Clinical Trials

The purpose of this study is to compare the assessment of the composition of the fecal, nasal,oral and skin microbiota in patients with AD (cases) as compared to age/sex and diet matched control children without atopic dermatitis, and to apply mass-spectrometry-based metabolomic approach to analyzing fecal, nasal, oral and skin samples from cases, in order to characterize their biochemical metabolic profiles by comparison with those of their controls.

The purpose of this study is to produce and characterize patient-specific cardiac tissue for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) using reprogrammed cell technology.

The postnatal diagnosis of Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is suggested by a prolonged QT interval on 12 lead electrocardiogram (ECG),a positive family history and/or characteristic arrhythmias and confirmed by genetic testing.  LQTS testing cannot be performed successfully before birth as   fetal ECG is not possible and direct measure of the fetal QT interval by magnetocardiography is limited. Genetic testing can be performed in utero, but there is risk to the pregnancy and the fetus. Although some fetuses present with arrhythmias easily recognized as LQTS (torsade des pointes (TdP) and/or 2° atrioventricular (AV) block, this is uncommon, occurring in <25% of fetal LQTS cases. Rather, the most common presentation of fetal LQTS is sinus bradycardia, a subtle rhythm disturbance that often is unappreciated to be abnormal. Consequently, the majority of LQTS cases are unsuspected and undiagnosed during fetal life, with dire consequences. For example, maternal medications commonly used during pregnancy can prolong the fetal QT interval and may provoke lethal fetal ventricular arrhythmias. But the most significant consequence is the missed opportunity for primary prevention of life threatening ventricular arrhythmias after birth because the infant is not suspected to have LQTS before birth. The over-arching goal of the study is to overcome the barriers to prenatal detection of LQTS. The investigators plan to do so by developing an algorithm using fetal heart rate (FHR) which will discriminate fetuses with or without LQTS. Immediate Goal: The investigators propose a multicenter pre-birth observational cohort study to develop a Fetal Heart Rate (FHR)/Gestational Age (GA) algorithm from a cohort of fetuses recruited from 13 national and international centers where one parent is known by prior genetic testing to have a mutation in one of the common LQTS genes: potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q member 1 (KCNQ1), potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily H member 2 (KCNH2), or sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 5 (SCN5A). The investigators have chosen this population because 1) These mutations are the most common genetic causes of LQTS, and 2) Offspring will have high risk of LQTS as inheritance of these LQTS gene mutations is autosomal dominant. Thus, progeny of parents with a known mutation are at high (50%) risk of having the same parental LQTS mutation. The algorithm will be developed using FHR measured serially throughout pregnancy. All offspring will undergo postnatal genetic testing for the parental mutation as the gold standard for diagnosing the presence or absence of LQTS.

The purposes of this study are to validate noninvasive hemoglobin monitoring in postoperative orthopedic pediatric patients, to evaluate patient, parent, and provider preference of noninvasive hemoglobin monitoring compared to invasive blood draw, and to evaluate cost effectiveness of noninvasive monitoring in comparison to invasive blood draws.

The purpose is to put the information into a very large database, which can then be used to improve patient care and achieve the best health outcomes possible for children with IBD.

This clinical trial is studying long-term follow-up in patients who are or have participated in Children's Oncology Group studies. Developing a way to track patients enrolled in Children's Oncology Group studies will help doctors gather long-term follow-up information and may help the study of cancer in the future.

The purposes of this study are to compare the functional connectivity in adolescent patients with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) both with and without chronic pain, to those with chronic pain alone, to that of healthy controls; to evaluate whether there is a change in functional connectivity following participation in an intensive rehabilitation-oriented program previously demonstrated to have excellent outcomes with regard to functional recovery and symptom control; and to correlate outcomes using standardized symptom and function rating scales to imaging findings.

The aim of this study is to examine the role of mast cell mediators in children with allergic disorders in a two part study. Part 1 of the study will prospectively obtain the values of mast cell mediators, including 2,3 dinor 11β-PGF2α, n-MH, and LTE4 in the urine of a healthy pediatric reference population. Part 2 of the study will prospectively evaluate the urine concentrations of mast cell mediators in a cohort of pediatric allergic disorder patients including asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, eczema, urticaria, systemic anaphylaxis, and mast cell disorders, as well as POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). Comparisons of these values in the disease cohort will be made utilizing the pediatric expected reference intervals established in Part 1. Further analysis will determine if one or several urine mast cell mediators are elevated in a particular allergic disorder.

Aims, purpose, or objectives:

1) Develop hypotheses related to how the human genome and genetic variants affect hearing loss in children and adults.

2) Understand phenotypes of hearing loss on a deeper level by combining and analyzing information from audiometric, genetic, and radiologic data.

3) Explore genetic variants with an unknown significance to develop an understanding of their potential significance and explore other genes may influence an individual's hearing ability.

The purpose of this study is to understand how electrical stimulation of the brain can modulate and suppress interictal epileptiform activity as a step on the path to developing new therapies for epilepsy.