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Infantile SpasmsPhase 2/3NCT01549288

Trial of the Modified Atkins Diet in Infantile Spasms Refractory to Hormonal Therapy

A Phase 2/3 study testing modified Atkins diet and no dietetic input in people with Infantile Spasms, run by Lady Hardinge Medical College at 1 site in India.

Withdrawn

Withdrawn. The study stopped before anyone enrolled.

Official record
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Trial summary

Infantile spasms comprise an infantile epileptic encephalopathy characterized by hypsarrhythmia on EEG, and frequent neurodevelopmental regression. Unfortunately the treatment of this disorder remains difficult. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 9 to 36 months
Conditions the study is for
Infantile Spasms
What is being tested?
modified Atkins diet and no dietetic input
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
0 participants
Where
1 siteIndia
Study dates
Feb 2012to Dec 2013
Phase
Phase 2/3
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 9 to 36 months
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • age 9 months to 3 years
  • Presence of epileptic spasms in clusters in child 9 months to < 3years of age, with electroencephalographic evidence of hypsarrhythmia or its variants), persisting, at least one cluster per day, despite treatment with either oral corticosteroids or adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and one additional anticonvulsant (valproate/benzodiazepine/vigabatrin/topiramate/zonisamide/ levetiracetam) for at least 4 weeks.

Who cannot join

  • Children with known or suspected inborn error of metabolism, Patients with clinical suspicion of metabolic disorder as evidenced by 2 or more of the following:
  • a history of parental consanguinity,
  • prior affected siblings,
  • unexplained vomiting,
  • intermittent worsening of symptoms,
  • recurrent episodes of lethargy,
Show all 20Show fewer
  • altered sensorium, or
  • ataxia,
  • hepatosplenomegaly on examination
  • With or without 2 or more of the following biochemical abnormalities:
  • High blood ammonia (> 80mmol/L),
  • High arterial lactate (> 2 mmol/L),
  • metabolic acidosis (pH < 7.2),
  • hypoglycaemia (blood sugar < 40 mg/dl),
  • abnormal urinary aminoacidogram,
  • presence of reducing sugars or ketones in urine, and
  • positive results on urine neurometabolic screening tests. In such patients, blood tandem mass spectrometry or urine gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GCMS) will be obtained to look for inborn error of metabolism.
  • Children with renal, pulmonary, cardiac or hepatic dysfunction
  • Severe malnutrition (weight for length and height for age less than 3 SD for mean as per WHO growth charts),
  • Children from families who lack motivation will also be excluded as it might affect the compliance.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

India1 site
  • Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital

    New Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi, 110001

Other trials in India

About this study

Official title: Evaluation of the Modified Atkins Diet in Children With Infantile Spasms Refractory to Hormonal Therapy: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Infantile spasms comprise an infantile epileptic encephalopathy characterized by hypsarrhythmia on EEG, and frequent neurodevelopmental regression. Unfortunately the treatment of this disorder remains difficult. The first-line options which include hormonal therapy, i.e., adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) or oral corticosteroids, and vigabatrin are effective in 60-70% of the patients. Hormonal therapy is considered the best available treatment. Vigabatrin being expensive and of limited availability is not a feasible option for most patients in our setting. Also, these are however associated with significant side effects, and high relapse rates. Newer drugs such as topiramate, zonisamide, and levetiracetam have also been evaluated; however these drugs are less effective than ACTH. The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high fat, low carbohydrate diet. It has been used for treatment of intractable childhood epilepsy. The KD has also been shown to be effective for intractable infantile spasms; often after ACTH and vigabatrin have failed.

The modified Atkins diet is a non-pharmacologic therapy for intractable childhood epilepsy that was designed to be a less restrictive alternative to the traditional ketogenic diet. This diet is started on an outpatient basis without a fast, allows unlimited protein and fat, and does not restrict calories or fluids. Preliminary data have shown efficacy in refractory infantile spasms. This diet is also ideal for resource-constraint settings with paucity of trained dieticians. Hence this study has been planned to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of the modified Atkins diet in children with infantile spasms refractory to hormonal treatment in a randomized controlled trial.

Being tested
modified Atkins diet, no dietetic input
Medical subject headings
Spasms, Infantile

What participants receive

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

  • modified Atkins dietBehavioural

    Carbohydrate restricted to 10 g/day (18-36 months) and 5 g/day (9-18 months), fat intake encouraged, proteins unrestricted

  • no dietetic inputOther

    continuation of anti-epileptic medication without any dietetic input

Study groups in NCT01549288
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
modified Atkins dietExperimentalNot described
Receives: Behavioral: modified Atkins diet
control armOtherthe control arm continues the anti-epileptic drugs without any added dietetic input
Receives: Other: no dietetic input

What is being measured

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

  1. Proportion of children who achieved spasm freedom as per parental reports at 4 weeks

    Measured: 4 weeks

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Proportion of children who achieved >50% reduction of clinical spasm, as per parental reports at 4 weeks

    Measured: 4 weeks

Timeline

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

  1. First posted9 Mar 2012 (estimated)
  2. Study startFeb 2012
  3. Primary completionOct 2013 (estimated)
  4. Study completionDec 2013 (estimated)

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 2/3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
0 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01549288
Sponsor's protocol ID
RADIS
Status last verified
Apr 2013
First submitted
6 Mar 2012
Last updated
9 Apr 2013
Results posted
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2/3 study testing modified Atkins diet and no dietetic input in people with Infantile Spasms, run by Lady Hardinge Medical College at 1 site in India.

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 2 inclusion and 20 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: withdrawn, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 Apr 2013. 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 India. 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 combined phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

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 was withdrawn before enrolling participants, so there are no results.

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?

Proportion of children who achieved spasm freedom as per parental reports at 4 weeks (time frame: 4 weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
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 9 Apr 2013.

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