- ICH GCP
- US Clinical Trials Registry
- Clinical Trial NCT00299533
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids for Adjunctive Treatment of Refractory Epilepsy
A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Prospective Study Evaluating the Usefulness of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) in Patients Wtih Uncontrolled Epilepsy
Study Overview
Status
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Detailed Description
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids for Treatment of Refractory Epilepsy
ABSTRACT
Objective: The primary objective of the study is to determine whether polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) can be used safely and effectively as a treatment for epilepsy.
Background: Patients with intractable epilepsy are often on more than one medication and experience intolerable side effects. Fatty acids have been shown to be protective against seizures in animal models, but there is little human data. Recently, however, a small case series of patients with intractable epilepsy provided evidence of an anti-seizure effect without major side effects. There are no controlled trials of PUFA in humans.
Design/Methods: Patients with uncontrolled partial or generalized epilepsy characterized by at least 4 seizures/month will be randomized to placebo vs. PUFA in a double-blind fashion. Subjects will remain on their current drug(s) while a 4-week baseline seizure count occurs. Dosage will then be titrated over 1 week to 1.1 grams twice daily, and will be followed by a 15-week treatment phase with monthly visits, seizure counts, pill counts, AED levels, adverse event reporting, and neurological examinations. Quality of life will be measured before and after the study using the SF-36 and the QOLIE (Quality of Life in Epilepsy) -31. If subjects wish to continue treatment, they will be given the opportunity at the end of the 20-week period, and those randomized to placebo will have the opportunity to begin treatment with PUFA.
Analysis: The number of subjects achieving a 50% reduction in seizure frequency during the 15-week treatment period relative to the 4-week prospective baseline will be compared for treated vs. control groups using Fisher's exact test. Secondary endpoints will include percent seizure reduction, which will be analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test, and quality of life data, as measured by the SF-36 and QOLIE 31.
Conclusion: There is sufficient preliminary data to suggest that PUFA can be an effective and well-tolerated treatment for epilepsy. If efficacy, safety, and tolerability of PUFA are confirmed, the proposed study will provide the foundation for a larger multi-center trial.
Study Type
Enrollment
Phase
- Phase 3
Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Genders Eligible for Study
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- Eligible subjects must have at least one seizure or seizure cluster per week, or at least four per month. They may have partial or generalized epilepsy as diagnosed by a board certified neurologist with subspecialty training in epilepsy. Subjects must be at least 18 years of age, and able to give signed informed consent.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Potential subjects will be considered ineligible for the study if they exhibit frequent vomiting, inability to swallow, an allergy to fatty acids, or a medical condition that could interfere with oral medication intake. Subjects with markedly elevated cholesterol levels (>260) or who receive drugs that affect lipid metabolism, such as HMG CoA inhibitors, will be excluded as well. Due to the theoretical possibility of platelet dysfunction, subjects taking Coumadin® or high doses of aspirin (>325mg daily) will not be considered eligible for the study. Subjects who are pregnant or nursing will also be excluded due to any possible teratogenic effects on the fetus.
Study Plan
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: Treatment
- Allocation: Randomized
- Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
- Masking: Double
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
---|
% of subjects with 50% decrease in seizure frequency
|
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
---|
% seizure reduction
|
Collaborators and Investigators
Sponsor
Collaborators
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Edward B Bromfield, M.D., Brigham and Women's Hospital
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start
Primary Completion
Study Completion (Actual)
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Estimate)
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Estimate)
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
- 2003-P-000025/14
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.
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 Epilepsy
-
NaviFUS CorporationTaipei Veterans General Hospital, TaiwanCompletedDrug Resistant Epilepsy | Epilepsy, Drug Resistant | Intractable Epilepsy | Refractory Epilepsy | Drug Refractory Epilepsy | Epilepsy, Drug Refractory | Epilepsy, Intractable | Medication Resistant EpilepsyTaiwan
-
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation...Active, not recruitingEpilepsies, Partial | Intractable Epilepsy | Focal Epilepsy | Refractory Epilepsy | Epilepsy Intractable | Epilepsy in Children | Epilepsy, FocalUnited Kingdom
-
University of British ColumbiaTerminatedJuvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy | Childhood Absence Epilepsy | Juvenile Absence EpilepsyCanada
-
Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen UniversityRecruiting
-
Neuroelectrics CorporationRecruitingEpilepsy | Seizures | Refractory Epilepsy | Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic | Epilepsy in Children | Seizures, Focal | Focal SeizureSpain, United States, France, Belgium
-
Oslo University HospitalCompletedEpilepsy | Generalized Epilepsy | Focal EpilepsyNorway
-
UCB Pharma SACompletedEpilepsy, Tonic-clonicPoland, Sweden, Hungary, Czechia
-
UCB PharmaCompletedEpilepsy, Tonic-clonic
-
University Hospital, LilleUnknownFocal Epilepsy | Epilepsy IntractableFrance
-
Xuanwu Hospital, BeijingPeking University; Beijing Tiantan Hospital; Qilu Hospital of Shandong University and other collaboratorsNot yet recruitingEpilepsy, Drug ResistantChina
Clinical Trials on Fish oil (Super Omega-3, 4 caps/d) vs. placebo
-
Sunnybrook Health Sciences CentreHamilton Health Sciences CorporationCompletedCoronary Artery DiseaseCanada
-
University of VirginiaNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)CompletedFatty Liver | Non-alcoholic SteatohepatitisUnited States
-
October 6 UniversityTanta UniversityUnknown
-
National Center for Complementary and Integrative...Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)CompletedStress-related Changes in InflammationUnited States
-
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development...RecruitingTobacco Use Disorder | Preterm LaborUnited States
-
Federal University of São PauloCompletedNicotine Dependence | Tobacco DependenceBrazil
-
Evandro Chagas Institute of Clinical ResearchAndrea Silvestre de Sousa, MD PhD; Pedro Emmanuel Alvarenga Americano do Brasil... and other collaboratorsCompletedChagas CardiomyopathyBrazil
-
Ohio State UniversityNational Institute on Aging (NIA)Completed
-
Brigham and Women's HospitalNational Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)Active, not recruitingDepression | Depressive Symptoms | MoodUnited States
-
University of CincinnatiNational Institute of Mental Health (NIMH); National Institutes of Health (NIH)Completed