improvements. To determine training-induced biological changes within the brain, activity maps associated with response inhibition and set-shifting at pre-training and post-training sessions will be entered into a group ANOVA and contrasted for differences within- and between groups.
Memantine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, has been explored as a possible therapeutic agent that reduces the excitatory (glutamate) - inhibitory (gamma amino-butyric acid, GABA) imbalance in autism pathology and improves social and communication deficits. While some studies have shown positive results, a large clinical trial failed to show benefit possibly because different subsets of autism responded differently to the treatment. The investigator proposes a pilot, exploratory, clinical follow-on study using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to determine whether baseline glutamate/GABA levels in certain regions of the brain may help predict treatment response to Memantine in autistic subjects. At study onset, subjects will be assessed on the behavioral scales such as the Aberrant Behavior Checklist and Clinical Global Impressions scale, followed by MRS imaging. Memantine treatment will be started post imaging. Assessment measures will be repeated at week 12 during treatment. Glutamate and GABA levels in brain regions will be correlated to improvements on assessment measures. Expected results include higher glutamate and/or lower GABA levels in the anterior cingulate cortex at baseline in responders to memantine. If the hypotheses are confirmed, it will provide evidence of a relevant neural biomarker to predict treatment response to memantine with important implications for clinical care including improving individualization of treatments.
Autism is a well-recognized neurodevelopmental disorder severely affecting the health of children. While the unclear neurobiological basis of autism and the lack of effective medication, the most commonly used approach for treatment is behavioral intervention. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the intervention therapy remains incompletely understood. The current project aims to explore the impacts of different early behavioral intervention methods on brain plasticity of autism using multimodal MRI technique and provide guidelines for the intervention and treatment of autism by evaluating the efficiency of these methods.