Clinical Research Directory

Gene Discovery Core, The Manton Center

The Gene Discovery Core at The Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research based at Boston Children's Hospital studies families with rare, poorly understood or undiagnosed, but suspected genetic conditions. The primary goal of the research is to better understand the genes and proteins (gene products) involved in rare diseases. The researchers hope that our studies will allow for improved diagnosis and treatment of individuals with rare disease in the future. Individuals with any rare/undiagnosed condition are eligible to enroll. Enrollment includes: * Providing DNA and tissue samples (when available) * Access to participants' medical records * Access to genomic data (when available) Samples are used for genetic analysis (primarily exome and genome sequencing or reanalysis) to identify the genetic cause for the individual's illness. Individual research results are returned to families through their health care provider after confirmation in a clinical lab. If a cause is identified, that can be reported back to the family through their health care provider and the study's genetic counselor. When possible, the investigators also collect samples from parents and full-siblings as well as any other affected family members.

Automatic Phenotyping of Patients on 2D Photography

The field of artificial intelligence is booming in medicine and in the field of diagnosis. The data can be varied: x-rays, pathology sections, or photographs. It is considered that 30 to 40% of the 7000 rare diseases described to date cause craniofacial dysmorphia. Their detection sometimes requires the trained eye of a geneticist, because certain phenotypic traits are subtle. These diagnostic difficulties and the fact that certain diseases are extremely uncommon lead to considerable diagnostic delays

Education & Care in RARE: Efficacy of Targeted Psychoeducational Intervention Among Pediatric Rare Disease Patients

"Rare Diseases" is an umbrella term including more than 8.000 different diseases which individually affect only a small percentage of people. Rare diseases predominantly affect children and adolescents and are associated with high medical and psychosocial burden of disease. The investigators invented Education \& Care in RARE - a short-term, structured, resource-oriented and child-friendly psychoeducation program for children and adolescents with rare diseases. This study is a prospective, multicenter, randomized and controlled study with a waiting list. Aim of the study is to investigate the efficacy of Education \& Care in RARE on knowledge about rare diseases and on mental health well-being in pediatric rare disease patients, compared to a control group. In this study participants are randomized in an intervention group and a waiting list control group. Both study groups thus receive the psychoeducation with Education \& Care in RARE and complete the identical questionnaires. Compared to the Intervention group, the waiting list control group receives the intervention with a time delay (8-12 weeks later) and has one additional appointment for questionnaire evaluation before start of the psychoeducation.