Evaluating the Role of Inflammation in Neonatal Epileptogenesis (NSR-RISE)

January 22, 2026 updated by: University of California, San Francisco

Neonatal Seizure Registry: The Role of Inflammation After Neonatal Seizures and Later Development of Epilepsy

The purpose of this study evaluate the relationship between inflammation and epilepsy in neonates with seizures after birth.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Seizures are a common symptom of neurologic dysfunction in the neonatal period, affecting more than 16,000 newborns in the United States per year. Over 25% of neonates with acute symptomatic seizures develop post- neonatal epilepsy (PNE), which is often resistant to medical therapies. There is a critical need to identify those patients most at risk for PNE and understand the mechanisms by which early seizures increase the propensity for recurrent seizures, in hopes of identifying novel therapeutic targets in this population. There is increasing evidence for the role of neuro-inflammation in the development of epilepsy. Levels of cytokines and micro-RNA (miRNA) may serve as markers of disease severity and have been implicated in epileptogenesis in animal models. The purpose of this study is to evaluate plasma cytokine and miRNA levels after neonatal-onset acute symptomatic seizures and determine their association with acute seizure severity and PNE.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
72

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Oakland, California, United States, 94609
        • UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94158
        • University of California, San Francisco
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
        • Boston Children's Hospital
    • Michigan
      • Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, 48103
        • University of Michigan, Mott Children's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

1 day to 4 days (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Newborns who are admitted at one of the participating children's hospitals

Description

For participants in the acute symptomatic seizure group:

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Neonates <44 weeks corrected age at seizure onset
  • Seizures due to acute brain injury
  • Parent(s) who are English or Spanish literate (with assistance of interpreter)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Neonates at risk for adverse outcome independent of seizures and underlying brain injury
  • Neonates with mild, temporary causes for seizures
  • Newborns with neonatal-onset epilepsy syndromes
  • Neonates who do not survive the initial hospital admission
  • Neonates will not be excluded based on race, ethnicity, gender or gestational age

For participants in the control group:

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Neonates that are born > 37 weeks and <44 weeks postmenstrual age at enrollment
  • Consultation by the pediatric neurology inpatient service due neonatal paroxysmal events, with normal neurologic examination and ultimate diagnosis of non-epileptic spells on continuous video-EEG (ordered for clinical purposes, not for research) OR consultation for hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy in neonates undergoing therapeutic hypothermia, with early exit from therapy owing to normal neurologic examination, normal continuous video-EEG and uncertain diagnosis of encephalopathy.
  • Neonates requiring neurologic consultation for mild hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) undergoing therapeutic hypothermia, with normal examination, cEEG, and neuroimaging upon rewarming.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Acute symptomatic seizures
This is a cohort of 72 participants who will be enrolled into this study from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after being diagnosed with seizures. They will be asked to contribute a blood specimen obtained ideally 48-96 hours (though blood collection allowed 24-120 hours) after seizures are diagnosed, to participate in an optional blood draw at 2-4 months of age, and to complete surveys at 12 & 24 months of age.
Diagnostic test: Blood draw
Evaluation of plasma inflammatory markers including cytokines and micro-RNA.
Other: Survey
Regarding epilepsy and development.
Control
This is a cohort of 15 participants who will be enrolled into this study from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after having an EEG for possible seizures, but found to have a normal EEG. They will be asked to contribute a blood specimen obtained ideally 48-96 hours (though blood collection allowed 24-120 hours) after birth.
Diagnostic test: Blood draw
Evaluation of plasma inflammatory markers including cytokines and micro-RNA.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Seizure burden
Time Frame: At study entry
Investigators will evaluate the seizure burden from the initial diagnostic electroencephalogram (EEG) after birth by determining the average number of seizures per hour.
At study entry
Percentage of participants diagnosed with epilepsy
Time Frame: 24 months of age
The investigators will determine the proportion of participants who develop clinical and or electrographic seizures.
24 months of age

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Percentage of participants diagnosed with epilepsy
Time Frame: 12 months of age
The investigators will determine the proportion of participants who develop clinical and or electrographic seizures.
12 months of age
Epilepsy Severity
Time Frame: 12 months of age
The investigators will administer an investigator-developed questionnaire designed to define the frequency of seizures (monthly, weekly, daily, or greater than daily).
12 months of age
Epilepsy Severity
Time Frame: 24 months of age
The investigators will administer an investigator-developed questionnaire designed to define the frequency of seizures (monthly, weekly, daily, or greater than daily).
24 months of age
Warner Initial Developmental Evaluation of Adaptive and Functional Skills (WIDEA-FS)
Time Frame: Assessment takes up to 15 minutes and will be conducted at 12 months of age
The Warner Initial Developmental Evaluation of Adaptive and Functional Skills (WIDEA-FS) will be assessed at 12 months of age. The score ranges from 50 to 200 with higher scores associated with normal development.
Assessment takes up to 15 minutes and will be conducted at 12 months of age
Warner Initial Developmental Evaluation of Adaptive and Functional Skills (WIDEA-FS)
Time Frame: Assessment takes up to 15 minutes and will be conducted at 24 months of age
The Warner Initial Developmental Evaluation of Adaptive and Functional Skills (WIDEA-FS) will be assessed at 24 months of age. The score ranges from 50 to 200 with higher scores associated with normal development.
Assessment takes up to 15 minutes and will be conducted at 24 months of age

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of California, San Francisco

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
University of Michigan
Boston Children's Hospital
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Adam L Numis, MD, University of California, San Francisco

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 15, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 1, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 4, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 4, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 6, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 26, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 22, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • K23NS105918 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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