Gene-Environment Interactions in an Autism Cohort (ABC-study)

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health, is looking for individuals to participate in clinical studies.  Participating in clinical trials allows you to play an active role in research on the nature and causes of many disorders of the brain and nervous system, and to possibly help physician-scientists develop future treatments.  The information below is designed to help you quickly learn about actively recruiting research studies for which you or someone you know may be eligible.

Description:

The purpose of this study is to investigate the causes of autism and to study how autism spectrum disorders develop in children.

Although autism is one of the most highly genetic mental disorders, there is evidence that environmental exposures may contribute to disease.  Currently there are no biomarkers with which to screen for disease or to identify those at risk for disease.

Through the ABC study, researchers will have a unique opportunity to use the enormous amount of questionnaire data and biological material collected by the 108,000 child Norwegian Mother and Child Study, in which a large number of Norwegian families contribute voluntarily.  All participants in the study will be recruited in Norway, and all clinical assessments will take place there.  The ABC study also will collect data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway in Bergen, which collects an extensive amount of medical data related to all pregnancies and births in Norway. 

Participants will go through a thorough one-day assessment in the ABC-clinic in Oslo which will consist of various tests of development and play, interviews with parents, a medical examination and a final session with a child psychologist or child psychiatrist. Questionnaire data and samples collected from the mother during pregnancy, the father and the child will allow investigators in Norway and at Columbia University to identify risk factors for disease, establish diagnostic tests and develop hypotheses that could lead to new methods for prevention and treatment of autism and related disorders.

Phase: 

Eligibility Criteria:

Inclusion:

• Must be part of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort (MoBa).
• Must be at least 36.5 months old.

Study Design: 

Study Locations: 

For more information:

Contact:  Afia Genfi, Project Coordinator, Columbia University, apg2127@columbia.edu, (212) 342-9031; or ABC Coordinator, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, abc@fhi.no, (+47) 2107 8154.

Visit:  http://bit.ly/abc-study

Last Reviewed November 9, 2012