Childhood Autism Risks From Genetics and the Environment (The CHARGE Study)
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|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00106652|
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : March 29, 2005
Last Update Posted : September 25, 2017
|Condition or disease|
|Autism Developmental Disabilities|
The causes and contributing factors for autism are poorly understood. Evidence suggests that incidence is increasing, but diagnostic changes and improvements may be playing a role. Both genetic and environmental factors appear to play a role. Autopsy studies demonstrate structural changes in the brain and clinical investigations reveal neurophysiologic differences in information processing in autistic versus normal children. Members of our team recently demonstrated altered levels of certain neuropeptides at birth in children who later developed autism.
This case-control study is the first large-scale epidemiologic investigation of underlying causes for autism and triggers of regression. This study capitalizes on the strengths of the case-control design, which is well suited to examine a broad array of factors for rare conditions that are thought to be multifactorial. Comparisons will be made with both general population controls and mentally retarded children.
The aims are to assess the influence of exogenous exposures, the role of susceptibility factors, and the interplay between these two in the etiology of autism and its phenotypic variation. Chemicals with known or suspected neurodevelopmental toxicity, such as PCB's, certain pesticides, and metals, are being investigated. This study pursues several hypotheses that have recently gained attention, including the combined measles, mumps, rubella vaccine and mercury present in vaccines given during infancy and early childhood. Additionally, biochemical susceptibility is examined through characterization of metabolic, immunologic, and neuronal gene expression profiles and genetic polymorphisms.
|Study Type :||Observational|
|Estimated Enrollment :||2000 participants|
|Official Title:||Environmental Factors in the Etiology of Autism|
|Study Start Date :||September 2001|
|Actual Primary Completion Date :||September 2017|
|Actual Study Completion Date :||September 2017|
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00106652
|United States, California|
|University of California|
|Davis, California, United States, 95616|
|Principal Investigator:||Isaac N. Pessah, Ph.D.||University of California, Davis|
|Study Director:||Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Ph.D.||University of California, Davis|