Single-centre studies collect all of their data from one location. All of the data collection for the studies listed below is completed here at SickKids.
- Language Outcomes in Neonatal Arterial Ischemic Stroke Using Brain Connectivity
- Neural Correlates of Movement Disorders Resulting from Childhood Stroke (Dystonia Study)
- Cerebral Plasticity in Paediatric Patients Following Stroke
- Sleep in Paediatric Stroke Study
- BOLD MRI CVR Imaging for the Assessment of Ischaemic Risk in Children
- The Vascular Endothelial Dysfunction and Stroke in Early Life Study
This study aims to help us understand how different types of paediatric stroke affect language function in children as they grow older. It has been found that these children can sometimes show deficits in higher-order communications, such as irony or sarcasm, once they reach adolescence.
In this study we use magnetoencephalography, or MEG (a type of non-invasive brain scan) to examine the areas that are involved when participants complete different language tasks, and this lets us trace the connections between these different areas in the brain. This research will ultimately help us to understand how the brain organizes itself to support language functions in children after they have a stroke at a very young age.
The Dystonia Study aims to help us understand why some children a develop dystonia (a common muscle stiffness) after they have a stroke. This study uses a type of brain scanning called magnetoencephalography (MEG) to record activation in areas of the brain while a participants completes a simple motor task. We hope to use this data to identify sensory-motor differences in brain activity in children with and without dystonia to determine differences in post-stroke brain activity. Overall, we hope to use these results to inform future therapeutic approaches for children experiencing post-stroke dystonia.
The purpose of the Stroke Recovery Study is to understand how motor function recovers after a stroke which can help us improve recovery treatments. The study uses state of the art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to show us which areas of the brain are involved when a child performs different motor tasks. Through this study, we hope to provide new findings that lead to better treatment outcomes and good recovery of motor function for children that have had a stroke.
Children who have had a paediatric stroke, or are at high-risk of having one, may experience difficulties as a result of poor sleep quality. They may feel sleepy or have difficulty concentrating. The exact role of sleep problems in causing these symptoms in children who have had stroke is not yet understood. Our ongoing SleePSS Study aims to help us understand the effects of sleep-related breathing problems in children who have had an arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) or who have diseases that put them at a high-risk for having an AIS (Moyamoya Disease, Sickle Cell Disease and certain cardiac abnormalities).
The study uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), polysomnography (a sleep study), actigraphy watches (which monitor activity levels throughout the day) and a neuropsychological assessment to help us answers these questions.
The purpose of this study is to develop an atlas of quantitative cerebrovascular reactivity magnetic resonance imaging (CVR-MRI) data in typically developing healthy children aged 7 to 18 years. This atlas will then be used to compare CVR maps in children diagnosed with NF1 (neurofibratosis type 1, a genetic disorder) or different arteriopathies (such as Moyamoya Disease and Sickle Cell Disease). Through this research, we aim to determine baseline differences in CVR between these groups. Associations between CVR measures, blood pressure, age and sex in typically developing healthy children with and without NF1 will also be evaluated. We hope that the findings of this study will improve clinical capacity to predict risk in children with NF1 and other arteriopathies. .
This proof-of-principle study aims to determine whether unexplained cognitive impairments following stroke are linked to ongoing vascular endothelial dysfunction. This study uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound imaging techniques to collect measures of vascular health and a neuropsychological battery to identify any specific cognitive impairments in study participants. This is the first step towards the development of an evidence-based approach to the individualized prediction of stroke risk, and we hope that it will result in a shift in public health strategy and the approach to treating children at risk of stroke.