Friedreich AtaxiaPhase 1NCT00015808
Safety Study of Idebenone to Treat Friedreich's Ataxia
A Phase 1 study testing Idebenone in people with Friedreich Ataxia, run by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study will determine the highest dose of idebonone that can safely be given to patients with Friedrich's ataxia, an inherited degenerative disease that causes loss of muscle coordination, speech problems, weakness and sensory loss. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any age
- Conditions the study is for
- Friedreich Ataxia
- What is being tested?
- Idebenone
- How many people
- 100 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- May 2001to Apr 2006
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages Any age
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Diagnosis of FRDA with confirmed FRDA mutations.
- Age greater than or equal to five years old.
- No exposure to idebenone or coenzyme Q10 for a period of at least one week prior to onset of the medication phase of the study.
- Written, informed consent (and assent, if applicable).
Who cannot join
- History of a hypersensitivity reaction to idebenone or coenzyme
- Q10.
- Pregnant or lactating women. All women of child-bearing potential must have negative serum pregnancy prior to the medication phase of the study.
- Age less than five years old.
- Platelet count, lymphocyte count or hemoglobin below the lower limit of normal.
- Alkaline phosphatase, SGOT, SGPT greater than 1.5 times the upper limit of normal. Bilirubin greater than 1.2 g/dl.
- Creatinine greater than 1.5 times the upper limit of normal.
- Clinically significant medical disease that, in the judgment of the investigators, would expose the patient to undue risk of harm or prevent the patient from completing the study.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
About this study
Official title: Phase I Clinical Trial to Establish the Maximum Tolerated Dose of Idebenone in Children, Adolescents, and Adults With Friedreich's Ataxia
This study will determine the highest dose of idebonone that can safely be given to patients with Friedrich's ataxia, an inherited degenerative disease that causes loss of muscle coordination, speech problems, weakness and sensory loss. Enlargement of the left ventricle (the large pumping chamber of the heart) is also common in this disease. In studies in France and Canada, patients with Friedrich's ataxia who were given idebonone, an antioxidant similar to the dietary supplement coenzyme Q, had a decrease in the size of their left ventricle.
Patients 5 years and older with Friedrich's ataxia may be eligible for this study. Pregnant and lactating women may not participate. Candidates will be screened with a medical history and physical examination and a review of genetic studies. Patients who have not had genetic studies will be offered genetic counseling and testing to confirm or rule out Friedrich's ataxia.
Read more
Participants will be admitted to the NIH Clinical Center for 3 days. They will have blood and urine tests and a heart evaluation, including an echocardiogram-a procedure that uses sound waves to produce images of the heart, and an electrocardiogram-a study of the electrical activity of the heart. When these tests have been completed, patients will take an idebonone capsule. They will be monitored for side effects for 72 hours. Blood samples will be collected through an intravenous catheter (flexible plastic tube placed in a vein) 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours after the drug is taken to determine how long it takes for the drug to be eliminated from the body.
Patients will return for a follow-up visit within 1 to 8 weeks. Those who experienced no serious side effects may receive another, higher dose of the drug, with at least 6 days between doses.
Read the detailed description
Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is a progressive, autosomal recessive, multisystem degenerative disease for which there is currently no effective treatment. Recent studies suggest that lipid-soluble antioxidants may prevent the progression of neurodegeneration and lead to some reversal of cardiomyopathy.
This will be a phase Ia, unblinded, dose-escalation trial examining the toxicity and tolerability of the antioxidant idebenone in patients with FRDA. Our primary objective is to determine the maximum tolerated single dose of idebenone in patients with FRDA. Our secondary objective is to document the pharmacokinetics of single-dose idebenone in this population. We aim to enroll 48 patients divided evenly among three age cohorts: children (ages 5-11), adolescents (ages 12-17), and adults (age greater than or equal to 18). Each age cohort will be studied independently. Three patients from each cohort will receive one day of oral idebenone followed by inpatient monitoring for 72 hours. If dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) is not observed during the 72-hour study period, three new patients will receive the next highest dose. If one of three patients experiences DLT, three new patients will receive the same dose. Within each cohort, the dose will be escalated until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is established. The MTD will be defined as one dose below that which resulted in DLT in any two patients within a cohort.
Subsequent to the completion of this phase Ia trial, we plan to further refine the MTD for each age group in a phase Ib trial in which we will examine multiple-dose regimens over a longer study period. We hope to follow these phase I studies with a double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase II trial to further evaluate safety and to estimate the efficacy of idebenone using cardiac parameters as our primary endpoints. In addition, we are currently in the process of validating a clinical evaluation scale for FRDA that we hope to employ in measuring neurological parameters as a secondary endpoint in the phase II trial.
- Conditions
- Friedreich Ataxia
- Being tested
- Idebenone
- Keywords
- Neurodegeneration, Anti-Oxidant, Neuropathy, Hereditary, Spinocerebellar, Friedreich's Ataxia, Friedreich Ataxia, FRDA
- Medical subject headings
- Friedreich Ataxia, Nerve Degeneration
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
IdebenoneDrug
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted7 May 2001 (estimated)
- Study startMay 2001
- Study completionApr 2006
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (4)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Friedreich AtaxiaStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)The sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Enrolment
- 100 participants
Sponsor and investigators
- Sponsor type
- US National Institutes of Health
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00015808
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 010167
- Other IDs
- 01-N-0167
- Status last verified
- Apr 2006
- First submitted
- 6 May 2001
- Last updated
- 12 Jul 2006
- Results posted
- No
Publications
Babcock M, de Silva D, Oaks R, Davis-Kaplan S, Jiralerspong S, Montermini L, Pandolfo M, Kaplan J. Regulation of mitochondrial iron accumulation by Yfh1p, a putative homolog of frataxin. Science. 1997 Jun 13;276(5319):1709-12. doi: 10.1126/science.276.5319.1709.
PubMed 9180083Beal MF. Energetics in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Trends Neurosci. 2000 Jul;23(7):298-304. doi: 10.1016/s0166-2236(00)01584-8.
PubMed 10856939Campuzano V, Montermini L, Molto MD, Pianese L, Cossee M, Cavalcanti F, Monros E, Rodius F, Duclos F, Monticelli A, Zara F, Canizares J, Koutnikova H, Bidichandani SI, Gellera C, Brice A, Trouillas P, De Michele G, Filla A, De Frutos R, Palau F, Patel PI, Di Donato S, Mandel JL, Cocozza S, Koenig M, Pandolfo M. Friedreich's ataxia: autosomal recessive disease caused by an intronic GAA triplet repeat expansion. Science. 1996 Mar 8;271(5254):1423-7. doi: 10.1126/science.271.5254.1423.
PubMed 8596916Di Prospero NA, Sumner CJ, Penzak SR, Ravina B, Fischbeck KH, Taylor JP. Safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of high-dose idebenone in patients with Friedreich ataxia. Arch Neurol. 2007 Jun;64(6):803-8. doi: 10.1001/archneur.64.6.803.
PubMed 17562928
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 12 Jul 2006. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Phase I Clinical Trial to Establish the Maximum Tolerated Dose of Idebenone in Children, Adolescents, and Adults With Friedreich's Ataxia
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00015808
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 010167
- Conditions
- Friedreich Ataxia
- Keywords
- Neurodegeneration, Anti-Oxidant, Neuropathy, Hereditary, Spinocerebellar, Friedreich's Ataxia, Friedreich Ataxia, FRDA
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 100 participants
- Lead sponsor
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)US National Institutes of Health
- Study start
- May 2001
- Study completion
- Apr 2006
- First posted
- 7 May 2001 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study will determine the highest dose of idebonone that can safely be given to patients with Friedrich's ataxia, an inherited degenerative disease that causes loss of muscle coordination, speech problems, weakness and sensory loss. Enlargement of the left ventricle (the large pumping chamber of the heart) is also common in this disease. In studies in France and Canada, patients with Friedrich's ataxia who were given idebonone, an antioxidant similar to the dietary supplement coenzyme Q, had a decrease in the size of their left ventricle.
Patients 5 years and older with Friedrich's ataxia may be eligible for this study. Pregnant and lactating women may not participate. Candidates will be screened with a medical history and physical examination and a review of genetic studies. Patients who have not had genetic studies will be offered genetic counseling and testing to confirm or rule out Friedrich's ataxia.
Participants will be admitted to the NIH Clinical Center for 3 days. They will have blood and urine tests and a heart evaluation, including an echocardiogram-a procedure that uses sound waves to produce images of the heart, and an electrocardiogram-a study of the electrical activity of the heart. When these tests have been completed, patients will take an idebonone capsule. They will be monitored for side effects for 72 hours. Blood samples will be collected through an intravenous catheter (flexible plastic tube placed in a vein) 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours after the drug is taken to determine how long it takes for the drug to be eliminated from the body.
Patients will return for a follow-up visit within 1 to 8 weeks. Those who experienced no serious side effects may receive another, higher dose of the drug, with at least 6 days between doses.
Detailed description
Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is a progressive, autosomal recessive, multisystem degenerative disease for which there is currently no effective treatment. Recent studies suggest that lipid-soluble antioxidants may prevent the progression of neurodegeneration and lead to some reversal of cardiomyopathy.
This will be a phase Ia, unblinded, dose-escalation trial examining the toxicity and tolerability of the antioxidant idebenone in patients with FRDA. Our primary objective is to determine the maximum tolerated single dose of idebenone in patients with FRDA. Our secondary objective is to document the pharmacokinetics of single-dose idebenone in this population. We aim to enroll 48 patients divided evenly among three age cohorts: children (ages 5-11), adolescents (ages 12-17), and adults (age greater than or equal to 18). Each age cohort will be studied independently. Three patients from each cohort will receive one day of oral idebenone followed by inpatient monitoring for 72 hours. If dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) is not observed during the 72-hour study period, three new patients will receive the next highest dose. If one of three patients experiences DLT, three new patients will receive the same dose. Within each cohort, the dose will be escalated until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is established. The MTD will be defined as one dose below that which resulted in DLT in any two patients within a cohort.
Subsequent to the completion of this phase Ia trial, we plan to further refine the MTD for each age group in a phase Ib trial in which we will examine multiple-dose regimens over a longer study period. We hope to follow these phase I studies with a double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase II trial to further evaluate safety and to estimate the efficacy of idebenone using cardiac parameters as our primary endpoints. In addition, we are currently in the process of validating a clinical evaluation scale for FRDA that we hope to employ in measuring neurological parameters as a secondary endpoint in the phase II trial.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
Who may qualify
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Diagnosis of FRDA with confirmed FRDA mutations.
- Age greater than or equal to five years old.
- No exposure to idebenone or coenzyme Q10 for a period of at least one week prior to onset of the medication phase of the study.
- Written, informed consent (and assent, if applicable).
Key exclusion criteria (8 listed)
- History of a hypersensitivity reaction to idebenone or coenzyme
- Q10.
- Pregnant or lactating women. All women of child-bearing potential must have negative serum pregnancy prior to the medication phase of the study.
- Age less than five years old.
- Platelet count, lymphocyte count or hemoglobin below the lower limit of normal.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Idebenone | Drug | – |
Primary outcome
Not reported in the source record.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 12 Jul 2006.
- Background: PubMed 9180083Babcock M, de Silva D, Oaks R, Davis-Kaplan S, Jiralerspong S, Montermini L, Pandolfo M, Kaplan J. Regulation of mitochondrial iron accumulation by Yfh1p, a putative homolog of frataxin. Science. 1997 Jun 13;276(5319):1709-12. doi: 10.1126/science.276.5319.1709.
- Background: PubMed 10856939Beal MF. Energetics in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Trends Neurosci. 2000 Jul;23(7):298-304. doi: 10.1016/s0166-2236(00)01584-8.
- Background: PubMed 8596916Campuzano V, Montermini L, Molto MD, Pianese L, Cossee M, Cavalcanti F, Monros E, Rodius F, Duclos F, Monticelli A, Zara F, Canizares J, Koutnikova H, Bidichandani SI, Gellera C, Brice A, Trouillas P, De Michele G, Filla A, De Frutos R, Palau F, Patel PI, Di Donato S, Mandel JL, Cocozza S, Koenig M, Pandolfo M. Friedreich's ataxia: autosomal recessive disease caused by an intronic GAA triplet repeat expansion. Science. 1996 Mar 8;271(5254):1423-7. doi: 10.1126/science.271.5254.1423.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 17562928Di Prospero NA, Sumner CJ, Penzak SR, Ravina B, Fischbeck KH, Taylor JP. Safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of high-dose idebenone in patients with Friedreich ataxia. Arch Neurol. 2007 Jun;64(6):803-8. doi: 10.1001/archneur.64.6.803.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A Phase 1 study testing Idebenone in people with Friedreich Ataxia, run by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 8 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Jul 2006. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
What does this phase mean?
Phase 1 studies test a treatment in a small group of people for the first time or in a new way, mainly to check safety and find the right dose.
Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00015808, which also lists 4 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Jul 2006; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 8 Nov 2026.