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AzTrials

EpilepsyPhase 3NCT00210782

A Comparison of the Effectiveness and Safety of Topiramate and Phenytoin in Patients With New Onset Epilepsy Requiring Rapid Initiation of Antiepileptic Drug Treatment

A Phase 3 study testing topiramate, phenytoin in people with Epilepsy, run by Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C..

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness and safety of two treatment regimens, topiramate as compared to phenytoin, in preventing seizures in patients with new-onset epilepsy who require rapid initiation of antiepileptic drug therapy. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 12 to 65 years
Conditions the study is for
Epilepsy
What is being tested?
topiramate, phenytoin
How many people
262 participants
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
Jun 2004to Aug 2007
Phase
Phase 3
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

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 12 to 65 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Seizures indicative of new-onset epilepsy (or epilepsy relapse) of untreated epilepsy
  • at least one but not more than 20 unprovoked seizures within past 3 months
  • weighing more than 110 pounds
  • considered to be a good candidate for rapid initiation of anti-seizure medication
  • able to swallow a tablet whole (without crushing it).

Who cannot join

  • Not having taken anti-seizure medications within the past 30 days
  • no provoking factors for seizures (presence of alcohol withdrawal, drug intoxication, acute meningitis or encephalitis, acute head injury or stroke, acute hypoxic/ischemic encephalopathy, or brain tumor)
  • no presence of active liver disease or serious kidney disease
  • not pregnant or breast-feeding
  • not using birth control.

About this study

Official title: A Double-blind Trial Comparing the Efficacy, Tolerability and Safety of Monotherapy Topiramate Versus Phenytoin in Subjects With Seizures Indicative of New Onset Epilepsy

The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness and safety of two treatment regimens, topiramate as compared to phenytoin, in preventing seizures in patients with new-onset epilepsy who require rapid initiation of antiepileptic drug therapy. Reasons for requiring rapid initiation of treatment, rather than slowly increasing an antiepileptic drug to an effective dose, may include severe or frequent seizures, or high risk to the patient of recurrent seizures.

Read the detailed description

In this study, patients who have recently been diagnosed with epilepsy and who require rapid initiation of treatment will be randomized to receive either phenytoin or topiramate. Patients have an equal chance of receiving either medication. Phenytoin and topiramate have been approved by the FDA for treatment of epilepsy. The first phase of this study (lasting 28 days) is double-blind, meaning that neither the patient or the physician know which medication the patient is receiving. Phenytoin will be used according to the dosing recommendation in the package insert. Patients randomized into the phenytoin arm of this study, will receive a dose on day 1 of 1000mg phenytoin (given in 3 divided doses), an initiation dose recommended in the product labeling. This will be followed by 300mg of phenytoin on each subsequent day. Patients randomized into the topiramate arm of this study will receive 100mg of topiramate on day 1 and then continue to receive 100mg on each subsequent day. This is a relatively rapid initiation schedule of topiramate, but it is anticipated that it will be well tolerated and represents an appropriate regimen for comparison to patients in the phenytoin arm of the study. Patients will be carefully monitored for primary generalized tonic clonic seizures or complex partial onset seizures (two distinct epileptic seizure types) during the 28-day double-blind evaluation period of the trial. If a patient experiences a seizure during this 28 day period, they will either be taken out of the study, or be offered the option to receive a higher dose of topiramate in an open-label fashion. Open-label means that the patient and the physician will know what medication and what dose of the medication the patient is taking. All patients who do not experience a seizure during the 28 day period will be offered to receive open-label topiramate for an additional 12 weeks. The study hypothesis is that the proportion of patients who do not have a seizure within the 28 day double blind phase of the study will not differ between the 2 treatment groups. Topiramate 100 milligrams a day by mouth for 4 weeks; phenytoin 1000 milligrams to start, decreased to 300 milligrams a day by mouth for 4 weeks.

Conditions
Epilepsy
Being tested
topiramate, phenytoin
Keywords
epilepsy, seizures, epileptic seizures, complex partial seizures, generalized tonic-clonic seizures
Medical subject headings
Epilepsy, Seizures

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • topiramate, phenytoinDrug

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. The primary outcome parameter is the time to first seizure during the double blind phase of the study. The statistical evaluation will analyze if there is a significant difference in the proportion of patients being seizure free between both medications.

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Effect of sex, age, baseline weight, baseline seizure type, and duration since first diagnosis of epilepsy on the time to seizure.

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted21 Sep 2005 (estimated)
  2. Study startJun 2004
  3. Study completionAug 2007

Resources

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 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Double blind
Enrolment
262 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00210782
Sponsor's protocol ID
CR004663
Status last verified
Mar 2010
First submitted
13 Sep 2005
Last updated
10 Jun 2011
Results posted
No

Publications

  • Ramsay E, Faught E, Krumholz A, Naritoku D, Privitera M, Schwarzman L, Mao L, Wiegand F, Hulihan J; CAPSS-272 Study Group. Efficacy, tolerability, and safety of rapid initiation of topiramate versus phenytoin in patients with new-onset epilepsy: a randomized double-blind clinical trial. Epilepsia. 2010 Oct;51(10):1970-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2010.02670.x.

    PubMed 20633037

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 3 study testing topiramate, phenytoin in people with Epilepsy, run by Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C..

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 5 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 10 Jun 2011. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

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 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

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?

The primary outcome parameter is the time to first seizure during the double blind phase of the study. The statistical evaluation will analyze if there is a significant difference in the proportion of patients being seizure free between both medications.. 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 NCT00210782, 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 10 Jun 2011.

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