View clinical trials related to Rare Diseases.
Filter by:The field of artificial intelligence is booming in medicine and in the field of diagnosis. The data can be varied: x-rays, pathology sections, or photographs. It is considered that 30 to 40% of the 7000 rare diseases described to date cause craniofacial dysmorphia. Their detection sometimes requires the trained eye of a geneticist, because certain phenotypic traits are subtle. These diagnostic difficulties and the fact that certain diseases are extremely uncommon lead to considerable diagnostic delays
SLC13A5 deficiency (Citrate Transporter Disorder, EIEE 25) is a rare genetic disorder with neurodevelopmental delays and seizure onset in the first few days of life. This natural history study is designed to address the lack of understanding of disease progression. Additionally it will identify clinical and biomarker endpoints for use in future clinical trials.
The project is focused on the detailed study of structural genomic variants (SVs). Such genetic mutations are in fact alterations in the DNA molecule structure and include copy number variants, inversions and translocations. A single event may affect many genes as well as regulatory regions and the specific phenotypic consequences will depend on the location, genetic content and type of SV. Many times, the specific disease-causing mechanism is not known. Here, we plan to study the molecular genetic behavior of structural variants as well as the underlying mutational mechanisms involved. First, we will use genome sequencing to pinpoint the chromosomal breakpoints at the nucleotide level, characterize the genomic architecture at the breakpoints and study the relationship between structural variants and SNVs. Second, we will study how structural variants impact gene expression. Finally, we will functionally explore the disease mechanisms in vivo using zebrafish and in vitro using primary patient cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. Our studies will focus on the origin, structure and impact of structural variation on human disease. The results will directly lead to a higher mutation detection rate in genetic diagnostics. Through a better understanding of disease mechanisms our findings will also assist in the development of novel biomarkers and therapeutic strategies for patients with rare genetic disorders.
This project aims to identify, through RNA-Seq technology, the genetic alterations underlying undiagnosed rare diseases in pediatric and adult patients with early onset and with negative WES. - Objective 1: Set up and validate techniques. Set-up and validation of the transcriptome analysis protocol in healthy subjects and in patients with known splicing alterations and/or altered RNA expression. - Objective 2: Diagnostic phase. Study of splicing alterations and RNA levels in cultured fibroblasts obtained from skin biopsies of patients with rare genetic diseases and negative exome. Exploratory goals - Compare the RNA expression profile obtained from skin biopsy-derived fibroblasts with the RNA expression profile from blood. The most relevant results will be validated in qRT-PCR. - To analyze the transcriptional and protein profile heterogeneity in skin-derived fibroblasts in enrolled subjects. To explore the effects of genetic (from WES) and transcriptional (from RNA-seq) alterations in participants' plasma and serum. Healthy controls Five healthy subjects will be recruited from the staff of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research. The coded samples will be used to set up the method of isolation and culture of skin fibroblasts and RNA-Seq. Validation group For the set-up and validation of the skin fibroblast isolation and RNA-Seq procedure, ten adult patients with known diagnosis and with alterations in RNA levels and/or splicing will be recruited as positive controls. Patients who meet the requirements described above will be contacted by the doctors of the Daccò Center for an interview explaining the project. Those who agree to participate in the study will be asked to sign the informed consent before proceeding with the experimental part. "Discovery/Exploration" group The exploration cohort will be composed of 30 symptomatic undiagnosed patients with suspected genetic disease (children and adults with infantile onset) belonging to the Clinical Center of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research and for whom WES investigations did not reveal causative genetic alterations.
The goal of this study is to learn how genomic sequencing technology can be used to effectively expand the conditions screened on newborn screening. Newborn screening ensures equity and allows all babies to have the same chance at the healthiest life. Families will be invited to have their newborn baby screened for additional conditions beyond what all babies are screened for as part of the newborn screening public health program. Families can choose to be part of the study or choose not to be part of the study and just have the routine newborn screening test. Families will also be able to choose to learn about their baby's risk for conditions that have effective treatments available but are not on the routine newborn screening panel or also learn about conditions for which there is not currently FDA approved medications but for which medications are under development or for which early intervention services or treatment of seizures may improve the child's outcome. Families will be invited to the study shortly after the baby is born and will learn the decision not to participate, and we will interview a subset of parents who agree to be interviewed. Newborns who screen positive will be referred to appropriate providers for care and will be followed through review of electronic medical records and parental follow up via phone, text, postal mail or email.
Primary Study Objective The primary objective of the study is the definition of distinct vocal phenotypes and the development of an Explained Decision Support System (DSS) for the automatic detection of vocal patterns in relation to the syndrome from which the patients suffer Secondary: 1. Perceptual and acoustic analysis of voice recordings 2. Development of a voice recording collection system.
There are more than 7000 known genetic disorders, and the number of affected is estimated to be about 6-10% of the population. Around 30 to 40% of genetic disorders have physical changes in the face and skull such as Down's syndrome or Fragile X syndrome. Therefore, the known facial phenotype of many genetic disorders is highly informative to clinical diagnosis. Since a large number of genetic diseases are associated with special facial phenotypes that are difficult to remember, automated facial analysis such as Face2Gene and GestaltMatcher can assist in the identification and diagnosis of facial phenotypes related to various genetic diseases. Although the current advances in whole exome sequencing (whole exome sequencing) or whole genome sequencing (whole genome sequencing) have greatly improved the diagnostic rate of genetic diseases, about half of the patients are still undiagnosed. For patients with special facial phenotypes, the investigators believe that by combining automated facial analysis and whole exome sequencing data, it should be possible to provide a fast and accurate diagnostic model of genetic mutations for genetic diseases. GestaltMatcher Database is a medical imaging database of rare diseases developed by Professor Peter Krawitz of the University of Bonn, Germany. The database's artificial intelligence module will infer a patient's possible diagnosis based on the patient's photo, age, gender, race, and clinical description. The database will be open to medical researchers in related fields to improve the diagnosis of rare diseases. The investigators will use GestaltMatcher to assist in the diagnosis of patients, and compare the accuracy and significant differences in facial deformities between Taiwanese patients and patients from different countries. And use Eye Tracker to analyze how doctors diagnose patients through facial photos, and compare whether there are significant differences between foreign patients and Taiwanese patients in the diagnosis literature of Taiwanese doctors. The project will also analyze how genetic doctors at the University of Bonn in Germany diagnose patients, and compare it with Taiwanese doctors to better understand the differences in the process of doctors diagnosing patients and ethnic backgrounds.
This is a three-phase study comprising both retrospective and prospective components, as follows: Phase I: Deployment of Rare Disease Algorithm: A diagnostic screening algorithm was developed using advanced analytical methods to identify patients who have an increased likelihood of having Gaucher disease. This tool will be applied to a health system's electronic health records (EHR). The top 50 active patients per healthcare system will be identified as "highly ranked by the RDA" and moved to Phase II. As three to four healthcare systems are expected to participate in this study, between 150 to 200 persons are expected to be identified and included in Phase II. Phase II: Retrospective review of medical records of highly ranked persons: The listing of persons highly-ranked by the RDA from phase I will be forwarded to the study team within each participating healthcare system. After reviewing the RDA reports and medical records of each highly ranked person, study site personnel will determine eligibility for Phase III based on the relevant selection criteria listed in the section below. Phase III: Prospective diagnostic testing: Eligible persons (or their parent/guardian) from Phase II will be contacted and asked to provide consent for inclusion into the study. After consent is received, blood samples will be collected and sent for Gaucher diagnostic testing. Because of overlap in clinical symptoms between Gaucher disease and acid sphingomyelinase deficiency (ASMD), patients will also receive diagnostic testing for ASMD. Results will be shared with study site personnel, who will subsequently inform the study subject (and/or their parent/guardian, where appropriate) of results. It is anticipated that participation of a typical subject will be less than 3 months.
This prospective mixed-method interview study aims to qualitatively describe the beliefs, attitudes, and informational needs around gene therapy for rare pediatric diseases among patients and parents of children with a rare disease targeted for treatment using gene therapy techniques. Using learned insights, the team will develop an online platform providing educational content and patient decision aids for patients and their families.
This is a pilot, open-label, phase II study. The main objective of the study is to demonstrate that Cannabidiol (CBD), used in addition to current anti-seizure medications (ASMs) reduces the number and/or severity of motor (generalized, focal, or both) seizures in children and young adults with rare disease-associated severe epilepsy. Secondary objectives include assessment of safety and tolerability, changes in behaviour, cognition and sleep, pharmacokinetic interaction with concurrent ASMs.