View clinical trials related to Dravet Syndrome.
Filter by:Dravet syndrome is characterized as a developmental encephalopathy resulting from mutations of SCN1A, the gene encoding the alpha subunit of the voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.1. The syndrome typically presents with drug-resistant epilepsy and varying degrees of cognitive disorders. Current treatment efficacy may be hindered by insufficient knowledge of undiscovered molecular determinants of the disease and its heterogeneous nature. Utilizing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from skin biopsies, accessibility to patients' brain neurons has enabled successful modeling of various genetic neurological diseases. Neurons and brain organoids will be obtained from Dravet syndrome patients exhibiting diverse phenotypic severities, encompassing behavioral and developmental delays, to discern the molecular determinants of phenotypic diversity. Specifically, emphasis will be placed on investigating cellular and molecular mechanisms linking altered neuronal excitability with synaptic dysfunction.The study will focus on exploring the expression of newly identified modifiers potentially associated with neuronal excitability and synaptic function in iPSC-derived human neurons. This aims to establish correlations between the severity of epileptic and cognitive phenotypes and the altered expression of these proteins, whose functions are not fully understood.In the mid to long term, efforts will be directed towards overcoming the limitations of conventional therapeutic approaches for Dravet syndrome. This will involve attempting to reverse the observed morphological and functional alterations in Dravet syndrome neurons using viral vectors to promote overexpression/downregulation of identified modifiers correlated with disease severity. The anticipated outcomes of this project are expected to unveil novel molecular mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of this severe neurogenetic disease, characterized by varying degrees of cognitive impairment. Moreover, these findings may pave the way for the discovery of innovative therapeutic strategies.
Stoke Therapeutics is evaluating the long-term safety & tolerability of repeated doses of STK-001 in patients with Dravet syndrome who previously participated in studies of STK-001. Change in seizure frequency and overall clinical status, and quality of life will be measured as secondary endpoints in this open-label study.
Early Check provides voluntary screening of newborns for a selected panel of conditions. The study has three main objectives: 1) develop and implement an approach to identify affected infants, 2) address the impact on infants and families who screen positive, and 3) evaluate the Early Check program. The Early Check screening will lead to earlier identification of newborns with rare health conditions in addition to providing important data on the implementation of this model program. Early diagnosis may result in health and development benefits for the newborns. Infants who have newborn screening in North Carolina will be eligible to participate, equating to over 120,000 eligible infants a year. Over 95% of participants are expected to screen negative. Newborns who screen positive and their parents are invited to additional research activities and services. Parents can enroll eligible newborns on the Early Check electronic Research Portal. Screening tests are conducted on residual blood from existing newborn screening dried blood spots. Confirmatory testing is provided free-of-charge for infants who screen positive, and carrier testing is provided to mothers of infants with fragile X. Affected newborns have a physical and developmental evaluation. Their parents have genetic counseling and are invited to participate in surveys and interviews. Ongoing evaluation of the program includes additional parent interviews.