Magnetoencephalography in Absence Seizures

June 30, 2017 updated by: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Background:

  • An absence seizure is a type of seizure that usually begins in childhood and goes away by early adulthood. Scientists do not yet know where absence seizures begin in the brain. Some evidence suggests that these seizures begin in the thalamus, a structure deep in the brain, but other studies suggest that they begin in the frontal cortex, at the front part of the brain.
  • Magnetoencephalography is a type of brain scanning procedure that is useful in determining information about what happens to the brain during epileptic seizures. Understanding where absence seizures come from may help doctors find new treatments for them.

Objectives:

  • To gain a better understanding of which parts of the brain are affected in absence seizures.

Eligibility:

  • Patients 7 to 35 years of age who have been diagnosed with absence seizures.

Design:

  • Procedures are for research purposes only, not to diagnose or treat a particular medical condition.
  • Two outpatient visits to the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center: evaluation and scanning.
  • Researchers will evaluate potential participants with a medical history, physical examination, and electroencephalography (EEG). These tests will be performed under another protocol, 01-N-0139.
  • Patients will undergo magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. The study procedures will be performed one time; however, an MEG or MRI scan may need to be repeated for technical reasons. Researchers will not do more than two MEG or MRI scans.
  • The MEG will record very small magnetic field changes produced by the activity of the brain. An EEG will be recorded at the same time as the MEG.
  • The MRI will use a magnetic field to take pictures of the inside of the brain.
  • The MEG will take 3 hours to complete (2 hours for preparation, 1 hour in the scanner). The MRI will take approximately 1 hour.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Objective:

This protocol will test the hypothesis that the 3-Hz spike-wave discharges seen in absence epilepsy originate in the thalamus. We will use an emerging modality, magnetoencephalograpy (MEG), to test this hypothesis.

Study Population:

33 patients with absence seizures.

Design:

This is a non-invasive imaging study that involves a 275-channel whole head MEG recording and a structural MRI for co-registration of MEG data.

Outcome Measure:

The primary outcome measure is the source localization of spike-wave discharges on magnetoencephalography.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

5

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

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike

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

7 years to 35 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:

    1. Age 7-35
    2. Absence of seizures based on clinical and electroenecephalography data. Patients who have other seizure types (myoclonic, generalized tonic-clonic) in addition to absence seizures may be included.
    3. Patients who have other neurologic disorders may be included, as long as they are able to consent/assent.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  1. Contraindications to MEG studies (Dental braces, permanent retainers, metal dental caps/crowns/fillings)
  2. Contraindications to MRI studies (such as pacemakers, cochlear devices, surgical clips, metallic implants, orthopedic pins, shrapnel, permanent eyeliner, vagus nerve stimulator)
  3. Claustrophobia or anxiety disorders exacerbated by MRI
  4. Pregnancy
  5. Inability to provide consent/assent

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

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

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

April 15, 2009

Study Completion

June 15, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 17, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 17, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

April 20, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 2, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 30, 2017

Last Verified

June 15, 2011

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 090125
  • 09-N-0125

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 Seizures

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Congo

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

3
Subscribe