Active clinical trials for "Neurofibromatoses"

Neurofibromatosis-associated Tumor is very rare bone tumor. The investigator set up the biobank to ensure every patient has the chance to participate in future research

The purpose of this study is to look at a subset of plexiform neurofibromas and determine if the airway tumors are more sensitive to imatinib therapy. Funding Source - FDA OOPD

Currently, optic pathway gliomas (OPG) are detected based on abnormal findings made during annual ophthalmologic exams. However, because these exams are annual, it is possible for healthcare providers to miss the point at which a child's vision begins to decline (potentially indicating an OPG). If at-risk children are screened for hypotonia early in life, those children who are hypotonic may undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate for OPG before they are showing ophthalmologic symptoms. This would enable healthcare providers to discover vision loss earlier and treat symptomatic OPGs earlier, thereby allowing us a better chance of preventing further vision loss in children with OPGs.

This study aims to investigate synaptic physiology and behavioral inhibition in patients with NF1 and ASD and to answer whether inhibitory deficits at these levels are modulated by lovastatin. Structure: (1) Visit 1: Baseline assessment- participant's characterization, baseline outcome measures and additional evaluations, (2) 3 consecutive days of physiologically probing drug/placebo intake, (3) Visit 2: Outcome measures and additional evaluations in the day after the last drug/placebo intake, (4) Washout period of 4 to 6 weeks, (5) 3 consecutive days of drug/placebo intake, (6) Visit 3: Outcome measures and additional evaluations in the day after the last placebo/drug intake.

Background: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a genetic disorder. It has a broad variety of effects on the body. Up to half of people with NF1 get plexiform neurofibromas (PNs). These are benign tumors. But they can have serious effects like pain and disfigurement. To treat PNs, a person may have to take medicine every day for a long period of time. Researchers think that it will be important for people to take the medicine regularly for it to work. They want to study how well people with NF1 follow their treatment plan for PNs. Objective: To study how often people with neurofibromatosis type 1 take medicine that has been prescribed to them for treating plexiform neurofibromas. Eligibility: People ages 3-59 already enrolled in an NF1 clinical trial Design: Participants will need access to the internet to do the study activities. Parents or caregivers will do some study activities for child participants. Participants will complete 5 questionnaires. They will take about 20 minutes total. The topics will be: Demographic data Recent life events How much pain interferes with daily life Ability to focus and pay attention to tasks Emotional distress or depression Participants will mark down every time they take a dose of the medicine in their clinical trial. They will use a form the researchers give them. The pill bottles they get in their trial will have a chip in the cap that will record when it is opened. Participants will keep a daily diary of their medicine. Their pills will be counted at clinical trial visits. Participants may have more short questionnaires. They may have interviews by phone or video.

Tumors can grow on the auditory nerves and can cause hearing loss. A common type of tumor that does this is a vestibular schwannoma (VS), or acoustic neuroma. These tumors are not cancerous. Most often, people have only one VS. Occasionally, people have more than one VS and may have a condition called neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2). Because VS can cause hearing loss, many people with VS will have treatment to preserve their hearing. This treatment usually involves surgery or radiation therapy. There are risks to these procedures, and sometimes they do not work to prevent hearing loss. Because surgery and radiation have risks and are not able to help everyone with VS, other methods of treatment are being explored. One area of exploration is looking to see if there is a drug that can be taken that might prevent the VS from growing larger and causing hearing loss, and might possibly even cause the VS to shrink in size. This study is exploring whether a drug that is approved by the FDA and is currently used to treat breast cancer might also work to treat VS. This study will measure the amount of drug that travels from the bloodstream and arrives at the tumor. This drug is safe and has few side effects. If this drug is shown to reach the tumor, it might be used in the future to treat VS without needing surgery or radiation. This study is recruiting people who are having surgery for VS. If you are going to have surgery to treat a VS, you may be eligible to participate.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant disorder with an estimated prevalence of 1/2190 to 1/6711. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been reported to be common in NF1. We, the researchers at Hospices Civils de Lyon, designed a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, crossover trial with a total follow-up duration of 9 weeks to evaluate the effect of methylphenidate (MPH) on the improvement on the simplified parents Conners' Rating Scale. In a parallel exploratory study we will compare the nature of attention deficit disorders in NF1 children to 30 ADHD NF1-free controls. Children aged 7 to 12 years are eligible when their intelligence quotient (IQ) is between 80 and 120. Fifty subjects (25 for each period) were required for testing the primary study hypothesis.

Children with neurofibromatosis are more likely to have difficulties related to their psychological and neurocognitive functioning (e.g., more likely to have depression, have social difficulties, be diagnosed with ADHD). The purpose of this randomized control study is to determine how effective and useful this study's single session intervention can be in improving psychological and neurocognitive functioning. Enrolled families will consist of one parent/guardian and child. Parents and patients will complete questionnaires and objective tests at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Families randomized to the intervention arm will be provided with one single session intervention at Month 1 to learn about their child's testing results and receive psychoeducation and recommendations related to psychological and neurocognitive functioning.

Background: - People with neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) and plexiform neurofibroma (PN) tumors often have chronic pain that his hard to control. People usually take medicines for the pain, but they may not work well and might cause side effects. A new strategy called Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) may help these people cope with chronic pain. ACT focuses on things like values and living in the moment. Objective: - To see if Acceptance and Commitment Training improves pain coping in people with NF1 pain. Eligibility: - People age 16-34 who have NF1, 1 or more PN tumors, and pain that interferes with their daily functioning. Design: Participants will be screened with a physical exam, medical history, and questions about their pain. Participants will fill out questionnaires about their pain and feelings. Their heart rate will be measured via electrocardiogram (ECG). Participants will be divided into 2 groups randomly. One will wait 8 weeks. The other will start training right away. Participants will have 2 two-hour sessions with an ACT trainer. They will learn techniques for setting goals based on personal values and other ways to cope with pain. They will get a workbook and a compact disc (CD) to take home for practice. Participants will do practice exercises at home between sessions. They will get weekly emails with a practice exercise. They will join video chat sessions via home computer with their trainer. All participants will return to National Institutes of Health (NIH) after 8 weeks for questionnaires and an ECG. The wait group will then start training. They will return 8 weeks later for questionnaires and an ECG. Six months later, they will complete questionnaires from home by computer.

Intellectual impairment, particularly working memory deficits are a significant cause of morbidity in children with Neurofibromatosis type (NF1) with long-term implications on academic and occupational functioning. Whilst significant discoveries have been made in Nf1 animal models in trying to find treatments for these conditions, human translational studies have not been successful. This mechanistic experimental study will investigate the neural mechanisms underlying working memory deficits in NF1. In particular, we will investigate how individual differences in inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA relate to performance on working memory tests. Further, we will investigate the use of a novel, experimental intervention called transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS);known to modulate GABA. Using a randomized, crossover design in a cohort of 30 adolescents aged 11-17 years, we will apply real or sham tDCS to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). State-of-art real time imaging techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) and task based functional MRI (fMRI) will be used to investigate the effect of tDCS on GABA concentration, changes in functional plasticity and working memory. We expect that results from this study will help elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying working memory deficits in people with NF1 and show biologic activity for a novel, low-cost intervention that can be used for cognitive remediation in NF1. This kind of focused mechanism trial method is a highly promising approach to understanding the complex neural system pathology in a multifactorial neurodevelopmental condition like NF1.