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NCT Number: NCT07709728

Biomarkers for Babies and Young Children With Ataxia Telangiectasia

The goal of this observational study is to identify progressive changes of quantitative brain and lung imaging, serum and movement-related biomarkers reflecting disease progression in pre-symptomatic infants and very young children (0-5 yo) with a genetic diagnosis of A-T, that could be used in future early-life intervention trials.

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Key information

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

  • Participants with A-T
  • Inclusion criteria
  • Genetic diagnosis of Ataxia Telangiectasia
  • Aged under two years old at the time of first recruitment
  • Parents/ guardians able to give informed consent
  • Exclusion criteria
  • Contraindication to MRI
  • Diagnosis of any other neurogenetic disease
  • On approved treatment targeting neurodegeneration in A-T at the time of first recruitment
  • Participating in the trial of novel therapy targeting neurodegeneration in A-T at the time of first recruitment

NB - co-recruitment to other observational studies or trials is permitted. If a family chooses to enrol their child in an interventional study targeting neurodegeneration, provided that the intervention trial allows co-recruitment, we would like to retain the participant in the BOBCAT study until its conclusion. In this circumstance, the child's data would not be considered as part of the natural history dataset but would instead be used to demonstrate the feasibility of collecting longitudinal quantitative imaging and other biomarker data in people with A-T during infancy and early childhood.

  • Participants without A-T
  • Inclusion criteria
  • Child undergoing general anaesthesia at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust for minor surgical procedures or diagnostic MRI.
  • Aged 0-5 years (to match the age range of participants with A-T throughout the longitudinal study).
  • Parents/ guardians able to give informed consent
  • Exclusion criteria
  • Diagnosis of any neurological or neurodevelopmental disease
  • Diagnosis of any other significant chronic childhood illness
  • On any long-term prescribed treatments

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

  1. Brain MRI - Volumetric structural T1-weighted (T1)

    Time frame: Up to 4 years ( last visit)

    Volume (mm³) - Acquisition parameters aligned to HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study (HBCD)

  2. Brain MRI - Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS): quantification of N-acetyl aspartate in the cerebellum

    Time frame: Up to 4 years ( last visit)

    Chemical shift (ppm) - Acquisition parameters aligned to HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study (HBCD)

  3. Brain MRI - Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI)

    Time frame: Up to 4 years ( last visit)

    Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (mm²/s) - Acquisition parameters aligned to HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study (HBCD)

  4. Neurological and developmental assessment

    Time frame: Up to 4 years ( last visit)

    • A-TNEST test
    • Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST)
  5. Quantitative movement analysis

    Time frame: Up to 4 years ( last visit)

    Quantitative analysis of limb, facial and eye movements will be made using a machine learning approach.

  6. Serum markers of neurodegeneration

    Time frame: Up to 4 years ( last visit)

    • Neurofilament light chain (NFL)
    • Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Lung MRI

    Time frame: Up to 4 years ( last visit)

    • Lung MRI metrics, feasibility, and the results of the quantitative analyses, where it has been possible to do this.
    • free-breathing proton-based ventilation
    • structural images using the proton-based techniques
  2. Natural sleep MRI procedure

    Time frame: Up to 4 years ( last visit)

    Completion rates (%) and image quality (Signal-to-Noise Ratio, SNR, and Contrast-to-Noise Ratio CNR - unitless ) when using the sleep MRI protocol

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Nottingham

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Biomarkers for Babies and Young Children With Ataxia Telangiectasia (The BOBCAT Study)

Acronym: BOBCAT

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2029
Study completion
2029
First posted
Jul 16, 2026
Registry last updated
Jul 16, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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