A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Ganaxolone in Patients With Infantile Spasms

A Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Dose-ranging Clinical Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Antiepileptic Activity of Ganaxolone in Treatment of Patients With Infantile Spasms

The study consists of cohorts where participants are randomized, in a 2:1 ratio, to 1 of 2 sequences, A and B. In each cohort, Sequence A, comprised of participants, who will receive ascending doses of ganaxolone and ascending doses of placebo. Sequence B, comprised of participants, who will receive ascending doses of placebo and ascending doses of ganaxolone. The dosing level in each subsequent cohort will be based upon experience gained from previous cohorts.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Infantile Spasms
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Placebo; Drug: Ganaxolone

Detailed Description

Male or female, 4 to 24 months of age (inclusive) with a diagnosis of IS with a 24 hour video EEG (vEEG) recording confirming the diagnosis and previously treated with 3 or fewer antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are eligible for the study. The subject is able to continue treatment with concomitant AEDs (no more than 2; adrenocorticotropic hormone [ACTH], corticosteroids, felbamate, and vigabatrin are not allowed concomitantly). A ketogenic diet is permitted if it can be maintained for the duration of the study.

There will be a total of three weekly 24-hr video EEGs (baseline, end of weeks 1 and 2 of treatment). Dosing titration begins the day after each video EEG during the inpatient stay. All subjects will be receiving ganaxolone the day after the second video EEG.

A Data Monitoring Board (DMB) will determine whether successive cohorts of subjects can be dosed at an increased dose level; up to a maximum of 6 cohorts.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 57
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90027
      • Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
    • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
      • Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA
  • District of Columbia
    • Washington, District of Columbia, United States, 20010
      • Children's National Medical Center
  • Florida
    • Miami, Florida, United States, 33155
      • Miami Children's Hospital, The Brain Institute
    • Pensacola, Florida, United States, 32504
      • Child Neurology Care Center of Northwest Florida
    • Pensacola, Florida, United States
      • Child Neurology Center of Northwest Florida
  • Illinois
    • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60637
      • University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital
  • Minnesota
    • Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, 55102
      • Minnesota Epilepsy Group, P.A.
  • New York
    • Bronx, New York, United States, 10467
      • Montefiore Medical Center- Albert Einstein College of Medicine
  • Tennessee
    • Memphis, Tennessee, United States, 38105
      • Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center
  • Texas
    • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75230
      • Dallas Pediatric Neurology Associates
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
      • Texas Children's Hospital
  • Virginia
    • Richmond, Virginia, United States, 23298
      • Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
  • Washington
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98105
      • Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center
  • Wisconsin
    • Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 53201
      • Children's Hospital of Wisconsin

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 1 year to 7 months (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Be diagnosed with IS (regardless of etiology- except for a progressive neurologic illness). Diagnostic Criteria: Seizures consisting of single or repetitive short muscular contractions leading to flexion or extension. Spasms may be characterized as tonic or myoclonic contractions, may occur singly or in clusters, and typically occur bilaterally and symmetrically. The EEG pattern must be consistent with the diagnosis of IS (hypsarrhythmia, modified hypsarrhythmia, multifocal spike wave discharges, etc).
• Have a vEEG recording confirming the diagnosis of IS.
• Have had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed to determine any possible causes of IS.
• Have been previously treated with 3 or fewer AEDs.

• If being treated with concomitant AEDs

  • Current AEDs have been at a constant daily dose for at least 2 weeks; Note: Subjects with minor dose adjustments may be allowed to enter the study after shorter periods after detailed discussion with the medical monitor.
  • Have a stable clinical response/plateau for at least 2 weeks
  • Are able to continue treatment with no more than 2 concomitant AEDs (ACTH, corticosteroids, felbamate, and vigabatrin are not allowed concomitantly).
  • A ketogenic diet is permitted if it can be maintained for the duration of the study.
• Be a male or female, 4 to 24 months of age (inclusive)
• Have a Parent/Guardian who is properly informed of the nature and risks of the clinical study, who is willing and capable of complying with all clinical study procedures, and has given informed consent in writing prior to entering the clinical study
• Be able to participate for the full term of the clinical study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Treatment with corticosteroids, ACTH, vigabatrin, felbamate, or any AED not approved by Regulatory Agencies, 2 weeks prior to randomization.
• Treatment with more than two AEDs at baseline.
• Have an active CNS infection, demyelinating disease, degenerative neurological disease, or CNS disease deemed progressive (with the exception of tuberous sclerosis) as evaluated by brain imaging (MRI).
• Have any disease or condition (medical or surgical) at screening that might compromise the hematologic, cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, gastrointestinal, or hepatic systems; or other conditions that might interfere with the absorption, distribution, metabolism, or excretion of the investigational product, or would place the subject at increased risk.
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), or total bilirubin greater than four times the upper limit of normal (ULN) or clinical laboratory value deemed clinically significant by the Investigator.
• History of recurrent status epilepticus.
• Have been exposed to any other investigational drug within 30 days prior to randomization.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: non-active drug; placebo	Other: Placebo
Experimental: ganaxolone	Drug: Ganaxolone

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change From Baseline in Frequency of Spasm Clusters at Day 10	Spasm clusters were determined by a 24-hour video-electroencephalography (vEEG) at Day 10. Change from Baseline was calculated as the post-Baseline value minus the Baseline value. Baseline was defined as the Day 0 assessment before study drug infusion.	Baseline (Day 0) and Day 10

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change From Baseline in Frequency of Spasm Clusters at Day 20	Spasm clusters were determined by a 24-hour vEEG at Day 20. Change from Baseline was calculated as the post-Baseline value minus the Baseline value. Baseline was defined as the Day 0 assessment before study drug infusion.	Baseline (Day 0) and Day 20
Number of Participants With Absence of Hypsarrhythmia	Absence of hypsarrhythmia was determined by 24-hour vEEG at Day 10 and Day 20.	Day 10 and Day 20
Number of Participants With Change in Clinical Status on the Investigator's Global Assessment	The investigators rated the participants' overall clinical status based on 7 clinical factors: seizure frequency, duration, and intensity; adverse experiences; social, intellectual, and motor functioning. Using a 7-point scale ([1] marked improvement, [2] moderate improvement, [3] slight improvement, [4] no change from Baseline, [5] slight worsening, [6] moderate worsening, or [7] marked worsening). Higher score indicated worse symptoms. The investigators assessed the participants' status compared to their condition prior to initiating study medication.	Baseline (Day 0), Day 10 and Day 20
Number of Participants With Change in Clinical Status on Caregiver's Global Assessment	Caregiver global assessment of seizure severity and response to treatment rated the participants' based on 7 clinical factors: seizure frequency, duration, and intensity; adverse experiences; social, intellectual, and motor functioning. Using a 7-point scale ([1] marked improvement, [2] moderate improvement, [3] slight improvement, [4] no change from Baseline, [5] slight worsening, [6] moderate worsening, or [7] marked worsening). Higher score indicated worse symptoms. The assessment compared the participants' current status to their condition prior to initiating study medication.	Baseline (Day 0), Day10 and Day 20
Number of Participants With Spasm-free Durations	Clinical spasms were determined by vEEG for at least 24 hours at Day 10 and Day 20. The number of participants with spasm-free duration have been presented.	Day 10 and Day 20
Number of Participants With Seizure-free Days	Seizure-free days were measured using data obtained from participants' daily dairy. Participants without seizures have been reported.	From Day 8 to Day 10 and From Day 18 to Day 20
Number of Responders	A responder is defined as a participant experiencing a greater than equal to (>=) 50 percent (%) decrease in spasm frequency. Test for responders was conducted by vEEG for up to 24 hours at Day 10 and Day 20	Day 10 and Day 20
Developmental Assessment Using Denver-II Developmental Test at Day 20	Denver-II Developmental Test measures a child's development in several areas:Personal-Social,Fine Motor-Adaptive,Language,and Gross Motor,from birth to 6 years old.It consists of 125 items that are organized into subscales and scored as pass,fail,or refused.To evaluate a child's progress,test compares their performance to a normative sample of children of same age.For each item,age at which 90% of children in normative sample pass it is determined.Derived score for each subscale is sum of item scores and represents difference between child's chronological age and age at which 90% of children in normative sample pass the items in that subscale.A higher derived score on a subscale indicates better performance on items in that subscale relative to other children of same age who have taken the test.Among subscales,Personal-Social subscale ranges from -16 months to 24 months;others range from - 12 months to 24 months.All subscales have a population mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 3.	At Day 20

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Marinus Pharmaceuticals
• Investigators: Study Director: Joseph Hulihan, MD, Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• information about ganaxolone

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2007
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2008
• Study Completion (Actual): May 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 27, 2007
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 28, 2007
• First Posted (Estimated): March 1, 2007

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): June 2, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 5, 2023
• Last Verified: May 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: anticonvulsant; West Syndrome; infantile spasms; pediatric epilepsy; epileptic spasms
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Epilepsy, Generalized; Epileptic Syndromes; Neurologic Manifestations; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Muscular Diseases; Neuromuscular Manifestations; Epilepsy; Spasms, Infantile; Spasm; Muscle Cramp; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Neurotransmitter Agents; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; GABA Modulators; GABA Agents; Neurosteroids; Ganaxolone
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1042-0500