Trial of Oral Valproic Acid for Retinitis Pigmentosa

Summary

The objectives of this study are to evaluate the efficacy of Valproic Acid (VPA) to both slow the progression of visual function loss and/or to restore visual function in patients with Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and to collect safety and tolerability information.

Timeline

Start

2010-11

Primary completion

2015-12

Completion

2015-12

Publications

• Background Berson EL, Rosner B, Weigel-DiFranco C, Dryja TP, Sandberg MA. Disease progression in patients with dominant retinitis pigmentosa and rhodopsin mutations. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2002 Sep;43(9):3027-36.
• Background Bryant AE 3rd, Dreifuss FE. Valproic acid hepatic fatalities. III. U.S. experience since 1986. Neurology. 1996 Feb;46(2):465-9. doi: 10.1212/wnl.46.2.465.
• Background Berson EL, Sandberg MA, Rosner B, Birch DG, Hanson AH. Natural course of retinitis pigmentosa over a three-year interval. Am J Ophthalmol. 1985 Mar 15;99(3):240-51. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(85)90351-4.
• Background Chen PS, Wang CC, Bortner CD, Peng GS, Wu X, Pang H, Lu RB, Gean PW, Chuang DM, Hong JS. Valproic acid and other histone deacetylase inhibitors induce microglial apoptosis and attenuate lipopolysaccharide-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity. Neuroscience. 2007 Oct 12;149(1):203-12. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2007.06.053. Epub 2007 Jul 28.
• Background Delyfer MN, Leveillard T, Mohand-Said S, Hicks D, Picaud S, Sahel JA. Inherited retinal degenerations: therapeutic prospects. Biol Cell. 2004 May;96(4):261-9. doi: 10.1016/j.biolcel.2004.01.006.
• Background Dragunow M, Greenwood JM, Cameron RE, Narayan PJ, O'Carroll SJ, Pearson AG, Gibbons HM. Valproic acid induces caspase 3-mediated apoptosis in microglial cells. Neuroscience. 2006 Jul 21;140(4):1149-56. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2006.02.065.
• Background Gaby AR. Nutritional therapies for ocular disorders: Part Three. Altern Med Rev. 2008 Sep;13(3):191-204.
• Background Gottlicher M, Minucci S, Zhu P, Kramer OH, Schimpf A, Giavara S, Sleeman JP, Lo Coco F, Nervi C, Pelicci PG, Heinzel T. Valproic acid defines a novel class of HDAC inhibitors inducing differentiation of transformed cells. EMBO J. 2001 Dec 17;20(24):6969-78. doi: 10.1093/emboj/20.24.6969.
• Background Hartong DT, Berson EL, Dryja TP. Retinitis pigmentosa. Lancet. 2006 Nov 18;368(9549):1795-809. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69740-7.
• Background Henry TR. The history of valproate in clinical neuroscience. Psychopharmacol Bull. 2003;37 Suppl 2:5-16.
• Background Hoffman DR, Locke KG, Wheaton DH, Fish GE, Spencer R, Birch DG. A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation for X-linked retinitis pigmentosa. Am J Ophthalmol. 2004 Apr;137(4):704-18. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2003.10.045.
• Background Jacobson SG, Cideciyan AV, Huang Y, Hanna DB, Freund CL, Affatigato LM, Carr RE, Zack DJ, Stone EM, McInnes RR. Retinal degenerations with truncation mutations in the cone-rod homeobox (CRX) gene. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1998 Nov;39(12):2417-26.
• Background Kim HJ, Rowe M, Ren M, Hong JS, Chen PS, Chuang DM. Histone deacetylase inhibitors exhibit anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in a rat permanent ischemic model of stroke: multiple mechanisms of action. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2007 Jun;321(3):892-901. doi: 10.1124/jpet.107.120188. Epub 2007 Mar 19.
• Background Mangione CM, Lee PP, Gutierrez PR, Spritzer K, Berry S, Hays RD; National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire Field Test Investigators. Development of the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire. Arch Ophthalmol. 2001 Jul;119(7):1050-8. doi: 10.1001/archopht.119.7.1050.
• Background Noorwez SM, Ostrov DA, McDowell JH, Krebs MP, Kaushal S. A high-throughput screening method for small-molecule pharmacologic chaperones of misfolded rhodopsin. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2008 Jul;49(7):3224-30. doi: 10.1167/iovs.07-1539. Epub 2008 Mar 31.
• Background Nowomiejska K, Vonthein R, Paetzold J, Zagorski Z, Kardon R, Schiefer U. Comparison between semiautomated kinetic perimetry and conventional Goldmann manual kinetic perimetry in advanced visual field loss. Ophthalmology. 2005 Aug;112(8):1343-54. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2004.12.047.
• Background Nowomiejska K, Vonthein R, Paetzold J, Zagorski Z, Kardon R, Schiefer U. Reaction time during semi-automated kinetic perimetry (SKP) in patients with advanced visual field loss. Acta Ophthalmol. 2010 Feb;88(1):65-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2008.01407.x. Epub 2009 Dec 16.
• Background Peterson GM, Naunton M. Valproate: a simple chemical with so much to offer. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2005 Oct;30(5):417-21. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2710.2005.00671.x. No abstract available.
• Background Wong R, Khan J, Adewoyin T, Sivaprasad S, Arden GB, Chong V. The ChromaTest, a digital color contrast sensitivity analyzer, for diabetic maculopathy: a pilot study. BMC Ophthalmol. 2008 Aug 17;8:15. doi: 10.1186/1471-2415-8-15.
• Birch DG, Bernstein PS, Iannacone A, Pennesi ME, Lam BL, Heckenlively J, Csaky K, Hartnett ME, Winthrop KL, Jayasundera T, Hughbanks-Wheaton DK, Warner J, Yang P, Fish GE, Teske MP, Sklaver NL, Erker L, Chegarnov E, Smith T, Wahle A, VanVeldhuisen PC, McCormack J, Lindblad R, Bramer S, Rose S, Zilliox P, Francis PJ, Weleber RG. Effect of Oral Valproic Acid vs Placebo for Vision Loss in Patients With Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa: A Randomized Phase 2 Multicenter Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2018 Aug 1;136(8):849-856. doi: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2018.1171.

Drugs

Indications