Active clinical trials for "Lysosomal Storage Diseases"

The purpose of this study is to determine if it is safe to administer unrelated umbilical cord blood to pregnant women in their first trimester of pregnancy with a fetus that has a known diagnosis of certain lysosomal storage diseases. These diseases are known to cause severe and irreversible neurological disability in early infancy and which are lethal in childhood.

The purpose of this study is evaluate the natural course of disease progression related to gross motor function in children with metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD).

Leukodystrophy is a disease of the white matter of the brain. White matter is the portion of the brain responsible for conducting electrical impulses from one area of the brain to the other. Insulating cells called myelin cover the brain and nerve cells in the white matter. If myelin becomes damaged electrical information cannot be transferred properly. Many patients suffering from leukodystrophies do not fit the description of any of the defined types of leukodystrophies and are therefore considered to have a leukodystrophy of unknown cause. The purpose of this study is to define groups of patients with leukodystrophies and to work toward finding the cause of the disorders. In order to do this, researchers will analyze patients with leukodystrophies of unknown causes. Patients will undergo clinical, neurophysiologic, biochemical, and genetic examinations and tests. Researchers believe that by studying these patients and their disorders they will be able to better understand the causes of myelin destruction, and eventually lead to effective treatments for these disorders.

Aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU) is a rare neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disease (LSD) characterized by developmental delay, psychomotor regression, worsening intellectual disability, gait disturbance and, ultimately, premature death, and has no available treatments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical characteristics and natural clinical progression of symptoms in individuals with AGU. This natural history study is important to better understand disease course to be able to determine clinically meaningful outcome measures for use in future clinical trials.

The lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) are monogenic disorders associated with inflammation affecting multiple organs, and early death. Few treatments are available that can modify the disease course, and there is an urgent need to identify new steps in pathogenesis that can be targeted therapeutically. The complement system is novel and highly plausible as a primary driver of inflammation and cellular injury in the LSDs. This study assesses the complement activation state in patients with Fabry disease (FD), Gaucher disease (GD) and Niemann-Pick disease, type C (NPC), with comparison to healthy controls. This has the potential for immense clinical benefit through targeted complement inhibition across the full spectrum of lysosomal storage disorders, in which key pathophysiological processes including the inflammatory response to lysosomally 'stored' materials are shared.

International, multicenter, epidemiological study to demonstrate the correlation and predictive value of lyso-Gb1 concentration with the clinical severity of naïve, initially non-ERT/SRT Gaucher disease type 1 and during the study ERT/SRT-newly started Gaucher type 1 patients and to correlate lyso-Gb1 concentration with the clinical improvement of ERT or SRT treated Gaucher type 1 and the clinical course of non-treated patients based on GD-DS3

Hypothesis: Children diagnosed with a lysosomal disease will exhibit developmental, adaptive, and behavioral strengths and difficulties depending upon 1) biomedical risk factors (i.e. the specific genetic disorder responsible for the illness); 2) available modifying interventions, whether medical or behavioral; and 3) social risks in the children's families, neighborhoods and communities. A valid and reliable telephone-based surveillance system can successfully collect the data required to elucidate these developmental, adaptive and behavioral strengths and difficulties.

The late infantile form of galactosialidosis is potentially amenable to treatment by gene transfer with an adeno-associated viral vector encoding Protective Protein Cathepsin A (PPCA) or by infusion of purified protein. The published literature contains limited descriptions of the disease nor is it known how many patients with the disorder are potentially available for protocol enrollment. This preliminary study is designed to define the demographics and clinical characteristics of the patient population with galactosialidosis. Individuals for whom DNA diagnosis has been performed at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (SJCRH) will be contacted telephonically to learn their current status. In addition, a letter requesting information regarding patients with galactosialidosis will be sent to all pediatric geneticists throughout the United States. Selected physicians with expertise in lysosomal storage diseases throughout the world will also be contacted. Foundations and Associations for the lysosomal storage disorders will also be contacted in an effort to identify additional potential patients with galactosialidosis. The information to be collected in this preliminary study will facilitate development of specific eligibility criteria for future therapeutic studies.

This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of Fabry Disease (FD) among a cohort of high risk patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) presenting at the University Hospital Würzburg over the last 20 years. Fabry disease is a rare disease that is known to be consistently underdiagnosed due to its largely variable symptoms. Considering that an early Fabry diagnosis is crucial for maximum benefit from therapies available, screening for Fabry patients can contribute to preventing development and worsening of symptoms in Fabry patients with LVH. In addition, a positive diagnosis in a family member opens the possibility to diagnose further family members in an earlier stage of the disease, therefore allowing treatment of symptoms and organ manifestations before they become irreversible.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique to gather information about brain function. It is very useful when studying the areas of the brain related to motor activity (motor cortex, corticospinal tract, spinal cord and nerve roots). The procedure is conducted by transmitting a magnetic signal into the brain to stimulate an area of the body. Electrodes (small pieces of metal taped to areas of the body) are used in order to measure electrical activity. A magnetic signal is sent from a metal instrument held close to the patient's head, to an area of the brain responsible for motor activity of a certain area of the body. The electrodes pick up and record the electrical activity in the muscles. This study will employ the use of TMS to diagnose neurological disorders that affect the motor cortex or the corticospinal tract. Normal subjects are sometimes studied to investigate normal activity of the nervous system and to train doctors in clinical neurophysiology and electrodiagnostic medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).