Children Clinical Trials

Researchers are looking for a better way to treat children who have chronic kidney disease (CKD), which is long-term kidney disease, and proteinuria, a condition in which a person´s kidneys leak protein into the urine. The kidneys filter waste and fluid from the blood to form urine. In children with CKD, the kidney´s filters do not work as well as they should. This can lead to accumulation of waste and fluid in the body and proteinuria. CKD can lead to other medical problems, such as high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Vice versa, hypertension and proteinuria can also contribute to worsening of CKD. Therefore, the treatment of CKD aims to control blood pressure and proteinuria. There are treatments available for doctors to prescribe to children with CKD and hypertension and/or proteinuria. These include "angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors" (ACEI) and "angiotensin receptor blockers" (ARB). Both ACEI and ARB can help improve kidney function by reducing the activity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS). The RAAS is a system that works with the kidneys to control blood pressure and the balance of fluid and electrolytes in the blood. In people with CKD, the RAAS is often too active, which can impair the ability of the kidneys to work properly and cause hypertension and proteinuria. However, ACEI or ARB treatment alone does not work for all patients with CKD as they only target the angiotensin part of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. The study treatment, finerenone, is expected to help control RAAS overactivation together with an ACEI or ARB. So, the researchers in this study want to learn more about whether finerenone given in addition to either an ACEI or ARB can help their kidney function. The main purpose of this study is to learn how safe the treatment is when used of finerenone in addition to an ACEI or ARB in long-term. To see how safe the treatment is, the study team will collect information on medical problems which are also known as "treatment emergent adverse events" (TEAEs). And they will also collect levels of an electrolyte called potassium in the blood by taking blood samples, and measure blood pressure during the study. The secondary purpose of this study is to learn how well long-term use of finerenone can reduce the amount of protein in the participants' urine and benefit kidney function when taken with standard of care. To see how the treatment works, the study team will collect participants' urine samples to assess urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) and urinary protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPCR), which are important assessments for calculating the level of protein in the urine. Researchers will also collect blood samples to analyze serum creatinine and calculate estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). A significant decline in eGFR indicates worsening kidney function. The study will include participants who had previously participated in FIONA study (NCT05196035). The participants will be aged from 1 year up to 18 years. The participants will be in the study for approximately 19 months. They will take study treatment for up to 18 months and will be follow up for 1 month. During this period, at least 12 visits are planned for patients who newly start finerenone, and at least 8 visits for patients who already received finerenone. In the visit, the study team will: have their blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, height and weight measured have blood and urine samples taken have physical examinations have their heart examined by an electrocardiogram and echocardiography (a sonogram of the heart) answer questions about their medication and whether they have any adverse events, or have their parents or guardian's answer answer questions about how they are feeling, or have their parents or guardian's answer answer question about how they like the study medication, or have their parents or guardian's answer The doctors will keep track of any adverse events. An adverse event is any medical problem that a participant has during a study. Doctors keep track of all adverse events that happen in studies, even if they do not think the adverse events might be related to the study treatments. The doctors will check the participants' health about 30 days after the participants take their last treatment. Read Less

Background: - Two ways to study the brain while people are moving are near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG). NIRS uses light to look at blood flow in the brain when it is active. EEG records electrical activity in the brain. Both have been used safely for many years, even in very young children. NIRS or EEG can be used while a person is moving to show which parts of the brain are the most active. Researchers want to use NIRS and EEG to study brain activity during movement in people with cerebral palsy and healthy volunteers. Learning more about how people with and without cerebral palsy use their brain to control their muscles may lead to new ways of training people with cerebral palsy to move better. Objectives: - To study how the brain controls body movement in people with and without cerebral palsy. Eligibility: Individuals at least 5 years of age who have cerebral palsy. Healthy volunteers at least 5 years of age. Design: This study has three parts. People with cerebral palsy will be selected for all three. Healthy volunteers will be asked to do only two of them. Everyone who participates will have NIRS and/or EEG exams during movement. People with cerebral palsy may also have biofeedback sessions to train coordination of movement and brain activity. Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical history. Urine samples may be collected. All participants will have at least one session of NIRS and/or EEG imaging studies. Sessions may also include the following tests: Magnetic resonance imaging to look at the brain Electromyography to measure electrical activity of the muscles Motion analysis of specific body parts Ultrasound to measure activity of the muscles Motorized, robotic, and electrical stimulation of the muscles Other clinical tests of muscle movement as needed. Participants with cerebral palsy will have biofeedback sessions. These sessions will help them learn to coordinate muscle movement and brain activity. Read Less

Researchers are looking for a better way to help children under the age of 18 with any known or suspected problems scheduled for a "contrast-enhanced" Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). MRI is used by doctors to create detailed images of the inside of the body to identify health problems. Sometimes doctors need to inject a contrast agent into a patient's vein to perform a "contrast-enhanced" MRI (CE-MRI). Such CE-MRI examinations may support doctors to identify certain health problems or improve their evaluation. The contrast agents commonly used in MRI are gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs). GBCAs contain a "rare earth" element called gadolinium (Gd), which is needed for the increase in signal intensity and contrast in MRI. The gadolinium in these contrast agents is caged in a molecule (chelate complex). Researchers are developing new contrast agents with a lower amount of Gd needed per CE-MRI investigation. Gadoquatrane is one of these new contrast agents. It has been tested in several studies previously. The main purpose of this study is to learn how gadoquatrane moves into, through, and out of the body and how safe it is in children. The researchers will measure the amount of gadoquatrane in the blood at different time points after a single injection. The participants will undergo an MRI examination and receive gadoquatrane once at a dose of 0.04 mmol Gd/kg (corresponding to 0.1 mL/kg). It is injected into the participant's vein (also called an intravenous injection) during the MRI examination. Each participant will be in the study for between 8 and 38 days with up to 5 doctor visits, including the screening phase of up to 28 days with no more than 2 visits. Once a participant has received the injection of gadoquatrane, the remaining study duration is 7 (±1) days. At the start or during the study, the doctors and their study team will: check the weight and height of the participant, ask for information including age and medical history, take participants' blood samples, ask participants and/or their guardians questions about medicines they are taking, check blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature, check the area where the participants had the intravenous injection, do pregnancy tests in girls of childbearing age, review the MRI scans obtained in the study and decide on the diagnosis ask the participants questions about how they are feeling and what adverse events they are having. An adverse event is any medical problem that a participant has during a study. Doctors keep track of all adverse events, irrespective if they think it is related or not to the study treatments. Read Less

Compare physical activity and cognitive functions between children having cardiac surgery with an age-matched group of children undergoing non-cardiac surgery, as well as otherwise healthy siblings or best buddies (or age and gender-matched children if no siblings or best buddies available) before surgery and after surgery or six months following initial assessment. Determine the effects of a structured physical activity program for 6 months following surgery on cognitive functions and adaptive behavior in children following congenital cardiac surgery. Determine the effects of a structured physical activity program for 12 months following surgery on cognitive functions and adaptive behavior in children following congenital cardiac surgery. We will perform exploratory analysis to determine whether any effects of a 12-months structured physical activity program on cognitive functions and adaptive behavior persist beyond 12 months after cessation of the program. Read Less

The Study is designed to collect information about adverse events that occur in children undergoing anesthesia in participating hospitals. Demographic information will be collected on all anesthetics. An analysis of each adverse event will be performed and entered into the database. From this information we will devise strategies to prevent these adverse events. Read Less

Compare the effect of a single exposure to a therapy dog and handler within the pediatric emergency department patient with anxiety by measuring the change in patient perception of anxiety before and after dog exposure using the FACES scale. We will also measure galvanic skin response (resistance to electrical current). Read Less