Clinical Research Directory

Exploring Bulbar Function, Speech And Communication Development in SMA Type 1

5q-spinal muscular atrophy (5q-SMA) is a rare, autosomal recessive neuromuscular disease characterized by degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord and lower brainstem with progressive muscle atrophy, weakness, and paralysis. The incidence is 1 in 7-10,000 live births. 5q-SMA presents a wide range of phenotypes that are classified into five clinical groups depending on age of onset and maximum motor milestone achieved. SMA type 1 presents shortly after birth and before six months of age with inability to achieve independent sitting and limited life expectancy due to respiratory complications (high mortality rate by 2 years of age). In addition to the severe gross-motor and respiratory impairment, bulbar weakness and dysfunction represent an obstacle to the development of verbal skills in these patients. To date, very little is known about these functions in children with SMA 1. With the increasing number of long-term SMA 1 survivors worldwide thanks to the availability of new pharmacological treatments, it has become obvious that treated children show new phenotypes, presenting changes not only in motor and respiratory function, but also in other domains, including bulbar function, speech and communication development. We aim to investigate the evolution of bulbar function and speech/communication development in children with SMA type 1 treated with approved disease-modifying therapies through validate scales and questionnaires for the paediatric population. Additional neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies will be offered on an optional basis to further investigate the underlying brain electrical activity, and brain structural and functional organization. The information gathered would promote the definition of additional outcome measures capturing improvement at these levels. A better understanding of the development of these areas would help to plan SMA 1- tailored supportive programs provided by speech and language therapists, thus enhancing the current recommendations for management in SMA.

Sleep Spindles Organization as an Early Neural Marker of Neuromotor Outcome

The goal of this observational study is to test the effectiveness of quantitative early biomarkers in the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG), namely sleep spindles, as predictors of early sensorimotor maturation and long-term motor outcome. Spindles are discrete events, prominent over sensorimotor areas, that reflect motor learning overnight consolidation. They represent a potential marker for the investigation of altered early sensorimotor reorganization and long-term motor outcomes in the case of neuromotor pathologies. To test this hypothesis, we will validate the prognostic accuracy of a semi-automated EEG sleep-spindles analysis in two clinical populations: 1) infants with a perinatal brain lesion, at risk of Cerebral Palsy (CP), 2) infants with Spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA1), a neuromuscular disease detectable at birth with variable response to early pharmacological treatment. A group of typically developing infants (at very low neurological risk) will be enrolled in the study as control group. All participants will undergo two sleep EEG recordings at 2-5 months (T1) and 12 months (T2), respectively. Short-term neuromotor outcome will be evaluated at T1 and T2, through standard and validated assessment. Long-term neuromotor development will be defined at 18 months (T3; i.e. CP vs NO CP; SMA treatment responders vs No responders). Primary clinical and motor outcomes will be used for estimating the effectiveness of spindles' features at T1 and T2 as predictors of later clinical and motor outcomes at T3. EEG sleep features will be considered both cross-sectionally, at each time point (T1, and T2), and from a longitudinal perspective. Differences in the EEG sleep-spindle features will be evaluated within- and between-groups.