View clinical trials related to Genetic Diseases.
Filter by:The purpose of the study is to test the efficacy of a 20 week multi-modal treatment comprised of lovastatin or placebo, and the Parent-implemented Language Intervention (PILI) in children with fragile X syndrome (FXS). Children will be randomized to drug or placebo in a double-blind design with all participating in the PILI. The primary endpoint will be to measure improvements in spoken language and behavior among lovastatin-treated than placebo treated participants.
Many genetic diseases of lymphohematopoietic cells (such as sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, Diamond-Blackfan anemia, Combined Immune Deficiency (CID), Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, chronic granulomatous disease, X-linked lymphoproliferative disease, and metabolic diseases affecting hematopoiesis) are sublethal diseases caused by mutations that adversely affect the development or function of different types of blood cells. Although pathophysiologically diverse, these genetic diseases share a similar clinical course of significant progressive morbidity, overall poor quality of life, and ultimate death from complications of the disease or its palliative treatment. Supportive care for these diseases includes chronic transfusion, iron chelation, and surgery (splenectomy or cholecystectomy) for the hemoglobinopathies; prophylactic antibiotics, intravenous immunoglobulin, and immunomodulator therapies for the immune deficiencies; and enzyme replacement injections and dietary restriction for some of the metabolic diseases. The suboptimal results of such supportive care measures have led to efforts to implement more aggressive therapeutic interventions to cure these lymphohematopoietic diseases. The most logical strategies for cure of these diseases have been either replacement of the patient's own hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) with those derived from a normal donor allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) or hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), or to genetically modify the patient's own stem cells to replace the defective gene (gene therapy).
The MENDEL-study will investigate whether the use of gene panel or whole genome sequencing (WGS) will: 1. improve the rate of diagnosis and through this compare the performance of the two diagnostic approaches (gene panel vs. WGS), 2. investigate whether use of said sequencing approaches early in the diagnostic process results in reduced health care spending, and 3. result in an improved quality of life for the patients and their parents.
The objectives of this multi-center collaborative study are to ascertain the frequency of specific copy number variants (CNVs) identified prenatally and to evaluate in detail through continued follow-up of the children the phenotypes associated with CNVs of known or uncertain clinical significance.
The main objective of the multi-centered collaborative study is to evaluate the accuracy, efficacy and clinical advantages of prenatal diagnosis using microarray analysis as compared with conventional karyotyping.
This study is designed to explore the genetics and pathophysiology of diseases presenting with intermittent fever, including familial Mediterranean fever, TRAPS, hyper-IgD syndrome, and related diseases. The following individuals may be eligible for this natural history study: 1) patients with known or suspected familial Mediterranean fever, TRAPS, hyper-IgD syndrome or related disorders; 2) relatives of these patients; 3) healthy, normal volunteers 7 years of age or older. Patients will undergo a medical and family history, physical examination, blood and urine tests. Additional tests and procedures may include the following: 1. X-rays 2. Consultations with specialists 3. DNA sample collection (blood or saliva sample) for genetic studies. These might include studies of specific genes, or more complete sequencing of the genome. 4. Additional blood samples a maximum of 1 pint (450 ml) during a 6-week period for studies of white cell adhesion (stickiness) 5. Leukapheresis for collecting larger amounts of white cells for study. For this procedure, whole blood is collected through a needle in an arm vein. The blood flows through a machine that separates it into its components. The white cells are removed and the rest of the blood is returned to the body through another needle in the other arm. Patients may be followed approximately every 6 months to monitor symptoms, adjust medicine dosages, and undergo routine blood and urine tests. They will receive genetic counseling by the study team on the risk of having affected children and be advised of treatment options. Participating relatives will undergo a medical and family history, possibly with a review of medical records, physical examination, blood and urine tests. Additional procedures may include a 24-hour urine collection, X-rays, and consultations with medical specialists. A DNA sample (blood or saliva) will also be collected for genetic studies. Additional blood samples of no more than 550 mL during an 8-week period may be requested for studies of white cell adhesion (stickiness). Relatives who have familial Mediterranean fever, TRAPS, or hyper-IgD syndrome will receive the same follow-up and counseling as described for patients above. Normal volunteers and patients with gout will have a brief health interview and check of vital signs (blood pressure and pulse) and will provide a blood sample (up to 90 ml, or 6 tablespoons). Additional blood samples of no more than 1 pint over a 6-week period may be requested in the future.