Protecting kidney health in young children with spina bifida
Official title: Seattle Children's Urologic Management to Preserve Initial Renal Function Protocol for Young Children with Spina Bifida (UMPIRE Protocol) (Component C)
Funded at Seattle Children's Hospital · NIH-11403051 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tries specific urologic care plans to protect kidney function in young children who have spina bifida.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Seattle Children's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2019 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2023 |
| Award (this year) | $24,999 |
| NIH project number | 6U01DD001284-05M003 |
| Project ID | NIH-11403051 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are infants and young children with spina bifida who receive urologic care at Seattle Children’s or participating clinics.
✕Less likely to help
Adults, people without spina bifida, or children whose kidney function is already severely damaged would not be expected to benefit directly from this protocol.
What this research studies
As a parent, you would be asked to have your young child with spina bifida follow a standardized urologic care plan called UMPIRE. Doctors will schedule regular clinic visits and tests such as urine checks and kidney/bladder imaging, collect health information, and may adjust bladder management or medications to help protect the kidneys. The team will track kidney function over time to learn which approaches keep kidneys working best. Your child's health information and samples may be used to help design better care for other children with spina bifida.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help children with spina bifida keep their kidneys healthier for longer and reduce the need for more invasive treatments.
How similar studies have gone: Related urologic management approaches have shown promise in clinical practice and smaller studies, while this protocol applies a standardized approach prospectively.
Where this research is happening
-
Seattle Children's Hospital
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ahn, Jennifer — Seattle Children's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Ahn, Jennifer
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Improving care and outcomes for people living with spina bifida in Wisconsin
A patient-friendly project aims to improve everyday care and health outcomes for people with spina bifida in Wisconsin.
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The National Spina Bifida Patient Registry at University of Pittsburgh
A national registry project at the University of Pittsburgh aims to collect and organize information about people with spina bifida to improve care.
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Improving Care and Outcomes for People Living with Spina Bifida
A patient-friendly project aims to improve how people with spina bifida are cared for and how well they do over time.
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Scoliosis and neurosurgical factors in myelomeningocele: a clinic registry study
This project uses registry data from Penn State’s Spina Bifida Clinic to understand how brain and spine-related issues influence when and why scoliosis surgery is needed in people with myelomeningocele.
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UMPIRE: Better Urologic Care for Babies with Spina Bifida
This grant tests how to best protect kidney function in newborns with spina bifida by comparing and refining urologic care practices across multiple hospitals.
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Spina Bifida Collaborative Care Network to Improve Outcomes
A national program is expanding coordinated care networks and a patient registry to help people with Spina Bifida get better, more consistent care.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.