Analysis of Data Collected From Individuals Administered Neurobehavioral Assessments

Background:

Individuals with chronic illness often are at risk for developing neurobehavioral impairments due to effects of the disease and/or associated treatments.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Neurobehavioral Group has been collecting neurobehavioral data obtained from the longitudinal psychometric testing of infants, children, adolescents, and adults with various chronic illnesses enrolled on IRB-approved protocols at the NIH since the 1980 s, many of which are now closed. In addition, we continue to collect neurobehavioral data obtained from assessments of individuals enrolled on current IRB-approved protocols.

The neurobehavioral test data from these evaluations, as well as demographic information, medical values, neurologic findings, and neuroimaging abnormalities, are stored in the neuropsychological database currently located on the secure NIH mainframe computer system.

Investigating the neurobehavioral functioning of children with chronic illness is important for identifying and monitoring the effects of the disease and treatments over time, determining possible at-risk subgroups, evaluating response to therapy, and recommending educational and rehabilitative interventions. In addition, the data may be used to compare various aspects of neurobehavioral functioning among different illness groups healthy controls, and validate novel methodologies to better assess selected domains of functioning, such as a pediatric quality of life (QOL) scale for children with chronic illnesses with CNS involvement.

Objective:

To describe the neurobehavioral functioning of individuals with chronic illness based on the analysis of stored data collected from IRB-approved protocols, consisting of retrospective data collected on protocols that are now closed and data collected prospectively on current and future protocols.

Eligibility:

Data obtained from infants, children, adolescents, and adults administered neurobehavioral assessments as part of a past, current, or future IRB-approved protocol.

Design:

No data will be collected specifically for this protocol. Retrospective data previously collected from individuals receiving neurobehavioral assessments as part of past IRB-approved protocols or prospective data that already will be collected as specified in current or future IRB-approved protocols and stored in the secure NCI Neurobehavioral database will be used for data analysis as outlined in this protocol.

Cross-sectional or longitudinal data will be selected from the database for statistical analysis based on the objective being studied. Since different objectives may be studied using various types of data, a variety of statistical analyses will be conducted to examine the stored data depending on the objective being studied.

• INCLUSION CRITERIA:

• Data obtained from infants, children, adolescents, and adults administered neurobehavioral assessments as part of a past, current, or future IRB-approved protocol.
• Informed consent for subjects greater than or equal to 18 years of age, a legal representative to provide permission for subjects greater than or equal to 18 years who cannot give informed consent, or one parent-legal guardian to provide permission for subjects less than 18 years of age who are administered neurobehavioral assessments after this protocol is approved.
• Data obtained from healthy controls, which may be siblings of affected patients, administered neurobehavioral assessments on an IRB-approved protocol.

Exclusion criteria

• Data may be excluded from a particular analysis if a subject had a CNS condition (i.e., Down s syndrome, severe intraventricular hemorrhage) not related to their primary medical diagnosis (i.e., HIV, cancer) that may affect neurobehavioral functioning, missing values on a particular test being studied, or invalid data as judged by the PI or Chairperson.