Active clinical trials for "Autistic Disorder"

This project aims: to study behavioral and cerebral activity specificity (latency and amplitude of evoked potentials, time frequency maps and cerebral connectivity) in predictive process (top-down regulation) during visual recognition of static and dynamic stimuli in adults participants with autism spectrum conditions compared to typically developed participants. to study the relation between predictive process and autonomous response (heart activity and electrodermal activity) to explore potential sex differences between autistic males and females

This study is to examine the association between maternal omega3 and other polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as well as other non-typical development (Non-TD) in the prospective Markers of Autism Risk in Babies-Learning Early Signs (MARBLES) cohort.

This is a observational study to investigate the degree to which bone mineral density is impaired in boys with autism compared with typically developing controls.

This case-control study aims to compare the differences in eating behaviours, nutritional status, diet quality and gastrointestinal (GI) health between Chinese children aged 3-6 years with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (n=65) and typically developing children (TDC) (n=65).

The primary objective of this study is to conduct magnetic resonance spectroscopic (MRS) and imaging (MRI) scans to assess the structural and neurochemical profile of the brain in 20 children and adolescents, 6-17 years old with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For comparison, MRS and MRI will also be obtained from 10 healthy control subjects, matched to the 20 subjects with ASD in age, sex, dexterity, and IQ. All eligible subjects will be administered a detailed assessment battery consisting of cognitive assessments (neuropsychological battery including subsets of the DANVA2 and the CANTAB) and measures of psychosocial functioning (SAICA and M-FES). The study includes 1-3 visits for the screening period at Massachusetts General Hospital (approximately 4 hours of assessments) and one scanning visit at McLean Hospital (approximately 1.5 hours). The investigators hypothesize that youth with ASD versus controls will exhibit increased glutamate concentrations, reflecting glutamatergic overactivity, and increased Cho concentrations, suggesting neuronal abnormality. Furthermore, the investigators hypothesize that compared to neurotypical controls, the structural integrity of white mater tracts will be disrupted in ASD.

A child and their parent were asked to participate in a research project that sought to study whether sleeping in a very clean environment for 14 days improved the elimination of chemicals and metals from the child's body. The child had an approximately two hour evaluation to confirm his or her diagnosis of Autism or Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Not Otherwise Specified. When one of these diagnoses was confirmed the child was scheduled to spend 14 nights sleeping in a very clean environment in a specially created room at The Children's Institute. Several hours prior to the first night the child slept in the clean room the child's mother, father, or guardian filled out behavioral rating scales about the child with the assistance of the study's research coordinator. The child also had approximately two tablespoons of blood drawn from an arm and a few inch sample of hair was taken from the back of the child's head. The child and a parent or guardian arrived at The Children's Institute about one half hour prior to the child's normal time of settling for bed for 14 consecutive nights. The child and a parent or guardian slept in the clean room, wearing the provided very clean clothes and sleeping on special mattresses and sheets each night for 14 consecutive nights. The child and parent were observed by a nurse through a window during the time in the clean room. The child and parent participated in regular daytime activities during these 14 days of the study. On the morning after the last night the child and a parent or guardian slept in the clean room a parent or guardian filled out behavioral rating scales with the help of the research coordinator. Approximately two tablespoons of blood were drawn from an arm and a few inch sample of hair was obtained from the back of the child's head, at The Children's Institute or at home.

The behavioral patterns, neurocognitive and social impairments, and high heritability are the common characteristics of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the two most common early-onset neuropsychiatric disorders. Little is known about the discriminative validity between these two disorders. As brain imaging studies have been recognized as an important biological tool to validate disease involving the brain, no studies have employed this approach to distinguish the brain functioning between ASD and ADHD. Moreover, there is lack of comprehensive data of environmental, behavioral, neurocognitive, neuroimaging, and genetic data for healthy children. Hence, we propose this program project involving expertise researchers in the fields of child psychiatry and psychology, psychiatric genetics, and brain imaging studies to elucidate the neuropathophysiology and genes & environment interactions of ASD and ADHD as comparing to healthy controls by integrating data from environments, behavioral phenotypes, endophenotypes, and genotypes in one study.

The purpose of this study is to learn more about autism and its subtypes. Autism is a developmental disorder in which children have problems with communication and social skills and display restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. This study has several goals. One aim is to look at types of autism that are known, such as the regressive subtype, (where skills are lost). We will explore whether there is a unique change in immune functioning related to this subtype. Another aim is to serve as one of the sites that will pilot a larger natural history study, entitled Autism Phenome Project. The goal is to further understand autism by identifying other subtypes. We will look at several types of medical issues that may be related to autism, including immunologic problems. Children will be followed over the course of several years. We aim to capture medical problems that may be related to autism as they develop, and study outcomes in areas such as behavior and language, in order to explore known and new subtypes of autism. Normally developing children (aged 1) with autism (age 1, and developmental delays other than autism (age 1), may be eligible for this study. Depending on each child's study group and age, participants may undergo the following tests and procedures: Baseline Visit Medical and developmental history, physical examination, psychological, cognitive and medical tests to assess symptoms of autism or other developmental disorders, photographs of the child's face, collection of hair, urine and baby teeth samples. If available, hair samples from the baby's first haircut and from the biological mother's hair are also collected. Overnight electroencephalogram (EEG): A special cap with electrodes is placed on the child's head to measure brain waves (brain electrical activity) while the child sleeps in the hospital overnight. Healthy volunteers do not undergo this procedure. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan: The child stays in the scanner, lying still for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. Since it may be difficult for the child to lie still, the test may be scheduled for a time when the child is likely to be sleepy, or the child may be sedated. Lumbar puncture (for children in the autism). This test and the MRI may be done under sedation. Follow-Up Visits Follow-up visits are scheduled at different intervals, depending on study group, age and aspect of the study the child is enrolled in. The visits include a short interview session with the child's caregiver and assessment of the child's development and behavior. Some of the assessment measures used during the baseline examination are repeated, including symptoms ratings, behavioral tests and a blood test. For some children, the final visit will include repeats of the medical procedures.

The investigators propose to study the molecular etiology of autism spectrum disorder(ASD) from a genomic, metabolomics and network biology perspective by combining data of gene expression, sequence variations and metabolism conditions of patients with ASD. As the complexity of ASD, the investigators consider both science-based and clinic-based measurements to ensure no missing of any relevant domain of the complex relations. In addition to the collection of biological factors, the investigators will also collect the comprehensive clinical, environmental, neurocognitive, MRI images to integrate the multiple factors into the matrix features. Finally the investigators will apply the machine learning to provide us the aspects of the underline pathway back into the other sample distribution published as the open dataset to verify and adjust the features in order to achieve satisfactory level of the reliability and stability of the algorithms. With Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology, the investigators will sequence the whole exome sequencing (WES) (MiSeq System) of approximately 120 ASD probands, 40 unaffecting siblings and 40 healthy controls of Taiwanese Han population to identify ASD-associated transcriptome profiles. The results will be using real-time PCR (qPCR) or conventional Sanger sequencing to verified. The investigators will use both liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and gas chromatography/quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for a full assessment of a wide range of metabolites with over 820 metabolites. Hence, this 3-year proposal consists two main parts - the ASD transcriptome sequence analysis by NGS technology and the metabolomics study of ASD via LC-MS and GC-MS technology.

Williams Beuren syndrome (WBS) is a multiple malformations/intellectual disability (ID) syndrome caused by 7q11.23 microdeletion and clinically characterized by a typical neurocognitive profile including excessive talkativeness and social disinhibition, often defined as "overfriendliness" and "hypersociability". WBS is generally considered as the polar opposite phenotype to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Surprisingly, the prevalence of ASD has been reported to be significantly higher in WBS (12%) than in general population (1%). This study aims to investigate the molecular basis of the peculiar association of ASD and WBS. The investigator performed chromosomal microarray analysis and whole exome sequencing in six patients presenting with WBS and ASD, in order to evaluate the possible presence of chromosomal or gene variants considered as pathogenic.