Active clinical trials for "Autism Spectrum Disorder"

In the treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), medication is only an adjunct, and the main treatment modalities are education and behavioral therapy. People with autism incur huge medical and educational costs, which puts a great financial burden on families.Taurine is one of the abundant amino acids in tissues and organs, and plays a variety of physiological and pharmacological functions in nervous, cardiovascular, renal, endocrine and immune systems. A large number of studies have shown that taurine can improve cognitive function impairment under various physiological or pathological conditions through a variety of mechanisms, taurine can increase the abundance of beneficial bacteria in the intestine, inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, and have a positive effect on intestinal homeostasis. This study intends to analyze the effect of taurine supplementation on ASD, and explore the possible mechanism by detecting intestinal symptoms, intestinal flora, markers of oxidative stress and clinical symptoms of ASD.

There are currently no approved medications for the treatment of anxiety in children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), both common and rare. Sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, has extensive evidence to support its use in children's and youth with anxiety but not within NDDs. More research is needed to confirm whether or not sertraline could help improve anxiety in children and youth with common and rare neurodevelopmental conditions. This is a pilot study, in which we plan to estimate the effect size of reduction in anxiety of sertraline vs. placebo. across rare and common neurodevelopmental disorders, and determine the best measure(s) to be used as a primary transdiagnostic outcome measure of anxiety, as well as diagnosis specific measures in future, larger-scale clinical trials of anxiety in NDDs.

The goal of this observer-blinded randomized controlled clinical trial is to determine the effectiveness of a fully-online, parent-mediated, video-based, self-directed intervention for young children with autism (12-60 months) who have been diagnosed with autism in the last six months. The main question[s] it aims to answer are: Does an online intervention for autistic children result in improved adaptive behaviour, compared to a psychoeducational control group? Does an online intervention for autistic children result in reduced autism symptoms in children, and decreased stress and increased self-efficacy in parents, compared to a psychoeducational control group? What are the predictors of response to intervention (i.e., child sex and age; initial autism symptoms and adaptive behavior; and parent self-efficacy, stress, and education). Parents will be given six compulsory and eight optional online modules that will teach them skills to use while interacting with their autistic children to improve social and communication behaviours and minimize behaviours that interfere with learning. The comparison group will receive six compulsory and eight optional online modules that will teach them about autism more broadly including diagnostic criteria, symptom profiles across development, etc.

This Phase 2 study examines the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of pimavanserin in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Male or female participants aged 16 to 40 years of age will be randomized to receive single doses of either placebo or pimavanserin in this randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over designed study, followed by open label extension.

Introduction: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized as a neurodevelopmental disorder, with motor symptoms that may predispose to falls and gait changes. Exercises through virtual reality (exergaming) showed good results in children with ASD, but no studies were found that evaluated the effects of exergaming on gait and the risk of falls. Objective: To evaluate the effects of exergaming on motor performance during gait and the risk of falls in children with ASD. Method: Pilot study of a clinical trial. There will be 22 participants, diagnosed with ASD, level I or II; age: 5 to 9 years old; that they do not use medications that interfere with postural balance and falls; without physiotherapy care for at least 2 months. They will be divided into Exergaming Group (EG, n=11) and Control Group (GC, n=11). The GC will receive guidance through booklets. The EG will be submitted to a treatment with exergaming for 3 months, with 2 weekly sessions of 45 min each (initial 10 min, 25-30 of exergaming with the Xbox360 console with Kinect sensor and game "Kinect Adventures!", 5 min of cool down ). They will be assessed using CARS-BR (Childhood Autism Rating Scale - Brazilian version), DCDQ (Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire), EEP (Pediatric Equilibrium Scale), a semi-structured questionnaire to assess the history of falls and prevalence of falls, an adapted motivational scale for ASD, a satisfaction survey, and three-dimensional assessment of gait through the Gait Laboratory. Descriptive analysis will be performed and continuous variables will be summarized in mean and standard deviation, and categorical variables in absolute and relative frequencies. To compare the independent and paired variables, parametric tests will be used and a significance level of 5% will be considered (p <0.05). Pearson's correlation will be used to assess correlations between continuous variables and the Chi square test to assess the relationship between categorical variables. Expected results: It is expected that children from the EG will obtain better results than the CG on gait variables and the risk of falling, with clinical and statistical significance.

The investigation team propose in this study to specifically evaluate the feasibility of using oxytocin in the form of an intranasal spray in a specific population of children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. The lack of studies centered on this population on the one hand, and on the other hand the severity of challenging behaviors presented by these children, make questionable the direct transfer of methods of care used in patients who do not present these challenging behavior. In this sense, the establishment of oxytocin treatment in these children requires a preliminary phase of feasibility assessment before being able to consider a comparative trial of the randomized clinical trial type.

This study will test the hypothesis that brain systems are differentially regulated by serotonin in individuals with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The goal of this clinical study is to learn about the utility and performance of the EarliPoint(™) System: Evaluation for Autism Spectrum Disorder to monitor changes in a child's verbal ability, non-verbal learning, and social disability over time in children ages 15-84 months with autism spectrum disorder or related developmental delays (DD) and in those who are typically developing. The main questions it aims to answer are: To estimate the change in each of the EarliPoint index scores in typically developing children ages 15-84 months from baseline through 180 days as a function of the child's age. To estimate the change in the EarliPoint verbal and non-verbal index scores in ASD/DD children ages 15-84 months from baseline through 180 days as a function of the child's age in: a) those who showed clinical improvement, and b) those who did not show clinical improvement. To estimate the relationship of the EarliPoint verbal and non-verbal index scores to clinical reference assessments in ASD/DD children as a function of their age from baseline through 180 days. To estimate the degree of change, if change occurs, month-to-month in the EarliPoint Social Disability Index score from baseline through 180 days. To estimate the incidence of behavioral events (e.g., tantrums, etc.) which limit the subject from completing an eye-tracking session. To estimate the incidence of adverse device effects associated with the use of the study device.

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of SCI-210 in the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

The purpose of this study is to characterize the developmental phenotype of ASD and ID and to identify biomarkers using advanced MRI methodology and electrophysiological biomarkers of synaptic function and connectivity predictive of ASD and ID presence and severity in patients with TSC. In addition, this study will be establishing infrastructure for the collection and storage of human bio-specimens, including genetic material, from TSC patients and their family members with ASD.