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Buspirone Therapy for Localized Epilepsy

NCT01496612 · Status: TERMINATED · Phase: PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 9

Last updated 2021-10-05

Study results available
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Summary

Background:

Buspirone is a drug that is approved for the treatment of anxiety in adults. Studies suggest that buspirone might act on parts of the brain that can increase certain levels of brain activity. Increasing this brain activity may help decrease epileptic seizures that come from certain parts of the brain. Researchers want to see if buspirone can reduce seizure frequency in people with seizures who are already taking antiseizure medication.

Objectives:

To test whether buspirone can reduce the frequency of seizures in people whose seizures seem to start from one part of the brain.

Eligibility:

Individuals between 18 and 65 years of age who have seizures coming from one or more places in the brain.

Participants must have tried at least two different antiseizure medications.

Participants must also have had at least three seizures during a 1-month observation period while on current medicines.

Design:

Participants will have a screening visit with a physical exam and medical history. Participants will complete mood and memory testing scales. Blood, urine, and saliva samples will be collected.

Participants will have a magnetic resonance imaging scan to evaluate brain structures that relate to epilepsy. They will also have a positron emission tomography scan to look at parts of the brain that are affected by buspirone.

Participants will start taking a study drug (either buspirone or placebo) twice daily. They will keep a calendar of seizures and record any side effects. Treatment will be monitored with clinic visits and blood samples.

After 12 weeks on the study drug, participants will gradually stop taking either the placebo or buspirone over two weeks. They will stay off the drug for another 2 weeks.

After 2 weeks, participants will start taking a study drug that is the opposite of the one they had before. They will keep a calendar of seizures and record any side effects. Treatment will be monitored with clinic visits and blood samples.

After 12 weeks on the study drug, participants will gradually stop taking either the placebo or buspirone.

Participants will have a final followup visit with additional blood tests, mood and memory testing scales and imaging studies.

Conditions

Interventions

DRUG

Buspirone

DRUG

Placebo

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

    lead NIH

Principal Investigators

  • William H Theodore, M.D. · National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
65 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2011-11-22
Primary Completion
2016-04-19
Completion
2016-04-19
FDA Drug
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Drugs
Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01496612 on ClinicalTrials.gov