New Clinical Trial: Treatment of Rett Syndrome With rhIGF-1 (Mecasermin [rDNA]Injection)

Purpose

The investigators are recruiting children for a research study using a medication known as IGF-1 (mecasermin or INCRELEX) to see if it improves the health of children with Rett syndrome (RTT). To participate in the study your child must be female, between the ages of 2 to 12 and have a genetic diagnosis (MECP2 deletion or mutation) of Rett Syndrome. As you may know, there is no treatment for this illness. Currently, the standard management of Rett syndrome is supportive, which means attempting to prevent complications and treatment of symptoms.

This study involves testing an investigational drug, which means that even though IGF-1 is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in children, it has not been used before to treat Rett syndrome specifically. Information from this research will help determine whether the drug should be approved by the FDA in the future for the treatment of Rett Syndrome.

There are three goals to this study:

1. As one of the features of Rett Syndrome is unstable vital signs, the investigators are trying to determine if IGF-1 has any effect on normalizing your child's pulse, blood pressure and breathing pattern. During PHASE 2, a device called BioRadio® will be used to monitor vital signs in a non-invasive way. This information will be recorded and stored on the accompanying laptop. Before starting PHASE 2, the investigators would like to "beta-test" the BioRadio® in PHASE 1. As such, the investigators may ask you to try using the BioRadio® with your child to test the fit and the performance of the equipment. Should you choose to enroll your child in PHASE 2, the investigators will then ask that your child wear the BioRadio® for two hours, on two consecutive days every four weeks.
2. The safety of IGF-1 in children with Rett syndrome. The study personnel will ask you to complete a medication diary and side effect reporting form on a regular basis. They will assist you in completing this by telephone interviews. Your child will undergo 2 lumbar punctures performed at the bedside in the clinical research facility. In addition, laboratory tests will be performed throughout the study to evaluate the safety of IGF-1. These will be blood tests similar to those provided in routine clinical care. Your child will undergo regular non-invasive comprehensive physical examinations including neurological and eye examination, tonsil evaluation, electrocardiograms (ECG), measurement of height, weight and head circumference.
3. IGF-1 may improve your child's behavior, communication and speech. In order to measure this, the investigators will evaluate your child once during each month of treatment with neurodevelopmental assessments and a neurological exam. All of the tests used during these evaluations are non-invasive. the investigators will also ask you what your impressions are about her behavior and day-to-day activities through a structured parental interview and various questionnaires.

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Source: Clinicaltrials.gov