Trigeminal NeuralgiaPhase 2NCT03865940
Efficacy of Guanfacine and Lidocaine Combination in Trigeminal Nerve Block for Pain Management in Trigeminal Neuropathy
A Phase 2 study testing Lidocaine and Guanfacine in people with Trigeminal Neuralgia, run by Vanderbilt University Medical Center at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
A phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) identified an association between a loss of function variant in the human alpha 2B adrenergic receptor gene and trigeminal nerve disorders. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 80 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- What is being tested?
- Lidocaine and Guanfacine
- Type of treatment
- Injection or infusion
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 37 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 4 Nov 2019to 31 Jan 2024
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Are there results?
- Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view
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 to 80 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Ability to understand and read English
- History of painful trigeminal neuropathy with persistent background facial pain severity > 5/10 on VAS
- Experience pain with a score of greater than 5 on a 0-10 scale (VAS) in the previous 24 hours before procedural treatment and at the time of procedural treatment.
- Eligible for trigeminal nerve block procedure and have not had a trigeminal nerve block procedure for pain management prior to the enrollment in the current study.
- Able to provide informed consent.
Who cannot join
- Presence of a significant structural lesion (e.g., tumor) as the cause of pain as shown in at least one neuroimaging study.
- Current diagnosis of fibromyalgia, temporomandibular disorders (TMD), odontogenic pain or other orofacial pain deemed unrelated to the trigeminal nerve as the origin.
- Allergy or any other hypersensitivity reactions to guanfacine or lidocaine or local anesthetic of the amide type, or to both iodinated contrast and gadolinium contrast.
- Females who are pregnant or breastfeeding and/or plan to become pregnant or to breastfeed during study participation.
- Participation in another investigational drug study within 30 days before randomization.
- Inability to understand the requirements of the study, inability to abide by the study restrictions, inability to fill out the questionnaires, or inability to return for the required treatments.
- Any clinically significant medical or surgical condition that in the investigator's opinion could interfere with the administration of study drug, interpretation of study results, or compromise the safety or well-being of the subject (i.e. infection, unable to stop anticoagulants).
- No reliable access to telephone service to allow for contact with study personnel.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee, 37203
About this study
Official title: A Randomized, Double-Blind, 2-Way Crossover Trial to Assess the Efficacy of Guanfacine and Lidocaine Combination Versus Lidocaine Alone in Trigeminal Nerve Block for Pain Management in Painful Trigeminal Neuropathy Patients
A phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) identified an association between a loss of function variant in the human alpha 2B adrenergic receptor gene and trigeminal nerve disorders. Guanfacine is the oldest alpha-2 adrenergic agonist in clinical use and is approved for hypertension and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. We hypothesize that guanfacine will be an effective adjunct to lidocaine for the treatment of neuropathic pain by enhancing and prolonging pain relief due to its activation of alpha-2 adrenergic receptors. The objectives of the study will be to evaluate the efficacy and safety of guanfacine in combination with lidocaine for trigeminal nerve block procedures for pain management in trigeminal neuralgia patients. This study will evaluate the efficacy of guanfacine in reducing acute pain and extending duration of pain relief when delivered in combination with lidocaine as a trigeminal nerve block, measured by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) data collected at specific time points after each injection.
- Conditions
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- Being tested
- Lidocaine, Guanfacine
- Medical subject headings
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
LidocaineDrug
Also called Xylocaine
6 mL of 1% lidocaine
GuanfacineDrug
250 mcg
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Lidocaine then Lidocaine + Guanfacine | Experimental | Trigeminal nerve block will be performed with injection of 6 mL of 1% lidocaine (Day 1).
Patient will return between Day 15-28 and trigeminal nerve block will be performed with injection of 6 mL of 1% lidocaine + 250 mcg guanfacine. Receives: Drug: Lidocaine; Drug: Guanfacine |
| Lidocaine + Guanfacine then Lidocaine | Experimental | Trigeminal nerve block will be performed with injection of 6 mL of 1% lidocaine + 250 mcg guanfacine (Day 1).
Patient will return between Day 15-28 and trigeminal nerve block will be performed with injection of 6 mL of 1% lidocaine. Receives: Drug: Lidocaine; Drug: Guanfacine |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Time to Return to Baseline Pain After Injection.
Time (hours) until pain returns to baseline number.
Measured: up to 2 weeks
Secondary outcomes (6)
Pain Intensity in Follow-Up
Pain Intensity after treatment measured throughout the 8-hour follow-up period on a visual analog scale (VAS) from 0 to 10, where 0 is the least pain and 10 is the most pain.
Measured: 8 hours
Quality of Life, Physical Health
Participant Quality of Life as measured by the PROMIS Global Health -10 SF during the 14-day follow-up. The scores reported are T-scores. The T-score rescales the raw sum score into a standardized score with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation (SD) of 10. Therefore a person with a T-score of 40 is one SD below the mean and a person with a T-score of 60 is one SD above the mean.
For the Physical Health subscale, raw scores are converted into t-scores ranging from 16.2 to 67.7 and higher t-scores are indicative of better overall physical health.
Measured: 14 days
Quality of Life, Mental Health
Participant Quality of Life as measured by the PROMIS Global Health -10 SF during the 14-day follow-up. The scores reported are T-scores. The T-score rescales the raw sum score into a standardized score with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation (SD) of 10. Therefore a person with a T-score of 40 is one SD below the mean and a person with a T-score of 60 is one SD above the mean.
In this Mental Health subscale, raw scores are converted into t-scores ranging from 21.2 to 67.6, where higher t-scores are indicative of better overall physical health.
Measured: 14 days
Frequency of Nerve Pain Attacks
Frequency of nerve pain attacks during the 14-day follow-up period. Pain frequency was recorded numerically as 0 - None (no pain), 1 - Weekly, 2 - Daily, 3 - Hourly, and 4 - Constant pain. Data was not collected at baseline, only at Day 7 and Day 14.
Measured: 14 days
Rescue Medication Use
Number of participants using rescue medication during the 8-hour follow-up period
Measured: 8 hours
Time to First Rescue Medication
Time, in hours, to use of first rescue medication in the follow-up period following the injection.
Measured: 14 days
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted7 Mar 2019
- Study start4 Nov 2019
- Primary completion4 Oct 2023
- Study completion31 Jan 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Trigeminal NeuralgiaStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Vanderbilt University Medical CenterThe 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 2
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Triple blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Care provider, Investigator
- Enrolment
- 37 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Tigran Keseyan, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Investigators
- Tigran Kesayan, MD, Principal investigator, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03865940
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- TN
- Status last verified
- Mar 2025
- First submitted
- 1 Mar 2019
- Last updated
- 30 Mar 2025
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- Yes
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Meier SE, Orr MB, Shotwell MS, Jerome RN, Shirey-Rice JK, Pulley JM, Edwards DA, Toye AD, Mishra P, Kesayan T. Enhanced pain relief with guanfacine as an adjuvant for trigeminal nerve blocks: insights from a PheWAS-guided randomized controlled study. Pain Med. 2025 Oct 1;26(10):643-654. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnaf054.
PubMed 40326696
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 30 Mar 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Randomized, Double-Blind, 2-Way Crossover Trial to Assess the Efficacy of Guanfacine and Lidocaine Combination Versus Lidocaine Alone in Trigeminal Nerve Block for Pain Management in Painful Trigeminal Neuropathy Patients
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03865940
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- TN
- Conditions
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 37 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Vanderbilt University Medical CenterUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 4 Nov 2019 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 4 Oct 2023 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 Jan 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 7 Mar 2019 (actual)
- Results
- Posted 17 Oct 2024
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
A phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) identified an association between a loss of function variant in the human alpha 2B adrenergic receptor gene and trigeminal nerve disorders. Guanfacine is the oldest alpha-2 adrenergic agonist in clinical use and is approved for hypertension and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. We hypothesize that guanfacine will be an effective adjunct to lidocaine for the treatment of neuropathic pain by enhancing and prolonging pain relief due to its activation of alpha-2 adrenergic receptors. The objectives of the study will be to evaluate the efficacy and safety of guanfacine in combination with lidocaine for trigeminal nerve block procedures for pain management in trigeminal neuralgia patients. This study will evaluate the efficacy of guanfacine in reducing acute pain and extending duration of pain relief when delivered in combination with lidocaine as a trigeminal nerve block, measured by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) data collected at specific time points after each injection.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Triple blind (participant, care provider, investigator)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Lidocaine then Lidocaine + Guanfacine | Experimental | Drug: Lidocaine, Drug: GuanfacineTrigeminal nerve block will be performed with injection of 6 mL of 1% lidocaine (Day 1). Patient will return between Day 15-28 and trigeminal nerve block will be performed with injection of 6 mL of 1% lidocaine + 250 mcg guanfacine. |
| Lidocaine + Guanfacine then Lidocaine | Experimental | Drug: Lidocaine, Drug: GuanfacineTrigeminal nerve block will be performed with injection of 6 mL of 1% lidocaine + 250 mcg guanfacine (Day 1). Patient will return between Day 15-28 and trigeminal nerve block will be performed with injection of 6 mL of 1% lidocaine. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 80 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Ability to understand and read English
- History of painful trigeminal neuropathy with persistent background facial pain severity > 5/10 on VAS
- Experience pain with a score of greater than 5 on a 0-10 scale (VAS) in the previous 24 hours before procedural treatment and at the time of procedural treatment.
- Eligible for trigeminal nerve block procedure and have not had a trigeminal nerve block procedure for pain management prior to the enrollment in the current study.
- Able to provide informed consent.
Key exclusion criteria (8 listed)
- Presence of a significant structural lesion (e.g., tumor) as the cause of pain as shown in at least one neuroimaging study.
- Current diagnosis of fibromyalgia, temporomandibular disorders (TMD), odontogenic pain or other orofacial pain deemed unrelated to the trigeminal nerve as the origin.
- Allergy or any other hypersensitivity reactions to guanfacine or lidocaine or local anesthetic of the amide type, or to both iodinated contrast and gadolinium contrast.
- Females who are pregnant or breastfeeding and/or plan to become pregnant or to breastfeed during study participation.
- Participation in another investigational drug study within 30 days before randomization.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LidocaineAlso: Xylocaine6 mL of 1% lidocaine | Drug | Lidocaine + Guanfacine then Lidocaine, Lidocaine then Lidocaine + Guanfacine |
| Guanfacine250 mcg | Drug | Lidocaine + Guanfacine then Lidocaine, Lidocaine then Lidocaine + Guanfacine |
Primary outcome
Time to Return to Baseline Pain After Injection.
Time frame: up to 2 weeks
Time (hours) until pain returns to baseline number.
6 secondary outcomes
Pain Intensity in Follow-Up
Time frame: 8 hours
Quality of Life, Physical Health
Time frame: 14 days
Quality of Life, Mental Health
Time frame: 14 days
Frequency of Nerve Pain Attacks
Time frame: 14 days
Rescue Medication Use
Time frame: 8 hours
Time to First Rescue Medication
Time frame: 14 days
Results and safety
Loading the posted results from ClinicalTrials.gov…
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 30 Mar 2025.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, baseline, all outcome measures and adverse events.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 40326696Meier SE, Orr MB, Shotwell MS, Jerome RN, Shirey-Rice JK, Pulley JM, Edwards DA, Toye AD, Mishra P, Kesayan T. Enhanced pain relief with guanfacine as an adjuvant for trigeminal nerve blocks: insights from a PheWAS-guided randomized controlled study. Pain Med. 2025 Oct 1;26(10):643-654. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnaf054.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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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.
Tigran Kesayan, MD principal investigator
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A Phase 2 study testing Lidocaine and Guanfacine in people with Trigeminal Neuralgia, run by Vanderbilt University Medical Center 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 5 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 30 Mar 2025. 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 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.
Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.
Are results available for this study?
Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 17 Oct 2024). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.
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?
Time to Return to Baseline Pain After Injection. (time frame: up to 2 weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03865940, which also lists 1 linked publication.
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 30 Mar 2025; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 8 Nov 2026.