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Ventricular mTOR Inhibition to Prevent Hydrocephalus After Brain Hemorrhage

NCT07662174 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: PHASE1/PHASE2 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 15

Last updated 2026-06-25

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Hydrocephalus is a serious condition in which fluid builds up inside the brain, often requiring lifelong surgical placement of a shunt to drain excess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). One of the most common causes of hydrocephalus is bleeding into the brain's fluid spaces after aneurysm rupture, prematurity, or infection. Currently, no medication exists to prevent hydrocephalus from developing after these injuries. The investigators' recent research suggests that hydrocephalus may result not only from blocked fluid pathways but also from harmful inflammation within the brain's ventricular system. The investigators discovered that inflammation activates the choroid plexus, the tissue that produces CSF, causing excessive CSF production and inflammatory injury to the ventricular lining and surrounding brain tissue. The investigators also identified inflammatory biomarkers and extracellular vesicles in human CSF that may enable real-time monitoring of these disease processes.

In this project, the investigators will perform a first-in-human pilot study testing whether targeted "intraventricular mTOR inhibition" can reduce ventricular inflammation and prevent hydrocephalus after severe brain hemorrhage. The medication will be delivered via temporary ventricular drains already in place as part of routine clinical care. The investigators will study safety, inflammation, CSF production, brain imaging changes, and whether patients ultimately require permanent shunts. Although this initial study focuses on adults with hemorrhage-related hydrocephalus, our long-term goal is to develop non-surgical therapies that could help children with hydrocephalus caused by prematurity or infection, especially in regions where access to neurosurgical care and shunt surgery is limited.

Conditions

  • Post-hemorrhagic Hydrocephalus (PHH)

Interventions

DRUG

Sirolimus (Rapamune®)

Ventricular delivery

Sponsors & Collaborators

Principal Investigators

  • Kristopher Kahle, MD, PhD · Massachusetts General Hospital

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SEQUENTIAL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2027-01-01
Primary Completion
2027-12-31
Completion
2027-12-31
FDA Drug
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Companies

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 NCT07662174 on ClinicalTrials.gov