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Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and feasibility of Magnetic Resonance Imaging-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) in patients with epilepsy whose medicines are not working well. The ExAblate (ExAblate) transcranial system is the name of the device that will be used to create and send ultrasound waves through the scalp and skull precisely to a small structure located in the center of the brain. This structure is known as the "Anterior Nucleus", and is an important region in the brain that may cause the seizures. Safety will be measured by recording and analyzing any adverse effects that may occur from the day of the experimental surgery through 12 months following the surgery.


Clinical Trial Description

This is a open-label prospective intervention study. Ten (10) adults with refractory, partial-onset epilepsy with secondary generalization and able to provide informed consent will be enrolled. In addition to the diagnosis of medically refractory epilepsy, these patients will need to meet protocol specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. These adults will be screened from the patients being cared for by the epilepsy program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or referred from elsewhere for enrollment in the study. Initially, 3 participants will be enrolled and followed for 3 months to assess the safety of study intervention. Pending review by the Data and Safety Monitoring Committee (DSMC), an additional 7 participants will be enrolled. This pilot study is being conducted to test the feasibility of this device in order to confirm the design and operating specifications of the device including the ability to identify and accurately ablate the target focus within the Anterior Nucleus. Safety will be assessed by the absence of side effects, e.g., new onset of neurological deficits, performance deterioration on neuropsychological testing. Feasibility is defined as the ability to create the desired lesion within the anterior nucleus. Seizure frequency data will be collected by seizure diary. Quality of life will be measured by the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-31). Imaging analysis will include study of changes in resting state functional connectivity (assessed by fMRI), as well as in structural (assessed by volumetric T1 and T2 weighted imaging) and microstructural (assessed by diffusion tensor imaging) brain anatomy. ;


Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


NCT number NCT03417297
Study type Interventional
Source University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Contact Mary Ann Barnett
Phone +1 (919)-966-8804
Email Mary-Ann_Barnett@med.unc.edu
Status Recruiting
Phase N/A
Start date April 24, 2018
Completion date May 2025

See also
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Completed NCT01749046 - Remegal Fixed Dose as Adjunctive Therapy in Patients With Partial Seizures Phase 3