Efficacy and Safety of Oral Antiviral Therapy for Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia (ANT-TN)

June 23, 2026 updated by: Fang Luo, Beijing Tiantan Hospital

Efficacy and Safety of Oral Antiviral Drug Combined With Carbamazepine Versus Celecoxib Combined With Carbamazepine in the Treatment of Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial

This is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, controlled trial. A total of 165 patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia will be enrolled and randomly divided into three groups at a 1:1:1 ratio. The aim is to compare the efficacy and safety of conventional carbamazepine monotherapy, carbamazepine combined with oral antiviral therapy, and carbamazepine combined with anti-inflammatory therapy in pain relief, quality of life improvement and adverse event profiles.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

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

Idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia is a severe neuropathic pain disorder. Carbamazepine is the first-line conventional treatment, but some patients have insufficient pain relief or intolerable side effects. Viral latent infection and neuroinflammation are considered potential pathogenesis of trigeminal neuralgia. This study intends to explore whether adding oral antiviral agent (acyclovir) or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (celecoxib) can further improve pain control, reduce carbamazepine consumption, improve mood status and quality of life, and ensure clinical safety. All participants will receive 12-week standardized treatment and follow-up at 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after enrollment.

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.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

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.
165

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

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.
  • Name: Tianying Li tyli, doctor
  • Phone Number: +86-15560392365
  • Email: Litypacop@163.com

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Diagnosed with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia according to standard clinical criteria.
  2. No secondary etiology confirmed by cranial imaging.
  3. No severe systemic disease or immune system disease.
  4. Voluntary participation and signed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Secondary trigeminal neuralgia of any cause.
  2. Active herpes zoster infection recently.
  3. Severe hepatic or renal insufficiency or contraindications to study drugs.
  4. Unable to complete questionnaire evaluation independently.
  5. Pregnancy or lactation state. -

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

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
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.
Other: Arm A：Control Group（Carbamazepine Monotherapy）
Intervention：Drug: Carbamazepine Dosage：Initial dose 200 mg daily, titrated gradually to maximum 600 mg daily, divided into 2-3 times per day for 12 weeks.
Drug: Intervention：Drug: Carbamazepine
ArmA Dosage：Initial dose 200 mg daily, titrated gradually to maximum 600 mg daily, divided into 2-3 times per day for 12 weeks.
Experimental: Arm B：Antiviral Combination Group（Carbamazepine + Acyclovir）
Intervention：Drug: Carbamazepine + Acyclovir Dosage：Carbamazepine 200-600 mg/d; Acyclovir 800 mg three times daily for 12 weeks.
Drug: Intervention：Drug: Carbamazepine + Acyclovir
ArmB Dosage：Carbamazepine 200-600 mg/d; Acyclovir 800 mg three times daily for 12 weeks.
Experimental: Arm C：Anti-inflammatory Combination Group（Carbamazepine + Celecoxib）
Intervention：Drug: Carbamazepine + Celecoxib Dosage：Carbamazepine 200-600 mg/d; Celecoxib 200 mg twice daily for 12 weeks.
Drug: Intervention：Drug: Carbamazepine + Celecoxib
Dosage：Carbamazepine 200-600 mg/d; Celecoxib 200 mg twice daily for 12 weeks.

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
Changes in Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) Pain Score
Time Frame: Baseline, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months after treatment
Pain intensity is evaluated by VAS score. Effective pain relief is defined as a reduction of ≥50% from baseline VAS score.
Baseline, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months after treatment

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
Time Frame
Quality of Life (SF-36) Score
Time Frame: 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months
1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months
Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS)
Time Frame: 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months
1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months
Average Daily Carbamazepine Consumption
Time Frame: 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months
1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months
Adverse Event Incidence
Time Frame: Throughout 12-week treatment and follow-up period
Throughout 12-week treatment and follow-up period

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.
Beijing Tiantan Hospital

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.
Beijing Sanbo Brain Hospital

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 (Estimated)

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.
August 31, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
December 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

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 31, 2027

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).
June 23, 2026

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.
June 23, 2026

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.
June 29, 2026

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.
June 29, 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.
June 23, 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.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • KY2026-126-03

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared publicly due to institutional data privacy regulations and patient confidentiality requirements. Data availability is limited to the research team and authorized institutional review personnel only.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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