Study of Verapamil in Refractory Epilepsy

May 18, 2010 updated by: University Health Network, Toronto
Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases, affecting 300,000 Canadians. One in 3 epilepsy patients have refractory seizures meaning that all antiseizure drugs fail to control their seizures. This drug resistance in epilepsy may be related to the over expression of multidrug resistance proteins (MDR). Varapamil inhibits MDR. We propose to add verapamil/placebo to patients' anti epilepsy medication for 3 months. Patients who receive placebo will have verapamil added for 3 months after the completion of the double-blind treatment period. Seizure frequency/severity will be tracked. Blood samples for DNA will be collected. There will be 9 clinic visits over 32 weeks. ECG and echocardiogram will be done at baseline and repeated if necessary

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This open label study will consist of three phases: baseline, Double-blind treatment and open-label-treatment. There are 9 visits over 32 weeks. During the baseline period, the number of seizures will be recorded during 2 months while the patient is on a dose of antiseizure drug(s) that was previously established to provide better seizure control. Blood work, including blood for DNA baseline ECG and echocardiogram will be done and may be repeated if necessary. During the 3 months of double-blind treatment phase, verapamil/placebo will be added to the current medications. Visits are every 4 weeks. Vital signs, seizure counts and adverse events will be evaluated. All patients who received placebo will be offered 3 months of open-label treatment with verapamil.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

16

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

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5T 2S8
        • Toronto Western Hospital

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

16 years to 58 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 1. patients in whom seizures are not controlled by their antiseizure medication;
  • 2. must have at least 2 seizures per month.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Exclusion: patients with cardiovascular problems that could be adversely affected by verapamil

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: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: verapamil
verapamil 80mg tid
Drug: Verapamil
80 mg tid
Other Names:
  • Isoptin
Placebo Comparator: placebo sugar pill
placebo tid
Drug: placebo
placebo tid

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
percentage reduction of seizure frequency
Time Frame: 3 months
after 3 months of treartment compared to baseline
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University Health Network, Toronto

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

June 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

December 1, 2012

Study Completion (Anticipated)

December 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 17, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 18, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

May 19, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

May 19, 2010

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 18, 2010

Last Verified

March 1, 2010

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UHN REB # 10-0024-A

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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