PROBIt_RetroKids_Version1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
PROBIt: Identifying Predictors of Risk and Resilience for poor neuropsychological Outcome following childhood Brain InsulTs – Retrospective Children
IRAS ID
233424
Contact name
Amanda G Wood
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Aston University
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 5 months, 2 days
Research summary
The impact of insults to the developing brain upon cognition and behavior has far-reaching consequences for the child, their family, education and healthcare systems, and government expenditure. Many variables (illness, environmental) contribute to different outcomes following similar insults, and they exert their influence via the child’s developing brain. Predicting which child will recover from an early brain insult and identifying those at risk of poor outcome represents a major challenge, with significant health economic implications. An unexplored question is whether direct measurement of the structure and function of the developing brain can improve our ability to predict outcomes in the long-term. Thus, PROBIt aims to assess the utility of brain imaging biomarkers to predict individual neuropsychological and neurobehavioral outcomes following pediatric brain injury, and to identify those factors that combine optimally to classify outcomes.
PROBIt-RetroKids will recruit 225 children (75 controls and 150 cases) who had MRI scans taken at Birmingham Children’s Hospital between 2003 and 2017. Children will be aged 6 to 15 years at the time of recruitment. We will ask for permission to acquire all their previous brain imaging data and will conduct post-scan follow-up assessments of cognitive and behavioral outcomes.
PROBIt combines data from clinically relevant pediatric cognitive and behavioral tests, brain scans and computer simulations in large groups of children with brain insults. A statistical model will be used to differentiate between children that are likely to develop with either a 'poor' or 'good' outcome across three domains: achievement, behavior and cognitive ability. First, we will determine whether adding brain imaging measures to the model improves the accuracy of prediction at the individual child level. Second, we will identify the features that confer risk and resilience to ‘good’ and ‘poor’ neurodevelopmental outcomes, which has important implications for clinical diagnosis and rehabilitation of children with early brain insults.
REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0990
Date of REC Opinion
2 Aug 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion