Safety Study of Dantrolene in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Summary

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a devastating acute brain injury due to bleeding onto the brain surface from a ruptured aneurysm. Cerebral vasospasm (cVSP; critical narrowing of brain arteries) is a known complication after SAH and significantly increases disability and death after SAH. Vasospasm is difficult to treat and can lead to stroke. Animal studies have shown that the muscles in the artery wall play a role in cVSP. Dantrolene has been FDA approved and extensively used in clinical practice as a muscle relaxant for more than 30 years. It has been shown to provide some benefit in animal studies of cVSP, as well as in a small number of humans. However, the first human studies have only been observational and over a short period of time. This study will evaluate the safety and tolerability of intravenous dantrolene given every 6 hours over seven days to patients with or at risk for cVSP after SAH. The goal is to determine if future efficacy studies should be done to determine if treatment with Dantrolene may improve the outcome of patients with cVSP after SAH.

Timeline

Start

2009-10

Primary completion

2013-07

Completion

2013-10

Publications

• Background Salomone S, Soydan G, Moskowitz MA, Sims JR. Inhibition of cerebral vasoconstriction by dantrolene and nimodipine. Neurocrit Care. 2009;10(1):93-102. doi: 10.1007/s12028-008-9153-0. Epub 2008 Oct 16.
• Background Muehlschlegel S, Rordorf G, Bodock M, Sims JR. Dantrolene mediates vasorelaxation in cerebral vasoconstriction: a case series. Neurocrit Care. 2009;10(1):116-21. doi: 10.1007/s12028-008-9132-5. Epub 2008 Aug 12.
• Background Muehlschlegel S, Sims JR. Dantrolene: mechanisms of neuroprotection and possible clinical applications in the neurointensive care unit. Neurocrit Care. 2009;10(1):103-15. doi: 10.1007/s12028-008-9133-4. Epub 2008 Aug 12.
• Background Muehlschlegel S, Rordorf G, Sims J. Effects of a single dose of dantrolene in patients with cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage: a prospective pilot study. Stroke. 2011 May;42(5):1301-6. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.603159. Epub 2011 Mar 31.
• Results Muehlschlegel S, Carandang R, Hall W, Kini N, Izzy S, Garland B, Ouillette C, van der Bom IM, Flood TF, Gounis MJ, Weaver JP, Barton B, Wakhloo AK. Dantrolene for cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid haemorrhage: a randomised double blind placebo-controlled safety trial. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2015 Sep;86(9):1029-35. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2014-308778. Epub 2014 Oct 24.

Drugs

Indications