Active clinical trials for "Psychomotor Disorders"

Full intellectual capabilities are achieved only if crucial nutrients are present during development. Iodine deficiency is the most common cause of preventable brain harm in infants. Because of its critical need during pregnancy, several countries implemented programs of iodine supplementation in preconception and pregnancy. In 2013, the prevalence of iodine deficiency in Portugal has led health authorities to issue a recommendation for iodine supplementation. This study aims to evaluate the impact of iodine supplementation on maternal and fetal iodine status and thyroid function, obstetric outcomes, quality of breast milk and child psychomotor development. It also intends to evaluate whether the time of iodine supplementation initiation influences all the above-mentioned parameters. The novelty and relevance of this study reside on the number of women/child and on the extent of health parameters that will be evaluated. The information collected will contribute to the detailed characterization of thyroid hormone homeostasis throughout pregnancy and its relationship with iodine supplementation (including time of initiation). The data will provide evidence on whether this iodine supplementation strategy impacted on iodine sufficiency of the mother and the newborns, or if it needs re-evaluation.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the immediate effects of stimulating shoulder muscles with an acupuncture needle (dry needling) on people from thirty to fifty years old with recurrent neck pain. The main questions this trial aims to answer are does dry needling tight shoulder muscles have an effect on: the ability to turn your head with speed and accuracy, your neck mobility, pain, the tenderness in the muscles, change in your everyday function. Participants will be asked to undergo a dry needling intervention, then participants will be asked to complete measurements before and after the including a pain scale, neck mobility, a functional questionnaire, pressure sensitivity and movement time for a repetitive head turning task. Researchers will compare the dry needling to the sham needling to see if there is a change in the measurements pre- and post-intervention.

Preterm infants of extreme low birth weight (ELBW, < 1000 gram birth weight) cannot immediately be nourished with mother´s or formula milk and are typically dependent on parenteral nutrition (PN) for a prolonged period of time. This puts them at risk for liver complications of PN, namely parenteral nutrition associated cholestasis (PNAC). Intravenous lipid emulsions (ILE) based on soy bean oil are standard of care for provision of energy and essential fatty acids in preterm infants. However, they might be implicated in the pathogenesis of PNAC. ILEs based on pure fish oil are proposed for therapy of PNAC. Recently a lipid emulsion containing 15 % fish oil together with soy bean, olive and MCT oil has become available in Europe (SMOFLIPID®). Such a balanced lipid emulsion might be more favourable than the standard soy bean oil emulsion (Intralipid®) concerning the development of PNAC. Furthermore ILEs containing fish oil might exert a positive effect on neurodevelopment. However, there are no data so far. The study aims to evaluate the fish oil containing ILE "SMOFlipid®" for its protective effect against PNAC in ELBW infants compared to standard treatment with the soy bean based ILE "Intralipid®". Furthermore neurodevelopment at 12 and 24 months of corrected gestational age will be investigated.

The main goal of this trial is to investigate whether early administration of human erythropoietin (EPO) in very preterm infants improves neurodevelopmental outcome at 24 months corrected age. This study is designed as randomized, double-masked, placebo controlled multicenter study involving at least 420 patients.

Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death for young people. The investigators have recently found that driving after using cannabis is more common among young Canadian drivers than driving after drinking. While this observation raises concerns, the effects of cannabis on driving-related skills in this age group are not well understood. As well, evidence suggests that residual effects of cannabis on driving-related skills may be observed up to 24 hours later. These residual effects may have important implications for the effects of cannabis use on collision risk, but little evidence on them in available. This study will examine the effects of a single dose of cannabis (marijuana) on driving-related skills immediately following consumption, 24 hours later, and 48 hours later. To date, the residual effect at 48 hours has not been examined. A total of 142 subjects aged 19 to 25 years old will be randomly assigned to smoke either a placebo or active cannabis cigarette (12.5% THC potency). Following an eligibility screening and practice session, participants will attend 3 testing days; drug-administration, 24-hour follow-up and 48-hour follow-up. The effects of cannabis/placebo on performance of driving-related skills using a high-fidelity driving simulator will be assessed on each testing day. The effects of cannabis on mood, cognition, memory and complex reaction time will also be assessed. Identifying factors that affect the collision risks experienced by young drivers is a public health priority. While many young people believe that cannabis does not impair driving, some recent studies suggest that these may be very dangerous beliefs. This study will provide important information on how cannabis may affect the driving skills of young drivers, to inform efforts to understand and address cannabis-related collision in this age group.

Given the known driving behavior of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and some of its parallel to driving under the influence of cannabis, this supplemental study aims to validate the sensitivity of the primary and secondary outcome measures employed in a cannabis and driving study currently in progress.

Alcohol and cannabis are the two most widely used substances of abuse in the world and are the psychoactive substances most often found in seriously and fatally injured drivers. In a recent study, it was observed that individuals who reported both driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA) and the influence of cannabis (DUIC) experienced collision risk that was nearly 4 times that of individuals who reported driving after using only one of these drugs. Recent research in the United States and Canada indicates that the prevalence of DUIC among young drivers of high school and university age, and young adults is similar to, or higher than, the prevalence of DUIA. This is a serious public health issue, since motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death in this age group. Given the frequency with which alcohol and cannabis are consumed together, it is important to understand their combined effects on driver behaviour. The current study will examine the acute effects of a moderate dose of cannabis (12.5% THC) combined with an intoxicating amount of alcohol (BAC=0.08) on driving simulator performance of young drivers. Following an eligibility screening and practice session, a total of 70 participants aged 19 to 29 years will each complete 4 experimental sessions. During each session, participants will drink alcohol or placebo alcohol and smoke an active or placebo cannabis cigarette. The effects of alcohol and cannabis on the performance of driving-related skills will be assessed using a high-fidelity driving simulator. Cognitive, psychomotor, and mood effects will also be assessed.

This study evaluates the effect of anxiety drugs taken at night on the ability to drive a car the next day. Participants will receive alprazolam, placebo, or zolpidem at night before bed or in the morning before using a driving simulator to assess impairment.

The recent improvements in neonatal intensive care have led to a substantial increase in the survival rate of preterm infants; nevertheless, this population is still at high risk for long-term neurodevelopmental disabilities. Significant anatomical changes in brain structures and abnormal patterns of neuronal myelination and brain connectivity have been associated with preterm birth, with possible long-term effects on cognitive, motor and social skills. The validation of clinical tools able to predict neurodevelopmental outcomes in the preterm population might help at identifying infants at greatest risk of impairment, who would benefit most from early supportive interventions exploiting brain neuroplasticity. Near infrared reflected spectroscopy (NIRS) provides a bedside, non-invasive, continuous monitoring of cerebral oxygen saturation (CrSO2), which has been proposed as a predictive marker for later neurodevelopment in neonates undergone cardiac surgery; to date, however, evidence on the correlation between CrSO2 and later neurodevelopment in preterm infants is almost lacking. This study aims to evaluate whether CrSO2 monitoring, performed before NICU discharge in clinically stable very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm infants, can predict psychomotor outcomes during the first 24 months of corrected age (ca).