RELIEF-PD: Crisugabalin for Nociplastic Pain in Parkinson's Disease (RELIEF-PD)

Fficacy and Safety of Crisugabalin on Nociplastic Pain in Patients With Parkinson's Disease (RELIEF-PD): A Multicentre, Double-Blind, Randomised Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Crisugabalin in adult participants with Parkinson's disease suffering from nociceptive pain. The main question it aims to answer is:

1. Does Crisugabalin significantly reduce pain intensity compared to placebo?
2. What is the safety and tolerability profile of Crisugabalin in patients with Parkinson's disease?

Researchers will compare participants receiving Crisugabalin to those receiving a matching placebo to see if the investigational drug leads to a greater reduction in pain scores and an improvement in quality of life without unacceptable side effects.

Participants will:

1. Be randomly assigned to receive either Crisugabalin capsules or a placebo.
2. Take the study medication orally twice daily for a specified treatment period.
3. Complete regular pain assessments using standardized scales (e.g., VAS or NRS).
4. Undergo physical examinations and laboratory tests to monitor safety.
5. Record any adverse events and changes in Parkinson's disease symptoms in a diary.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Parkinson's Disease With Nociceptive Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Crisugabalin; Drug: Placebo

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 166
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Guangdong
    • Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510080
      • No. 106 Zhongshan Er Road

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 18-80 years (including 18 years), male or female.
2. Diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) according to the diagnostic criteria established by the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS), including clinically established or clinically probable PD, with diagnosis made at least 6 months prior to screening.
3. Patients with nociplastic pain according to the classification of chronic pain in Parkinson's disease defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP).
4. Chronic pain associated with Parkinson's disease has been stable for at least 3 months prior to screening.
5. Stable anti-Parkinsonian medication regimen for at least 1 month prior to screening.
6. Average Daily Pain Score (ADPS) ≥4 during the week prior to screening.
7. Able to understand the study procedures and requirements, willing to comply with the clinical trial protocol, and voluntarily sign written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Severe Parkinson's disease defined as stage 5 on the Hoehn and Yahr Scale at screening (wheelchair-bound or bedridden unless aided).
2. Severe cognitive impairment or dementia defined as Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≤24.
3. Presence of severe pain unrelated to Parkinson's disease.
4. Presence of neurological disorders unrelated to Parkinson's disease.
5. History of severe psychiatric disorders within 1 year prior to screening.
6. Presence of chronic systemic diseases that, in the investigator's opinion, may affect participation in the study, including but not limited to:

(1) Severe cardiopulmonary diseases, such as unstable angina, myocardial infarction, severe arrhythmia, heart failure classified as WHO functional class III-IV, poorly controlled hypertension despite treatment (systolic blood pressure >160 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure >100 mmHg at screening), or recurrent asthma attacks; (2) Neurological or psychiatric disorders including epilepsy, recurrent dizziness or headache, memory impairment, or cognitive disorders.

7. Severe hematologic, hepatic, or renal dysfunction meeting any of the following laboratory criteria:

1. Hematology: neutrophils <1.5 × 10⁹/L, or platelets <90 × 10⁹/L, or hemoglobin <100 g/L;
2. Liver function: alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) >3 × the upper limit of normal (ULN), or total bilirubin (TBIL) >1.5 × ULN;
3. Renal function: estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m² (calculated using the simplified MDRD equation) or patients receiving renal dialysis;
4. Creatine kinase (CK) >2 × ULN. 8. Use of crisugabalin, mirogabalin, pregabalin, or gabapentin within 28 days prior to screening, unless a washout period of at least 1 month has been completed.

9. Use of strong opioid medications for the treatment of Parkinson's disease-related pain within 3 months prior to screening.

10. Prior treatment with pregabalin ≥300 mg/day or gabapentin ≥1200 mg/day with lack of clinical efficacy, as judged by the investigator.

11. Known allergy or hypersensitivity to the investigational drug, rescue medication components, or other structurally related compounds or excipients.

12. Pregnant or breastfeeding women, women planning pregnancy during the study period, or participants unwilling to use reliable contraception from signing the informed consent form until 28 days after the last dose of the study drug (including condoms, spermicides, or intrauterine devices), or women planning to use progesterone-containing contraceptive pills during this period.

13. History of deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. 14. Participation in any other clinical trial within 30 days prior to screening.

15. Any other condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, makes the participant unsuitable for participation in this study.

Withdrawal Criteria:

1. Occurrence of serious adverse reactions that are intolerable to the participant.
2. Development of serious physical illness during the observation period.
3. Violation of the study protocol.
4. Loss to follow-up.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Crisugabalin group; Participants will receive oral Crisugabalin capsules twice daily (BID) for 12 weeks. Initial dose: 20 mg BID; may escalate to 40 mg BID based on tolerability.	Drug: Crisugabalin; Crisugabalin will be administered orally to participants with Parkinson's disease experiencing nociplastic pain. The study uses a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled design. Participants will receive a titrated dose of Crisugabalin, starting at 20 mg twice daily and gradually increasing up to a target dose of 40 mg twice daily, based on individual tolerability, over a 4-week titration period. The total treatment duration is 12 weeks. The primary purpose of Crisugabalin administration is to evaluate its efficacy and safety in reducing nociplastic pain in PD patients. Participants will be monitored regularly for adverse events, vital signs, and laboratory parameters throughout the study period.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Comparator; Participants in this arm will receive oral placebo capsules twice daily (BID) for 12 weeks. Placebo capsules are identical in appearance, taste, and packaging to active Crisugabalin. All safety and efficacy assessments follow the same schedule as the experimental group.	Drug: Placebo; Placebo is in distinguishable from active crisugabalin in appearance and administration.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from Baseline in Average Daily Pain Score (ADPS) at Weeks 12.	Change from baseline in the average daily pain score (ADPS) assessed at Week 12 of treatment.	Baseline to Weeks 12

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from Baseline in Average Daily Pain Score (ADPS) at Weeks 2, 4, and 8	Change from baseline in the average daily pain score (ADPS) assessed at Week 2, Week 4, and Week 8 of treatment.	Baseline to Weeks 2, 4, and 8
Change from Baseline in King's Parkinson's Disease Pain Scale (KPPS) Score at Weeks 2, 4, 8, and 12	Change from baseline in the total score of the King's Parkinson's Disease Pain Scale (KPPS) assessed at Week 2, Week 4, Week 8, and Week 12 of treatment.	Baseline to Weeks 2, 4, 8, and 12
Change from Baseline in Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) Score at Weeks 2, 4, 8, and 12	Change from baseline in the total score of the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) assessed at Week 2, Week 4, Week 8, and Week 12 of treatment.	Baseline to Weeks 2, 4, 8, and 12
ADPS Responder Rate at Week 12	Proportion of participants achieving a reduction in Average Daily Pain Score (ADPS) of ≥30% and ≥50% from baseline to Week 12.	Week 12
Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) for Numbness, Pain, and Paresthesia at Week 12	Patient assessment of overall improvement in symptoms of numbness, pain, and paresthesia using the Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scale at Week 12 (after 12 weeks of treatment).	Week 12

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital
• Collaborators: Sichuan Haisco Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 13, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 15, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 15, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 16, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 16, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 19, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 19, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 16, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Parkinson's disease; nociceptive pain; crisugabalin
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Synucleinopathies; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Movement Disorders; Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Parkinson Disease; Nociceptive Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: KY2025-1335-04

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: De-identified individual participant data will be made available upon request to qualified researchers for non-commercial purposes, starting 6 months after publication of the primary manuscript. Requests will be reviewed by an independent data access committee.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Starting 6 months after publication of the primary manuscript and continuing for 5 years.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: De-identified individual participant data, along with the study protocol, statistical analysis plan, and informed consent form, will be available to qualified researchers who submit a scientifically sound proposal approved by an independent data access committee. Data will be provided via a secure online platform upon execution of a data use agreement.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; ANALYTIC_CODE; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No