Epilepsy Clinical Trials

The goal of this clinical trial is to test if cognitive interventions in those with diagnosed epilepsy can help lessen cognitive lapses and improve overall brain health. Participants will participate in weekly, virtual group sessions led by a neuropsychologist for 12 weeks. After the 12-week mark, participants will be asked to practice what they learned for 9 more months. Participants will be asked to complete online questionnaires at certain times during the study. Researchers will compare this intervention group to another group that did not get the intervention to see if the intervention improves brain health. Participation in each of these groups will be randomly assigned. Participation in the study will last for one year. Read Less

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if new educational program prior to epilepsy surgery can either decrease the risk of cognitive decline after surgery or be a help to those patients who experience a decline after undergoing epilepsy surgery. Participants will participate in 2 individual virtual sessions and 4 virtual group sessions over the course of 5-6 weeks prior to their epilepsy surgery. They will asked to fill out online surveys and questionnaires at various times throughout the study, up to 12 months after their surgery. To see if the educational program works, researchers will compare those participating in the educational program with those that are receiving the standard epilepsy care prior to surgery. Read Less

The main reason for this research study is to gain information about how the brain makes seizures by causing seizures using very small amounts of current, or electrical stimulation. Using small amounts of current to cause seizures (or stimulate) is not new at CCHMC - it is part of routine clinical practice for some patients at some electrodes. This study differs from routine clinical care in that all study patients will undergo electrical stimulation in all or nearly all electrode contacts. The study team is doing this because there is promising data in adult patients that stimulating comprehensively (targeting all or nearly all of the electrode contacts) helps define the seizure network. Defining the seizure network in turn helps the medical team plan surgery. So far, there is not as much published data on seizure stimulation for pediatric patients. This research study thus has the potential both to help individual patients (by providing specific information about your seizure networks) and to help pediatric patients with epilepsy in general (by increasing our understanding of stimulated seizures in children, teenagers and young adults). Read Less

This study will be done in two phases. Using stakeholder input (community advisory board (CAB)), the study team will adapt the SMART program to incorporate education and self-management support for use of Rescue Medication (RM) to manage seizure occurrence among Persons With Epilepsy (PWE) who have repetitive seizures. Additional content/support materials, pending input stakeholder might include posters/hand-outs that present information on the use of RM in a way that is engaging and salient to PWE. It is expected that participants will be in Phase 1 for about 3 months and participate in the CAB 2 or 3 times via zoom for 60-90 minutes/meeting. The advisory board will provide input on needed refinement of an adapted version of SMART based on their individual experiences. It is anticipate the total time commitment to be no more than 6 hours over 3 months, spread out over 2-3 meetings with review of materials possible in between meetings. Phase 2: The investigators will use a 6-month prospective trial design to test engagement with and effects of SMART-RM among approximately 35 adult (≥ 18 years) PWE who have repetitive seizures. Read Less

Background: - Drug resistant epilepsy is the term used to describe epilepsy that cannot be controlled by medication. Many people whose seizures do not respond to medication will respond to surgical treatment, relieving seizures completely or almost completely in one-half to two-thirds of patients who qualify for surgery. The tests and surgery performed as part of this treatment are not experimental, but researchers are interested in using the data collected as part of routine standard epilepsy care to better understand epilepsy and its treatment. Objectives: - To use surgery as a treatment for drug resistant epilepsy in children and adults. Eligibility: - Children and adults at least 8 years of age who have simple or complex partial seizures (seizures that come from one area of the brain) that have not responded to medication, and who are willing to have brain surgery to treat their medically intractable epilepsy. Design: * Participants will be screened with a medical history, physical examination, and neurological examination. Imaging studies, including magnetic resonance imaging and computer-assisted tomography (CT), may also be conducted as part of the screening. Participants who do not need surgery or whose epilepsy cannot be treated surgically will follow up with a primary care physician or neurologist and will not need to return to the National Institutes of Health for this study. * Prior to the surgery, participants will have the following procedures to provide information on the correct surgical approach. * Video electroencephalography monitoring to measure brain activity during normal activities within a 24-hour period. Three to four 15-minute breaks are allowed within this period. * Electrodes placed directly in the brain or on the surface of the brain to measure brain activities and determine the part of the brain that is responsible for the seizures (seizure focus). * Participants will have a surgical procedure at the site of their seizure focus. Brain lesions, abnormal blood vessels, tumors, infections, or other areas of brain abnormality will be either removed or treated in a way that will stop or help prevent the spread of seizures without affecting irreplaceable brain functions, such as the ability to speak, understand, move, feel, or see. * Participants will return for outpatient visits and brain imaging studies 2 months, 1 year, and 2 years after surgery. Read Less

Objectives: The overall study objective is to compare the sensitivities and specificities of morphometric analysis techniques using structural MRI images based on pre- and postsurgical localization of epileptic foci in patients undergoing presurgical evaluation for medically refractory epilepsy. To carry out these analyses, we aim to establish an age-stratified normative imaging database using healthy volunteers. Additional objectives are to identify abnormal networks in these patients using resting state fMRI/EEG and MEG/EEG, and to use language and memory fMRI tasks to examine the effects of epileptogenic zones and surgery on cognitive function and the networks associated with these functions. Study population: 300 adults and children (age 8 and older) with uncontrolled focal epilepsy, and 200 age-stratified healthy volunteers. Design: A retrospective and prospective natural history study. Research procedures for patients in this study include neuropsychological testing and 1-4 MRI sessions during presurgical evaluation and an additional 1-3 MRI sessions and neuropsychological testing approximately 12 months post-operatively. Research testing (such as research neuropsychological tests or MRI scanning sequences) will be done during a visit for clinical testing whenever possible, likely reducing the number of required visits. Patients will also have optional MEG and 7T structural imaging. Data will also be obtained from patients who have already undergone epilepsy surgery if they had procedures as outlined in the protocol and are willing to share the data. Healthy volunteers will receive a subset of the pre-operative procedures for patients, requiring at least 3 visits. In order to ensure adequate data acquisition, subjects may be re-scanned up to three times for the portions of the study in which they participated, possibly requiring additional visits. Outcome measures: The main outcomes will be establishment of normative values for morphometric analysis methods in age-stratified normal controls, and comparison of the sensitivity and specificity of these measures to pre- and postsurgical localization of the epileptogenic zone. Secondary outcome measures will include determination of the sensitivity and specificity of source localization using MEG/EEG and resting state fMRI/EEG, and to evaluate changes in activation during rest, as well as language and memory fMRI tasks in patients pre- and postsurgically, to examine the effects of epileptogenic zones and surgery on cognitive function and the networks underlying these functions. Read Less

The goal of this trial is to learn about the effect of PRAX-222 in pediatric participants with early onset SCN2A developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE), aged 2 to 18 years. Read Less

The Registry and Natural History of Epilepsy-Dyskinesia Syndromes is focused on gathering longitudinal clinical data as well as biological samples (blood, urine, and/or skin/tissue) from male and female patients, of all ages, who have a genetic diagnosis of epilepsy-dyskinesia syndromes. Through prospective review and molecular data analysis, the study aims to identify patterns and correlations between movement and seizure disorders, uncovering genotype-phenotype relationships. The initiative's goals are to enhance understanding of epilepsy-dyskinesia syndromes, inform precision medicine approaches, and foster international collaboration. Read Less

To generate preliminary safety and effectiveness data for brain-responsive neurostimulation of thalamocortical networks as an adjunctive therapy in reducing the frequency of generalized seizures in individuals 12 years of age or older with Lennox Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) who are refractory to antiseizure medications. The intent is to determine the feasibility and the optimal design of a subsequent pivotal study in order to expand the indication for use for the RNS System as a treatment for patients with medically intractable LGS. Read Less

The NIH grant has funded the development of a physiological brain atlas registry that will allow us to significantly improve the data collectioin and use of physiological data into a normalized brain volume. This initially was used to improve DBS implants for Parkinson's Disease, Dystonia, Essential Tremor, and OCD, but now includes data acquired during all stereotactic brain procedures. Read Less

Background: - The blood-brain barrier separates the brain from the rest of the body. Epilepsy is a neurological disease that causes seizures. It can affect this barrier. Researchers think a contrast agent called mangafodipir might be better able to show areas of the brain that epilepsy affects. Objective: - To see if mangafodipir is well tolerated and safe. To see if it can show, on an MRI, areas of the brain that epilepsy affects. Eligibility: * People ages 18-60 who: * Have epilepsy not controlled by drugs * Prior or concurrent enrollment in 18-N-0066 is required Design: * Participants will be screened with: * Medical history * Physical exam * Blood and urine tests * Participants will have up to 6 visits in 1-3 months. Those with epilepsy will have an inpatient stay lasting 2-10 days. Visits may include: * Video-EEG monitoring for participants with epilepsy * An IV catheter put in place: a needle guides a thin plastic tube into an arm vein. * Getting mangafodipir through the IV. * 5 MRI scans over a 10-day period: a magnetic field and radio waves take pictures of the brain. Participants lie on a table that slides into a metal cylinder. They are in the cylinder for 45-90 minutes, lying still for up to 10 minutes at a time. The scanner makes loud knocking sounds. Participants will get earplugs. * A final MRI at least 2 weeks after receiving mangafodipir. Gadolinium is given through an IV catheter.... Read Less

This study will investigate the potential benefits of rose scent in reducing the risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) in patients with epilepsy. Participants will engage in their routine inpatient observational EEG monitoring for 24 hours followed by an additional 24 hours of observational EEG monitoring with continuous exposure to rose scent, during which an essential oil diffusor with rose scent will be placed in their hospital room. During these 48 total hours of the study, participants will wear a respiratory monitoring belt across their upper chest to measure their breathing. Potential risks include distress or discomfort when smelling the rose scent used in the study, a physical reaction to the rose scent, and discomfort or feelings of restrictiveness when wearing the respiratory monitoring belt. The total time commitment of the study is 48 consecutive hours over the course of the participants' inpatient EMU stay, during which there will be no restrictions on daily activities during the standard inpatient EMU admission except that participants must wear their respiratory belt for a majority of this 2-day period. Read Less