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SleepBabySMARTNCT03381027

BABY SMART (Study of Massage Therapy, Sleep And neurodevelopMenT)

A study testing Baby Massage in people with Sleep and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, run by University College Cork at 1 site in Ireland.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

It is well known that sleep is essential for brain development and learning. Infants require extensive sleep for development of the hippocampus, pons, brainstem, and midbrain and for optimizing physical growth. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 37 to 42 weeksHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Sleep, Neurodevelopmental Disorders
What is being tested?
Baby Massage
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
408 participants
Where
1 siteIreland
Study dates
5 Jun 2017to 9 Jun 2020
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 37 to 42 weeks
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • Infants born > 37 weeks gestation
  • Single births
  • Not requiring admission to the Neonatal Unit
  • Healthy infants without suspected congenital or metabolic anomalies

Who cannot join

  • Infants born < 37 weeks gestation
  • Multiple births
  • Severe metabolic or genetic anomaly that would require ongoing specialist care in the infancy period.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Ireland1 site
  • Cork University Maternity Hospital

    Cork, Munster

Other trials in Ireland

About this study

It is well known that sleep is essential for brain development and learning. Infants require extensive sleep for development of the hippocampus, pons, brainstem, and midbrain and for optimizing physical growth. It is also essential for brain plasticity; the genetically determined ability of the infant brain to change its structure and function in response to the environment. Studies in young animals have shown that sleep deprivation leads to increased programmed cell death, smaller brain size, and loss of brain plasticity, all of which have negative long-term impact on behaviour and learning ability.

Infant massage, a form of systematic tactile stimulation by human hands, improves sleep hygiene. Very little is known about how massage influences early brain development but it is certainly linked to the theory of environmental enrichment, which has been well established in animal models.

The aim of this project is to optimise the infant's sensory experience through a multi-sensory enrichment programme, including massage (a massage utilising a scented lotion before sleep each day), to encourage more structured sleep and ultimately show improved developmental and cognitive outcomes.

Read the detailed description

See study protocol attached.

Being tested
Baby Massage
Keywords
Infant Sleep, Baby Massage, Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Medical subject headings
Neurodevelopmental Disorders

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Baby MassageProcedure or surgery

    Structured massage of the baby

Study groups in NCT03381027
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Interventional Arm- Baby MassageExperimentalInterventional Arm= Baby Massage
Receives: Procedure: Baby Massage
Control Arm- no Baby MassageNo interventionControl Arm= no Baby Massage

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Infant sleep measured by video EEG length of sleep cycles

    Sleep EEG

    Measured: assessment carried out in fourth month of life

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Neuro-development measured by Griffiths 3 Developmental Assessment

    Griffiths 3 Developmental Assessment

    Measured: Assessment carried out at 4 & 18 month of life

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted21 Dec 2017
  2. Study start5 Jun 2017
  3. Primary completion16 Dec 2019
  4. Study completion9 Jun 2020

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
single centre, unblinded, randomised, controlled study to evaluate whether a multi-sensory enrichment programme in the first 4 months of life will improve sleep architecture and neurodevelopment in healthy infants.
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
408 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03381027
Sponsor's protocol ID
GB02/17UCC
Acronym
BabySMART
Status last verified
Oct 2020
First submitted
11 Dec 2017
Last updated
28 Oct 2020
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Undecided

Publications

  • O Sullivan MP, Livingstone V, Korotchikova I, Dempsey EM, Murray DM, Boylan GB. Reference centiles for infant sleep parameters from 4 to 16 weeks of age: findings from an Irish cohort. Arch Dis Child. 2023 Jun;108(6):481-485. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2022-324016. Epub 2023 Mar 21.

    PubMed 36944485
  • Ventura S, Mathieson SR, O'Toole JM, Livingstone V, Ryan MA, Boylan GB. Electroencephalographic sleep macrostructure and sleep spindles in early infancy. Sleep. 2022 Jan 11;45(1):zsab262. doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsab262.

    PubMed 34755881

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Baby Massage in people with Sleep and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, run by University College Cork at 1 site in Ireland.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 28 Oct 2020. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Ireland. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Infant sleep measured by video EEG length of sleep cycles (time frame: assessment carried out in fourth month of life). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03381027, which also lists 2 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 28 Oct 2020.

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