Active clinical trials for "Genetic Diseases, Inborn"

Background: - People with sickle cell disease and other blood disorders sometimes get chronic leg ulcers. These are wounds that develop on the skin and don t go away. Current treatments do not work very well, so researchers want to learn more about why the ulcers happen. They want to find out which bacteria may cause it, and if external factors play a role. Objective: - To study social and environmental factors of sickle cell disease and the causes of sickle cell disease leg ulcers. Eligibility: - People age 18 and older who have sickle cell disease or another red cell disorder, with or without an active leg ulcer. Design: Participants will have a medical history and clinical evaluation. They will also have blood drawn. Participants will complete questionnaires about their life, health, environment, stress, and other topics. Participants may provide a small sample of hair. Participants will be asked to collect a small amount of saliva. Participants with leg ulcers will have their skin microbiome sampled. The microbiome is all of the microbes (bacteria and and/or fungi) and their genes in and on the body. Researchers will use swabs to collect skin samples. Photographs will be taken of the skin sample area. Some participants without leg ulcers also will have their skin microbiome sampled. Some participants who have their skin microbiome sampled will return for a second visit. At this visit, their microbiome will be resampled. It will take place more than 30 days after the first visit.

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 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: X-rays Consultations with specialists DNA sample collection (blood or saliva sample) for genetic studies. These might include studies of specific genes, or more complete sequencing of the genome. Additional blood samples a maximum of 1 pint (450 ml) during a 6-week period for studies of white cell adhesion (stickiness) 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....

Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) has three different testings according to the type of genetic disease, which was classified as PGT-M, PGT-SR and PGT-A. If the couple is tested for two different genetic diseases at the same time, it is necessary to customize the probe and adopt different detection methods, which increases the cost and cycle of testing. Advanced expert pre-experimental analysis is required for PGT-M in couples with monogenic disease. If the family members are unavailable, only the polar bodies, sperms or affected embryos can be used to analysis, which not only increases the risk of failure, but also increases the difficulty of detection. At present, BGI has developed a new single-tube complete Long fragment whole genome sequencing (stLFR-WGS) technology, which uses the same molecular tag on the short read sequencing fragments from the same long DNA molecule to achieve accurate short read sequencing to obtain long DNA information. Multiple genetic abnormalities such as gene variation, chromosome aneuploidy and chromosome structure rearrangement can be directly detected in embryos without pre-experiment of family members, so as to achieve universal normalization of the three PGT methods and solve the PGT detection needs of patients with multiple genetic diseases.

The MetaPrint study aims to characterize the metabolic fingerprint of genetic diseases in order to enhance knowledge on the physiological disease status and establish so new tools for diagnosing, monitoring and personalizing treatment of genetic diseases.

In 1% of men with infertility, obstructive azoospermia (OA) may occur in congenital absence of the vas (CAVD) or idiopathic obstructive azoospermia . Many studies have shown that the pathogenic genes of OA are CFTR and ADGRG2 genes, and the inheritance mode is autosomal recessive. Although the conventional assisted reproductive technology(PESA/TESA) can help these patients have children, male patients who carry mutations of the disease-causing genes (CFTR and ADGRG2) will also pass on their mutations to the next generation, which will increase the risk of male offspring infertility. Therefore, genetic detection of CFTR and ADGRG2 genes is very necessary for CAVD patients before assisted reproduction. Genetic diagnosis plays a key role in preventing the disease to the offspring.

The Rett Syndrome Registry is a longitudinal observational study of individuals with MECP2 mutations and a diagnosis of Rett syndrome. Designed together with the IRSF Rett Syndrome Center of Excellence Network medical directors, this study collects data on the signs and symptoms of Rett syndrome as reported by the Rett syndrome experts and by the caregivers of individuals with Rett syndrome. This study will be used to develop consensus based guidelines for the care of your loved ones with Rett syndrome and to facilitate the development of better clinical trials and other aspects of the drug development path for Rett syndrome.

The North American Mitochondrial Disease Consortium (NAMDC) maintains a patient contact registry and tissue biorepository for patients with mitochondrial disorders.

This study will determine the biochemical and genetic causes of inherited immune diseases affecting lymphocyte homeostasis. Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that fights infections. Normally, the body keeps a precise balance in which lymphocyte growth is matched by lymphocyte death. People with constantly enlarged lymph nodes or spleen, along with autoimmune disease, immunodeficiency, lymphoma, or other immune problems affecting lymphocytes may have an abnormality of the immune system in the cell growth and cell death processes that regulate lymphocyte homeostasis. Patients who have, or are suspected of having, an inherited lymphocyte homeostasis or programmed cell death susceptibility syndrome may be eligible for this study. Relatives of patients are also included. Participants' (patients and relatives) medical records are reviewed and blood samples are drawn for studies to identify genes involved in immune disorders. Tissues that have been removed from patients for medical reasons, such as biopsied tissues, may be examined for tissue and DNA studies. Relatives are studied to determine if some of them may have a very mild form of lymphocyte homeostasis disorder. Patients who have an immune problem that the researchers wish to study further will be invited to donate additional blood samples at irregular intervals (at least once a year) and to provide an update of their medical records at the same time. ...

Patients with neurodevelopmental diseases and their families need to identify the genetic cause of the disease to allow for recognition of the disability, genetic counseling, and possible hope for participation in therapeutic research studies. Access to high-throughput genomic exome or genome analysis allows the identification of a genetic cause for approximately half of the patients. However, families with no result or with a variant of unknown significance after these tests may find themselves in a new diagnostic impasse. The high-throughput sequencing used today generates sequences of the order of 100 base pairs (so-called "short read" sequencing). This allows an analysis of about 90% of the genome. However, many regions are not accessible in regions of interest for the genetic diagnosis of rare diseases. Long fragment sequencing generates sequences that are about 20 times larger and its use has recently made it possible to sequence the human genome almost completely (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abj6987). The main contribution lies in the analysis of complex regions of the genome such as segmental duplications or centromeric regions. It is likely that this technology increases the sensitivity of detection of genetic variants in patients with genetic diseases. Its contribution should be studied in patients for whom no genetic cause has been identified by classical techniques. This study aim to investigate the contribution of long fragment genome sequencing.

In this study, the investigators aim to find a biomarker of Parkinson's disease. This is done using imaging scans called Positron Emission tomography (PET), Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The findings will provide a deeper understanding of the brain changes in Parkinson's disease. More importantly, this study will help with the discovery and development of new medications aiming to delay progression of PD symptoms.