Pharmacological Recruitment of Endogenous Neural Precursors to Promote Pediatric White Matter Repair: Establishing Correlations Between Visual Outcomes, Saccadic Function and MEG Oscillations in Children With Demyelinating Disorders in Comparison to Healthy Control Children

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The neural circuits in our brains require a layer of insulation in order to transmit signals in a rapid and efficient fashion. This insulation is called White Matter and is comprised of a specific type of brain cell called an oligodendrocytes. Damage to brain white matter occurs following injury and in disorders like Multiple Sclerosis and results in sensory, motor, and cognitive problems. Currently there are no effective medical therapies to promote brain repair and reduce disability following damage to white matter. In this project, we hope to change the situation by encouraging the brain itself to generate new oligodendrocytes and thus new white matter. Our first step is to find measures sensitive to white matter growth.

Official Title
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Pharmacological Recruitment of Endogenous Neural Precursors to Promote Pediatric White Matter Repair: Establishing Correlations Between Visual Outcomes, Saccadic Function and MEG Oscillations in Children With Demyelinating Disorders in Comparison to Healthy Control Children

Conditions
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Demyelinating Disease

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Experienced a demyelinating event (Only applicable to patient subjects) Between the ages of 5 years to 18 years and 11 months of age Has either English as his or her native language or has had at least two years of schooling in English Exclusion Criteria: Children with non-demyelinating etiologies of white matter dysfunction (i.e., metabolic disorders, vasculitis, and non-specific MRI abnormalities Is younger than 5 years of age Is 18 years and 11 of age or older Has a prior history of traumatic brain injury, neurological disorder, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, or learning disability Requires sedation for brain scanning Is claustrophobic, as brain scanning requires children to enter a tunnel in the MRI machine

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 5 Years
Maximum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| 40 Demyelinating Disease patients<br> | |
| 40 Non-patient participants<br> | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Neuronal responses during pro/anti-saccade eye movements | Video-based eye tracking monocularly in the MEG and binocularly outside the MEG | 60 minutes | 
| Electrical potentials initiated by brief visual stimuli | Visual Evoked Potentials (VEP) | 10 minutes | 
| MRI scans of the brain, including Diffusion Tensor Imagine (DTI) |  | 90 minutes | 
| Neurocognitive Testing | Computerized Penn Neurocognitive Battery | 90 minutes | 
| High contrast visual acuity |  | 10 minutes | 
| Low contrast visual acuity; colour vision; visual fields testing; OCT testing; |  | 10 minutes | 
| Colour vision testing |  | 10 minutes | 
| Visual fields testing |  | 20 minutes | 
| Optical coherence tomography (OCT) |  | 25 minutes | 
| Neurological Exam - Standard physical exam performed by neurologist to determine the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score. |  | 20 minutes | 
| Clinical Interview |  | 10 minutes |