Studies of Autistic Patients: Gene Networks and Clinical Subtypes

December 14, 2019 updated by: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Background:

  • Researchers who are studying autism spectrum disorders are interested in developing a collection of research samples from both children with autism and healthy individuals, some of whom may be related to the children with autism.
  • The genetic condition tuberous sclerosis, which can cause the growth of benign tumors in the brain and other parts of the body, is also linked with autism. Researchers have been able to determine the specific genetic mutations involved in tuberous sclerosis, and as a result are interested in studying the genetic information of children who have both tuberous sclerosis and autism, as well as tuberous sclerosis without autism.

Objectives:

- To develop a collection of DNA samples from blood and skin samples taken from children with autism and/or tuberous sclerosis, as well as healthy volunteers.

Eligibility:

  • Children between 4 to 18 years of age who have autism and/or tuberous sclerosis, or are healthy volunteers.
  • Some of the healthy volunteers will be siblings of children with autism.

Design:

  • Participants will be screened with a medical history and a physical examination, and may also have a genetic evaluation.
  • Participants will provide a blood sample and a skin biopsy for further study.
  • No treatment will be provided as part of this protocol.

Study Overview

Status

Terminated

Conditions

Detailed Description

The aim of this protocol is to provide further elucidation of the clinical phenotype of autism, and second to characterize a potential cellular phenotype through the re-programming of fibroblasts into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). The scope of autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) is defined by its behavioral symptoms, encompassing a group of conditions that includes Asperger disorder, autism and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD). The clinical presentation of each of these diagnostic groups differs slightly, but all share three common features: deficits in social reciprocity, delays or deficits in communication (both verbal and non-verbal) and presence of repetitive behaviors and fixated interests. These symptoms are most pronounced in the autism group, so they will serve as the subjects for this pilot investigation. Individual differences in behavioral symptoms, genetic abnormalities, medical comorbidities and other risk factors will be assessed. These approaches will be coupled with computational approaches to identify neural networks by analysis of gene association study data, and analysis of gene databases to relate the diagnostic criteria of autism by unbiased analysis of the ontology of genes relevant to CNS function.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

11

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

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike

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

4 years to 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:

Autism Groups:

Meeting criteria for a diagnosis of autism, based on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, as well as clinical judgment.

Health Sibling and Typically Developing Group: Within 1.5 standard deviations from the mean on the cognitive test performed, and lower than the cutoff scores on the Autism Diagnostic Interview and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, and not meeting criteria for any psychiatric disorder on interviews or questionnaires.

Tuberous Sclerosis Groups: Confirmed diagnosis of Tuberous Sclerosis

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

Autism Groups:

Non-idiopathic autism (e.g. previously identified genetic abnormality associated with autism in that individual)

Typically Developing Group:

History of receiving a diagnosis or services for psychiatric or significant learning issues

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

  • Time Perspectives: Retrospective

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Owen M Rennert, M.D., Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

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.

General Publications

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 17, 2010

Study Completion

September 24, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 23, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 23, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

March 24, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

December 17, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 14, 2019

Last Verified

September 24, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 100084
  • 10-CH-0084

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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