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Temporal Lobe EpilepsyPhase 3METTLENCT00717431

A Multicenter Study of Hippocampal Electrical Stimulation (HS, in Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

A Phase 3 study testing Hippocampal Electrical Stimulation in people with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, run by University of Calgary at 1 site in Canada.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
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Trial summary

The primary goal is to determine whether hippocampal electrical stimulation (HS) is safe and more effective than simply implanting an electrode in the hippocampus without electrical stimulation (HI), in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
What is being tested?
Hippocampal Electrical Stimulation
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
8 participants
Where
1 siteCanada
Study dates
Jan 2008to Mar 2012
Phase
Phase 3
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 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Unilateral or Bilateral Mesial Temporal lobe Epilepsy.
  • Age ≥ 18 years.
  • Global IQ ≥70.
  • Failure of ≥ 2 AEDs approved for treatment of partial seizures, used alone or in combination at recommended dosages.
  • Average ≥ 3 seizure-days per month in prior 6 months during which disabling seizures occurred. Disabling seizures are defined as complex partial seizures with or without secondary generalization, or as simple partial seizures that are noticeable by others or interfere with function.
  • Ability to complete self-administered questionnaires.
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  • Availability of reliable collateral historian or witness.
  • Patient preference for non-resective surgery, or not a candidate for mesial temporal resection.
  • Give written informed consent.

Who cannot join

  • Extratemporal or multifocal epilepsy.
  • MRI evidence of potentially epileptogenic lesions outside the mesial temporal region.
  • Lesions precluding electrode implantation (eg, vascular malformations, vascular tumors).
  • Severe hippocampal sclerosis that in the surgeon's opinion precludes accurate electrode placement.
  • Brain lesions that demand prompt surgical therapy (eg, malignant tumors, vascular malformations).
  • Progressive neurological disorders (eg, malignant tumor, dementia, degenerative disorders).
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  • Medical or psychiatric conditions precluding surgery or interfering with adherence to treatment and follow-up.
  • Planned pregnancy during the study. Women of child-bearing age will require a negative pregnancy test and adequate contraception methods.
  • Ongoing or planned participation in other studies of new epilepsy therapies.
  • Contraindication for stereotactic surgery, e.g. bleeding diathesis, anticoagulants, treatment with valproate at the time of surgery (risk of bleeding).
  • Any condition that would make participation in the trial detrimental to the patient's health.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Canada1 site
  • Foothills Medical Centre, Clinical Neurosciences

    Calgary, Alberta

Other trials in Canada

About this study

Official title: Medical vs Electrical Therapy for Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

The primary goal is to determine whether hippocampal electrical stimulation (HS) is safe and more effective than simply implanting an electrode in the hippocampus without electrical stimulation (HI), in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). This will be assessed by the rate of complex partial seizures per person-month over 6 months of follow-up in HS vs. HI. There are two treatment arms: 1) Hippocampal Electrode Implantation with Stimulation (HS). 2) Hippocampal Electrode Implantation without stimulation (HI). The investigators expect to demonstrate that HS is safe and superior to HI in controlling seizures in patients with MTLE.

Read the detailed description

This is a multicentre, parallel-group, double blind randomized controlled trial involving patients with MTLE who may be candidates for resective surgery or whose memory function precludes resective surgery. Eligible patients will be randomized in a 2:1 ratio into hippocampal electrode implantation with stimulation (HS), or hippocampal electrode implantation without stimulation (HI). Patients will be followed for seven months after randomization. One month will be devoted to adjustment of interventions, and 6 months to follow-up and outcome assessment. At the end of seven months, all patients will be offered the option of HS, electrode removal, surgical therapy or medical therapy, based on best evidence and patient preference.

Primary Question: In patients with MTLE, over a 6-month period:

Is continuous HS plus medical therapy (MT) more efficacious than hippocampal implantation (HI) plus MT in reducing seizure frequency?

Secondary Questions: In patients with MTLE, over a 6-month period:

  1. Is HS safe?
  2. What is the effect of HS on cognition, mood, and quality of life?
  3. What is the effect of HS on psychiatric morbidity?
  4. Is the efficacy of HS associated with the presence, location and amount of interictal hippocampal spikes on depth electrode recordings?
Being tested
Hippocampal Electrical Stimulation
Keywords
Deep Brain Stimulation, Seizures, Epilepsy
Medical subject headings
Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe, Seizures, Epilepsy

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Hippocampal Electrical StimulationProcedure or surgery

    Surgical Implantation of electrode and stimulator

Study groups in NCT00717431
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Hippocampal StimulationExperimentalHippocampal Stimulation (Stimulator is turned ON) Surgical Intervention
Receives: Procedure: Hippocampal Electrical Stimulation
Hippocampal ImplantationSham comparatorHippocampal Implantation (Stimulator is turned OFF)Surgical Intervention
Receives: Procedure: Hippocampal Electrical Stimulation

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Rate of complex partial seizures (with or without secondary generalization) per person-month over 6 months of follow-up.

    Measured: Months 1-7

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Cognitive function: Change in mean scores from baseline to end of study.

    Measured: Months 1-7

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted17 Jul 2008 (estimated)
  2. Study startJan 2008
  3. Primary completionMar 2012
  4. Study completionMar 2012

Why it stopped: insufficient enrolment

Resources

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 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Quadruple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
8 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00717431
Sponsor's protocol ID
20492
Acronym
METTLE
Status last verified
Mar 2012
First submitted
15 Jul 2008
Last updated
2 Apr 2012
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 3 study testing Hippocampal Electrical Stimulation in people with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, run by University of Calgary at 1 site in Canada.

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 9 inclusion and 11 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: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 2 Apr 2012. 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 Canada. 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. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. 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 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.

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 was stopped early (reason given: insufficient enrolment). Results are not available in the source record.

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.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Rate of complex partial seizures (with or without secondary generalization) per person-month over 6 months of follow-up. (time frame: Months 1-7). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
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 2 Apr 2012.

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