A Genetic Analysis of Usher Syndrome in Ashkenazi Jews

Hearing loss and loss of vision can be very harmful to the well-being and life of people who suffer from them. Usher syndrome is the name of a disease where people have both hearing loss and visual loss. In fact more than half of people who are deaf and blind have Usher syndrome. In this study we are trying to find the causes of all types of Usher syndrome and to learn more about how the eyes and ears work. Usher syndrome is caused by changes in our genes that lead to mistakes in the functioning of our eyes and ears.

We may conduct hearing tests called audiograms to test hearing and a vision test called an electroretinogram (ERG) to test how well the retina (the part of your eye that senses light) is working on participants in the study. From these tests we can tell what kind of Usher syndrome a participant may have.

We will then get DNA from participants by drawing blood. The DNA will be studied, along with DNA from members of the participant's family and other families, to try to find the gene that is causing Usher syndrome in the participant.

Once the gene is found we will be able to study it to learn more about how the eyes and ears work.

If a subject has already been diagnosed we may just need copies of their medical records and blood can be drawn locally.

In order to increase the power of the study and the likelihood of detecting relevant genes participants will be taken from the Ashkenazi Jewish population group only. This will make it much easier to find the genes.

Study Overview

Study Type

Observational

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10029
        • Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

1 second and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion criteria:

Any Ashkenazi Jewish individual with combined hearing and visual loss that is or may be any type of Usher syndrome, or a family member of said individual.

Exclusion criteria:

Any individual who is not an Ashkenazi Jew or does not have combined hearing and visual loss or whose disease has been previously determined not to be Usher syndrome.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Defined Population

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

March 1, 2001

Primary Completion

December 7, 2022

Study Completion

February 1, 2002

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 7, 2001

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 8, 2001

First Posted (Estimate)

May 9, 2001

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

June 24, 2005

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 23, 2005

Last Verified

November 1, 2003

More Information

Terms related to this study

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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