Efficacy and Safety of the Use of Memantine for Preserving Cognition in Adult Patients With Epilepsy (Forest)

May 24, 2017 updated by: University of California, Davis
People with epilepsy often experience problems with their memories and other thinking skills that get worse over time. The investigators hope to learn more about whether a drug called memantine can help improve or stabilize (keep the same) memory and other thought processes in people with epilepsy by blocking a chemical that is released in the brain during seizures. The investigators also want to see if memantine changes the frequency (how often) people with epilepsy have seizures. Memantine is currently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Study Overview

Status

Withdrawn

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the effects of memantine in adult epilepsy patients. Patients will be assessed for neurocognitive outcomes, seizure frequency and side effects. After a two-month prospective baseline during which seizure frequency and neurocognitive parameters are documented, patients will be randomized to either memantine or placebo and evaluated after twelve months on study drug. The treatment period will consist of a one month dose escalation phase, followed by an eleven month maintenance phase. The dose escalation is 5 mg in PM for days 1-7, 5 mg twice daily for days 8-14, 5 mg in AM and 10 mg in PM for days 15-21 and 10 mg twice daily from day 22 and continue. The neuropsychological battery performed during baseline will be repeated at the end of the twelve month treatment period. No special procedures are required for this study, except the neuropsychological testing, which is not a routinely performed evaluation for adult epilepsy outpatients.

Study Type

Interventional

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

  • United States
    • California
      • Sacramento, California, United States, 95817
        • University of California, Davis

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 to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Adult patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, aged 18-65
  2. Seizure frequency of less than three per month
  3. Stabilized treatment for epilepsy, including AEDs and vagus nerve stimulation
  4. Intelligence Quotient of >70
  5. Native English speaker (most of the neuropsychological/cognitive tests have yet to be translated and/or validated in non-English speaking populations. Thus, at this point we are limited to testing English speakers, only.)
  6. Able to count seizures accurately and maintain a seizure diary
  7. Recent AED levels performed within the last month within therapeutic range

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Progressive neurologic disease
  2. Severe medical illness, including renal insufficiency
  3. Severe depression, bipolar disease or psychosis
  4. Pregnant or lactating women.

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Memantine
After a two-month prospective baseline during which seizure frequency and neurocognitive parameters are documented, patients will be randomized to either memantine or placebo and evaluated after twelve months on study drug. The treatment period will consist of a one month dose escalation phase, followed by an eleven month maintenance phase. The dose escalation is 5 mg in PM for days 1-7, 5 mg twice daily for days 8-14, 5 mg in AM and 10 mg in PM for days 15-21 and 10 mg twice daily from day 22 and continue.
Drug: Memantine
After a two-month prospective baseline during which seizure frequency and neurocognitive parameters are documented, patients will be randomized to either memantine or placebo and evaluated after twelve months on study drug. The treatment period will consist of a one month dose escalation phase, followed by an eleven month maintenance phase. The dose escalation is 5 mg in PM for days 1-7, 5 mg twice daily for days 8-14, 5 mg in AM and 10 mg in PM for days 15-21 and 10 mg twice daily from day 22 and continue.
Other Names:
  • Axura
  • Namenda
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
After a two-month prospective baseline during which seizure frequency and neurocognitive parameters are documented, patients will be randomized to either memantine or placebo and evaluated after twelve months on study drug. The treatment period will consist of a one month dose escalation phase, followed by an eleven month maintenance phase. The dose escalation is 5 mg in PM for days 1-7, 5 mg twice daily for days 8-14, 5 mg in AM and 10 mg in PM for days 15-21 and 10 mg twice daily from day 22 and continue.
Drug: Placebo
After a two-month prospective baseline during which seizure frequency and neurocognitive parameters are documented, patients will be randomized to either memantine or placebo and evaluated after twelve months on study drug. The treatment period will consist of a one month dose escalation phase, followed by an eleven month maintenance phase. The dose escalation is 5 mg in PM for days 1-7, 5 mg twice daily for days 8-14, 5 mg in AM and 10 mg in PM for days 15-21 and 10 mg twice daily from day 22 and continue.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Difference in neuropsychological test scores over time between memantine and placebo treated groups of temporal lobe epilepsy patients.
Time Frame: 5 years
5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of California, Davis

Collaborators

Forest Laboratories

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Michael Rogawski, MD, PhD, University of California, Davis Health System

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, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 25, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 28, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

September 29, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 30, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 24, 2017

Last Verified

May 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 200816572

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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