Second-Line Treatment Choice for Epilepsy

September 11, 2006 updated by: Dutch Epilepsy Clinics Foundation
Most patients are prescribed valproate as their first antiepileptic drug. It is unknown which is the best second-line drug when patients do not become seizure free on valproate. This has led the Dutch Epilepsy Clinics Foundation (SEIN) to start the SLICE study. Adult patients with partial and/or tonic-clonic seizures, insufficiently responding to valproate, are recruited for this study. These patients are randomized to receive one of three other drugs. Patients wil initially use this drug next to valproate. Neurologists of more than 20 general hospitals en neurologists of SEIN are participating in this study.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The purpose of the project is to compare several antiepileptic drugs given to adult patients with epilepsy after they have not become seizure free on valproate as a first-line antiepileptic drug. The drugs will first be evaluated in combination with valproate and in case of success (being a seizure reduction of more than 50%) will also be evaluated in monotherapy.

Patients who did not become seizure free on valproate will be identified by neurologists in the participating hospitals. When these patients are willing to participate, they are randomized to one of three drugs: carbamazepine, lamotrigine and levetiracetam. In phase 1 of the project they keep on using valproate. The randomized second-line drugs will be titrated to a first dose level and the effectiveness of the combinations will be evaluated. When seizures persist and adverse effects allow it, the add-on drug is titrated to a second dose level and again the effectiveness of the combination is evaluated. When seizures still continue and adverse effects allow it, the add-on drug is titrated to a third and final dose level. When a patient does not become seizure free on a combination on that final level or adverse effects have prevented a dose increase to a higher level, that combination has failed in phase 1. When the patients does become seizure free on his or her combination, the combination is deemed a success for that patient. A patient will proceed to phase 2, when he or she has at least experienced a 50% seizure reduction.

In phase 2 of the project the second-line drug will be given in monotherapy. This means that valproate will be withdrawn. The dose of the second drug will be increased accordingly. The effectiveness of the drugs in monotherapy will be evaluated. The combined results of phase 1 and 2 will enable us to interpret the results. When all patients who became seizure free on a combination in phase 1, stay seizure free in phase 2, the efficacy of the combination should be attributed to the add-on drug. When these patients all develop seizures again, the efficacy of the combination should be attributed to the combination.

The primary outcome measure is percentage seizure free. Secondary outcome measures are adverse effects and the results of clinimetric epilepsy scales. Serum levels will be measured during the project. The projected sample size for each group has been lowered from 75 patients per group to 20 patients per group.

At this moment, neurologists of about 20 general hospitals are collaborating in this project. Inclusion of patients will continue until June 2006. The follow-up of patients and analysis of results will be carried until the projected end of the project.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

60

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • Netherlands
      • Zwolle, Netherlands, 8025 BV
        • Dutch Epilepsy Clinics Foundation

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult patients with generalized tonic-clonic, complex partial and/or simple partial seizures. The seizures should be well-defined according to the International Classification of Epileptic Seizures (1). Therefore, an accurate history and adequate neurophysiological data should be present in each case in order to confirm the diagnosis.
  • Patients on valproate monotherapy who are not seizure free at at the maximal dose they can tolerate.
  • Patients should be able to understand the patient information concerning the study and be able to give informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who failed on VPA monotherapy because of other causes than lack of seizure control at a maximally tolerated dose (unable to tolerate the lowest maintenance dose of VPA, idiosyncratic reactions, non-compliance)
  • Absence seizures or juvenile myoclonic epilepsy
  • Acute or progressive neurological disorders
  • Alcohol or other substance abuse
  • History of severe psychiatric illness

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)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Percentage seizure free

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
adverse effects
clinimetric epilepsy scales

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Dutch Epilepsy Clinics Foundation

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Charles L Deckers, MD, PhD, Dutch Epilepsy Clinics Foundation

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.

Helpful Links

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

July 1, 2003

Study Completion

June 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 13, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 13, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 21, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

September 12, 2006

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 11, 2006

Last Verified

September 1, 2006

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CMO 2002/183

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.

Clinical Trials on Adults With Tonic Clonic Seizures and/or Partial Seizures

Clinical Trials on Lamotrigine

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Malaysia

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe