EpilepsyPhase 3NCT00436631
Internet Administration of the Modified Atkins Diet for Adults With Intractable Epilepsy
A Phase 3 study testing Dietary management of seizures in people with Epilepsy, run by Johns Hopkins University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This is a prospective, open-label (no control or blind) study to continue to determine whether the modified Atkins diet reduces seizures, creates ketosis, and is well tolerated in adults (not children) with epilepsy. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Epilepsy
- What is being tested?
- Dietary management of seizures
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 30 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Feb 2007to Dec 2011
- 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 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Adults aged 18 years or older.
- Patients must consent for themselves (NOT a family member doing this).
- Patients need to be willing to perform the induction phase of the diet.
- Patients must have access to an email account and fax machine.
- Persisting, countable seizures (> 1 per week or 4 times per month) despite previous treatment with two or more antiepileptic drugs.
- Patients with coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, atherosclerosis, prior myocardial infarctions, or renal dysfunction will be excluded.
Who cannot join
- Patients previously exposed to the Atkins diet (for more than one week) will be excluded.
- Patients who had tried the ketogenic diet within the past year will be excluded.
- Patients with non-epileptic seizures (pseudoseizures) will be excluded.
- Patients that are pregnant or become pregnant during the study will be excluded.
- Patients must have a local English-speaking neurologist or primary care provider willing to sign a form stating they are available for any emergencies, considering some patients may be a far distance away.
- Patients must live in the United States.
Show all 10Show fewer
- Patients must not have a history of status epilepticus within the past 6 months.
- Patients with a BMI that is below 18.5 will be excluded.
- Patients must speak and write in English.
- Patients must be from the United States.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
This is a prospective, open-label (no control or blind) study to continue to determine whether the modified Atkins diet reduces seizures, creates ketosis, and is well tolerated in adults (not children) with epilepsy. This study will enroll and manage patients via email, phone, and fax and without dietitian involvement (primary difference from previous studies). It is a 3 month study.
Read the detailed description
Patients will have contacted either Dr. Kossoff or Dr. Cervenka either via referral or self-referral.
Inclusion: over 18 years of age, at least weekly seizures (or 4 per month), tried at least 2 medications for your seizures, have email and fax access, are not very underweight or have high cholesterol, have not had status epilepticus (seizure lasting over 30 minutes) in the past 6 months, and have not tried the Atkins diet before or the ketogenic diet within the past year. All patients will need to have a local primary care doctor or neurologist willing to be available in case of emergencies. You and your local physician both need to speak and write in English and patients MUST be in the United States to participate. The patient (NOT a caregiver) must be the person to email the investigators - a family member cannot be the contact person.
If the patient agrees, we will send and they will fax back within 2 weeks:
- Signed consent
- Signed note from their neurologist/primary care provider (attached)
- 6 months of medical records to confirm their qualification
- 3-day food record (can be emailed by the patient)
- Labs (CBC, CMP, fasting lipid profile, urine calcium, urine creatinine, urine hcG (if female) (form attached)
After that, we will send information on how to do the diet via email, they will maintain monthly calendars, and after 3 months we will decide if the diet is helpful. After that time point, they can continue it on their own with periodic followup with either us or their local neurologist.
- Conditions
- Epilepsy
- Being tested
- Dietary management of seizures
- Keywords
- epilepsy, seizures, intractable, ketosis, ketogenic, diet
- Medical subject headings
- Epilepsy, Seizures, Ketosis
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Dietary management of seizuresBehavioural
Using the high-fat, low carbohydrate modified Atkins diet - 15 grams per day initially. This is a 3-month study of this diet.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| diet | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Dietary management of seizures |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Seizure frequency
Measured: 3 months
Secondary outcomes (3)
Tolerability (ability to create and maintain ketosis), cholesterol, weight
Measured: 3 months
Ability to follow instructions via email (and maintain ketosis and seizure control when achieved).
Measured: 3 months
Ketosis (measured by urine)
Measured: 3 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted19 Feb 2007 (estimated)
- Study startFeb 2007
- Primary completionFeb 2011
- Study completionDec 2011
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (2)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for EpilepsyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Johns Hopkins UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
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
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 30 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Johns Hopkins University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Eric Kossoff, Johns Hopkins University
- Investigators
- Eric H Kossoff, MD, Principal investigator, Johns Hopkins University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00436631
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- NA_00008471
- Status last verified
- Aug 2015
- First submitted
- 16 Feb 2007
- Last updated
- 2 Sep 2015
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
Publications
Kossoff EH, McGrogan JR, Bluml RM, Pillas DJ, Rubenstein JE, Vining EP. A modified Atkins diet is effective for the treatment of intractable pediatric epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2006 Feb;47(2):421-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2006.00438.x.
PubMed 16499770Kossoff EH, Rowley H, Sinha SR, Vining EP. A prospective study of the modified Atkins diet for intractable epilepsy in adults. Epilepsia. 2008 Feb;49(2):316-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2007.01256.x. Epub 2007 Oct 5.
PubMed 17919301
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 2 Sep 2015. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Internet Administration of the Modified Atkins Diet for Adults With Intractable Epilepsy
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00436631
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- NA_00008471
- Conditions
- Epilepsy
- Keywords
- epilepsy, seizures, intractable, ketosis, ketogenic, diet
- Phase
- Phase 3
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 30 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Johns Hopkins UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Feb 2007
- Primary completion
- Feb 2011 (actual)
- Study completion
- Dec 2011 (actual)
- First posted
- 19 Feb 2007 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This is a prospective, open-label (no control or blind) study to continue to determine whether the modified Atkins diet reduces seizures, creates ketosis, and is well tolerated in adults (not children) with epilepsy. This study will enroll and manage patients via email, phone, and fax and without dietitian involvement (primary difference from previous studies). It is a 3 month study.
Detailed description
Patients will have contacted either Dr. Kossoff or Dr. Cervenka either via referral or self-referral.
Inclusion: over 18 years of age, at least weekly seizures (or 4 per month), tried at least 2 medications for your seizures, have email and fax access, are not very underweight or have high cholesterol, have not had status epilepticus (seizure lasting over 30 minutes) in the past 6 months, and have not tried the Atkins diet before or the ketogenic diet within the past year. All patients will need to have a local primary care doctor or neurologist willing to be available in case of emergencies. You and your local physician both need to speak and write in English and patients MUST be in the United States to participate. The patient (NOT a caregiver) must be the person to email the investigators - a family member cannot be the contact person.
If the patient agrees, we will send and they will fax back within 2 weeks:
- Signed consent
- Signed note from their neurologist/primary care provider (attached)
- 6 months of medical records to confirm their qualification
- 3-day food record (can be emailed by the patient)
- Labs (CBC, CMP, fasting lipid profile, urine calcium, urine creatinine, urine hcG (if female) (form attached)
After that, we will send information on how to do the diet via email, they will maintain monthly calendars, and after 3 months we will decide if the diet is helpful. After that time point, they can continue it on their own with periodic followup with either us or their local neurologist.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| diet | Experimental | Behavioral: Dietary management of seizures |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Adults aged 18 years or older.
- Patients must consent for themselves (NOT a family member doing this).
- Patients need to be willing to perform the induction phase of the diet.
- Patients must have access to an email account and fax machine.
- Persisting, countable seizures (> 1 per week or 4 times per month) despite previous treatment with two or more antiepileptic drugs.
Key exclusion criteria (10 listed)
- Patients previously exposed to the Atkins diet (for more than one week) will be excluded.
- Patients who had tried the ketogenic diet within the past year will be excluded.
- Patients with non-epileptic seizures (pseudoseizures) will be excluded.
- Patients that are pregnant or become pregnant during the study will be excluded.
- Patients must have a local English-speaking neurologist or primary care provider willing to sign a form stating they are available for any emergencies, considering some patients may be a far distance away.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Dietary management of seizuresUsing the high-fat, low carbohydrate modified Atkins diet - 15 grams per day initially. This is a 3-month study of this diet. | Behavioural | diet |
Primary outcome
Seizure frequency
Time frame: 3 months
3 secondary outcomes
Tolerability (ability to create and maintain ketosis), cholesterol, weight
Time frame: 3 months
Ability to follow instructions via email (and maintain ketosis and seizure control when achieved).
Time frame: 3 months
Ketosis (measured by urine)
Time frame: 3 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 2 Sep 2015.
- Background: PubMed 16499770Kossoff EH, McGrogan JR, Bluml RM, Pillas DJ, Rubenstein JE, Vining EP. A modified Atkins diet is effective for the treatment of intractable pediatric epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2006 Feb;47(2):421-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2006.00438.x.
- Background: PubMed 17919301Kossoff EH, Rowley H, Sinha SR, Vining EP. A prospective study of the modified Atkins diet for intractable epilepsy in adults. Epilepsia. 2008 Feb;49(2):316-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2007.01256.x. Epub 2007 Oct 5.
- Information about this approach from a parentLink provided by the sponsor.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Eric H Kossoff, MD principal investigator
Johns Hopkins University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A Phase 3 study testing Dietary management of seizures in people with Epilepsy, run by Johns Hopkins University at 1 site in United States.
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 6 inclusion and 10 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 2 Sep 2015. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
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?
Seizure frequency (time frame: 3 months). 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 NCT00436631, which also lists 2 linked publications.
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 2 Sep 2015.