Network Of Clinical Research Studies On Craniosynostosis, Skull Malformations With Premature Fusion Of Skull Bones
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03025763 |
Recruitment Status :
Recruiting
First Posted : January 20, 2017
Last Update Posted : July 7, 2022
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Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment |
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Craniosynostosis | Other: Craniosynostosis Network Environmental Survey Other: 2D/3D Photography Procedure: Buccal Swab Cell Sampling Procedure: Blood sampling Procedure: Skin Biopsy Procedure: Tissues from a Clinically Indicated Procedure Procedure: Pre-operative CT Scan Image Files. |
The long-term goal of the Program Project, Craniosynostosis Network, is to elucidate normal and abnormal craniofacial biology to ultimately improve the treatment of craniofacial disorders. Craniosynostosis and other skull abnormalities are among the most common human malformations usually requiring surgical and medical intervention. The Network will integrate three projects and two cores. Scientists with diverse expertise including anthropology, morphometry, imaging, birth defects, developmental biology, genetics, genomics, epidemiology, statistics, and systems biology will explore the determinants of the fate of the relevant mesenchymal progenitor cells, abnormalities in osteogenesis that contribute to global skull growth abnormality and premature closure of cranial sutures, especially the coronal suture. High quality genomic data will be obtained from patients with coronal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis (cNSC) and their available parents. Novel genome-wide variant-, gene- and network-level analyses will be performed on these families to identify novel variants and genetic regions associated with coronal craniosynostosis.
This study is a multi-center, open-enrollment, retrospective study, employing both family-based and case-control study designs.
Approximately 4000 cNSC patients, their family members, and controls will be recruited by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the majority will be recruited from the more than 10 collaborating institutions worldwide.
Study Type : | Observational |
Estimated Enrollment : | 4000 participants |
Observational Model: | Other |
Time Perspective: | Other |
Official Title: | Craniosynostosis Network |
Actual Study Start Date : | November 25, 2014 |
Estimated Primary Completion Date : | January 31, 2027 |
Estimated Study Completion Date : | January 31, 2027 |

Group/Cohort | Intervention/treatment |
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Coronal Nonsyndromic Craniosynostosis, trios
Participants with diagnosis of coronal, nonsyndromic craniosynostosis including affected and unaffected biological parents
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Other: Craniosynostosis Network Environmental Survey
Questionnaire is administered to the mothers of affected participants regarding medical history and environmental exposures during pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal period. Optional. Other: 2D/3D Photography Full frontal and lateral face and other parts of the body may be taken for dysmorphic assessment. There is the risk of identification and loss of confidentiality. Optional. Procedure: Buccal Swab Cell Sampling One or more swabs, like a Q-tip (for children), or saliva collection kit (for adults) will be used to collect buccal cells. With a swab, they will brush the inside of the mouth several times. With saliva collection kit, they will collect their saliva by spitting into a container several times using a commercially available saliva collection kit. Required. Procedure: Blood sampling Venipuncture so that one teaspoon to tablespoons (1-20 ml.) of blood is collected. The volume drawn will be dependent on the age and size of the child. Minimal amounts may be required for DNA, but to establish a lymphoblastoid or iPS cell line at least 3 to 10 ml will be required independent of age. In the case of an infant, if 3 to 10 ml cannot be obtained, then a lymphoblastoid or iPS cell line will not be created. Optional. Procedure: Skin Biopsy For those who do not undergo surgery or the skin removal is not considered part of the surgical procedure. After proper cleaning, a piece of skin the size of a pencil eraser (about 4 mm or 1/8 inch in diameter) will be removed (using a circular blade or scalpel) from the arm (inside of arm or forearm in a spot that is as unnoticeable as possible). This area will be covered with a Band-Aid. No stitches are usually required. A crust will form and eventually fall off. Optional. Procedure: Tissues from a Clinically Indicated Procedure In some instances when there is discarded tissues and specimens (including skin and bone at the time of reconstructive craniofacial surgery), they will be collected by making arrangements with their physicians. Some of these tissues will be used to generate cell lines. Optional. Procedure: Pre-operative CT Scan Image Files. Optional for those who had a previous CT scan for a prior traumatic event. |
Coronal, nonsyndromic craniosynostosis
Participants with coronal, nonsyndromic craniosynostosis when biological parents are not available
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Other: Craniosynostosis Network Environmental Survey
Questionnaire is administered to the mothers of affected participants regarding medical history and environmental exposures during pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal period. Optional. Other: 2D/3D Photography Full frontal and lateral face and other parts of the body may be taken for dysmorphic assessment. There is the risk of identification and loss of confidentiality. Optional. Procedure: Buccal Swab Cell Sampling One or more swabs, like a Q-tip (for children), or saliva collection kit (for adults) will be used to collect buccal cells. With a swab, they will brush the inside of the mouth several times. With saliva collection kit, they will collect their saliva by spitting into a container several times using a commercially available saliva collection kit. Required. Procedure: Blood sampling Venipuncture so that one teaspoon to tablespoons (1-20 ml.) of blood is collected. The volume drawn will be dependent on the age and size of the child. Minimal amounts may be required for DNA, but to establish a lymphoblastoid or iPS cell line at least 3 to 10 ml will be required independent of age. In the case of an infant, if 3 to 10 ml cannot be obtained, then a lymphoblastoid or iPS cell line will not be created. Optional. Procedure: Skin Biopsy For those who do not undergo surgery or the skin removal is not considered part of the surgical procedure. After proper cleaning, a piece of skin the size of a pencil eraser (about 4 mm or 1/8 inch in diameter) will be removed (using a circular blade or scalpel) from the arm (inside of arm or forearm in a spot that is as unnoticeable as possible). This area will be covered with a Band-Aid. No stitches are usually required. A crust will form and eventually fall off. Optional. Procedure: Tissues from a Clinically Indicated Procedure In some instances when there is discarded tissues and specimens (including skin and bone at the time of reconstructive craniofacial surgery), they will be collected by making arrangements with their physicians. Some of these tissues will be used to generate cell lines. Optional. Procedure: Pre-operative CT Scan Image Files. Optional for those who had a previous CT scan for a prior traumatic event. |
Unaffected controls
Unaffected controls who may have undergone clinically indicated craniofacial surgery for trauma or conditions other than craniosynostosis or bone disease
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Other: Craniosynostosis Network Environmental Survey
Questionnaire is administered to the mothers of affected participants regarding medical history and environmental exposures during pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal period. Optional. Other: 2D/3D Photography Full frontal and lateral face and other parts of the body may be taken for dysmorphic assessment. There is the risk of identification and loss of confidentiality. Optional. Procedure: Buccal Swab Cell Sampling One or more swabs, like a Q-tip (for children), or saliva collection kit (for adults) will be used to collect buccal cells. With a swab, they will brush the inside of the mouth several times. With saliva collection kit, they will collect their saliva by spitting into a container several times using a commercially available saliva collection kit. Required. Procedure: Blood sampling Venipuncture so that one teaspoon to tablespoons (1-20 ml.) of blood is collected. The volume drawn will be dependent on the age and size of the child. Minimal amounts may be required for DNA, but to establish a lymphoblastoid or iPS cell line at least 3 to 10 ml will be required independent of age. In the case of an infant, if 3 to 10 ml cannot be obtained, then a lymphoblastoid or iPS cell line will not be created. Optional. Procedure: Skin Biopsy For those who do not undergo surgery or the skin removal is not considered part of the surgical procedure. After proper cleaning, a piece of skin the size of a pencil eraser (about 4 mm or 1/8 inch in diameter) will be removed (using a circular blade or scalpel) from the arm (inside of arm or forearm in a spot that is as unnoticeable as possible). This area will be covered with a Band-Aid. No stitches are usually required. A crust will form and eventually fall off. Optional. Procedure: Tissues from a Clinically Indicated Procedure In some instances when there is discarded tissues and specimens (including skin and bone at the time of reconstructive craniofacial surgery), they will be collected by making arrangements with their physicians. Some of these tissues will be used to generate cell lines. Optional. Procedure: Pre-operative CT Scan Image Files. Optional for those who had a previous CT scan for a prior traumatic event. |
- Phenotype-genotype gene expression correlations [ Time Frame: up to 5 years ]Phenotype-genotype-gene expression correlations among cohorts of cases of coronal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis and genotype-gene expression correlations among controls will be analyzed and compared.
- Incidence of gene mutations [ Time Frame: up to 5 years ]gene mutations and variants may be found that are significantly associated with coronal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis
Biospecimen Retention: Samples With DNA

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
Ages Eligible for Study: | up to 80 Years (Child, Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | Yes |
Sampling Method: | Non-Probability Sample |
Inclusion Criteria:
- Cases with diagnosis of coronal
- Unaffected relatives of cases
- Unaffected controls including those who may have undergone clinically indicated craniofacial surgery for trauma or conditions other than craniosynostosis or bone disease. These individuals will be recruited at some of the other collaborating institutions, but not at Mount Sinai.
Individuals of any racial or ethnic group with the established or suspected clinical diagnosis of coronal, nonsyndromic craniosynostosis will be included in this study. Unaffected relatives, such as their biological parents and/or sibs, will also be included to contribute medical information and samples as negative controls for our study.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Those who fit the criteria, but who choose not to participate
- Those who do not meet the criteria.
- Other than children, no vulnerable individuals will be recruited, such as intellectual impaired individuals or prisoners.

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): NCT03025763
Contact: Ethylin Wang Jabs, MD | 212-241-3504 | ethylin.jabs@mssm.edu |

Principal Investigator: | Ethylin Wang Jabs, MD | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | |
Principal Investigator: | Inga Peter, PhD | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai |
Publications:
Responsible Party: | Ethylin Wang Jabs, Professor, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT03025763 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
GCO 13-0147 P01HD078233 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract ) |
First Posted: | January 20, 2017 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | July 7, 2022 |
Last Verified: | July 2022 |
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement: | |
Plan to Share IPD: | Yes |
Plan Description: | Clinical results from chromosomal analysis and DNA mutation analysis performed in CLIA approved laboratories with standard clinical genetic counseling will be given to the patient upon request. Individual research results will be made available to the individual from the PI or their primary care physician (PCP) who has obtained preliminary results from the PI from our non-CLIA laboratory, as long as the PCP can confirm and validate the lab results through a CLIA approved lab before the results are given to the subjects. |
Craniosynostosis Bone Birth Defect Congenital Anomaly Malformation Genetics Genomics |
Skull Human Mouse Imaging Cell Biology Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells System Biology |
Craniosynostoses Synostosis Dysostoses Bone Diseases, Developmental Bone Diseases |
Musculoskeletal Diseases Craniofacial Abnormalities Musculoskeletal Abnormalities Congenital Abnormalities |