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Research enriching the lives of girls with Rett syndromeA program developed by The Kids Research Institute Australia researcher Dr Jenny Downs has led to dramatic improvements in the functioning of Chinese children with Rett syndrome, and could change the world.
Research
Effects of ganaxolone on non-seizure outcomes in CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder: Double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trialCDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) is a rare developmental and epileptic encephalopathy. Ganaxolone, a neuroactive steroid, reduces the frequency of major motor seizures in children with CDD. This analysis explored the effect of ganaxolone on non-seizure outcomes.
Research
Patient-advocate-led global coalition adapting fit-for-purpose outcomes measures to assure meaningful inclusion of DEEs in clinical trialsExisting clinical tools that measure non-seizure outcomes lack the range and granularity needed to capture skills in developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE)-affected individuals who also fall in the severe to profound range of intellectual disability. This effectively excludes those with severe impairments from clinical trials, impeding the ability of sponsors to evaluate disease-modifying therapies.
Research
Psychometric evaluation of clinician- and caregiver-reported clinical severity assessments for individuals with CDKL5 deficiency disorderThe CDKL5 Clinical Severity Assessment is a comprehensive, content-validated measurement tool capturing the diverse challenges of cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 deficiency disorder, a genetically caused developmental epileptic encephalopathy. The CCSA is divided into clinician-reported and caregiver-reported assessments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the factor structure of these measures through confirmatory factor analysis and evaluate their validity and reliability.
Research
International workshop: what is needed to ensure outcome measures for Rett syndrome are fit-for-purpose for clinical trials? June 7, 2023, Nashville, USAThe clinical, research and advocacy communities for Rett syndrome are striving to achieve clinical trial readiness, including having fit-for-purpose clinical outcome assessments. This study aimed to (1) describe psychometric properties of clinical outcome assessment for Rett syndrome and (2) identify what is needed to ensure that fit-for-purpose clinical outcome assessments are available for clinical trials.
Research
Italian Version of QI-Disability for QoL Evaluation in Children and Adolescents with Intellectual Disability: Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation ProcessChildren and adolescents with Intellectual Disability experience a worse Quality-of-Life (QoL) relative to typically developing peers. Thus, QoL evaluation is important for identifying support needs and improving rehabilitation effectiveness. Nevertheless, currently in Italy there are not tools with this scope. This study aims to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Quality-of-Life Inventory-Disability into Italian.
Research
Use of privacy-preserving record linkage to examine the dispensing of pharmaceutical benefits scheme medicines to pregnant women in Western AustraliaMedications are commonly used during pregnancy to manage pre-existing conditions and conditions that arise during pregnancy. However, not all medications are safe to use in pregnancy. This study utilized privacy-preserving record linkage (PPRL) to examine medications dispensed under the national Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to pregnant women in Western Australia (WA) overall and by medication safety category.
Research
Cause-Specific Secular Trends and Prevention Measures of Post-Neonatally Acquired Cerebral Palsy in Victoria and Western Australia 1975–2014: A Population-Based Observational StudyTo describe the timing and causes of post-neonatally acquired cerebral palsy (PNN-CP) and map the implementation of relevant preventive strategies against cause-specific temporal trends in prevalence.
Research
Communication of individuals with CDKL5 deficiency disorder as observed by caregivers: A descriptive qualitative studyCDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) is a genetically caused developmental epileptic encephalopathy that causes severe communication impairments. Communication of individuals with CDD is not well understood in the literature and currently available measures are not well validated in this population. Accurate and sensitive measurement of the communication of individuals with CDD is important for understanding this condition, clinical practice, and upcoming interventional trials.
Research
Devising a Missing Data Rule for a Quality of Life Questionnaire - A Simulation StudyThe aim of this study was to devise an evidence-based missing data rule for the Quality of Life Inventory-Disability (QI-Disability) questionnaire specifying how many missing items are permissible for domain and total scores to be calculated using simple imputation.